C-r-e-a-t-i-v-i-t-y … Truth be told, the word intimidates many of us — especially the mathematicians and engineers among us! What is creativity, anyway? Who has it? Is it the gift of a chosen few, and are the rest of us just stuck trying to “color inside the lines”? The questions are endless, so let’s take a moment to separate fact from fiction.
Fiction:
Creativity is rare.
Only artists and those with high IQs have it.
It’s a gift that defies logic and cannot be scientifically explained.
Fact:
Everyone has the capacity for creativity.
We can learn to generate it.
It can be produced in a laboratory setting, and is explained by something called “generativity theory.”
Even the corporate world has begun to recognize the value and legitimacy of creative thinking.
Everyone recognizes that we exercise creativity when we arrange a vase of flowers, or create a work of art from a blank canvas. What is less well understood is that creative thinking can help solve logical, even technical, problems. At his own admission, Einstein’s theory of relativity came out of a creative process, not a linear, analytical one.
Simply put, creativity happens when old ideas are combined in new ways. And in our increasingly complex world, we need all the creative solutions we can find!
We are all born with creativity “muscles.” But if we don’t develop them through regular exercise, they will be of no use to us. Begin engaging in the following “exercises” and notice how your creativity develops.
You’ve already got it … now just hold on to it. Every day we have many moments of creative possibility — we have just learned to ignore them. Dreams, daydreams, thought fragments, reactions to just about anything — all provide creative material. The key is to write, write, write!
Always keep a pencil and paper handy — even by your bedside. Writing makes subconscious material conscious, and makes it possible to save that
absurd stream of consciousness that just may contain a flash of brilliance!
Treat yourself to something different. Doing anything outside your normal routine, especially if it is also a sensory experience (such as a great art exhibit, a wonderful concert or a day by the ocean) can be a great creativity trigger. After such an experience, that seemingly unattainable idea presents itself — when you aren’t even looking for it!
Change your environment. Move the furniture, play different music, surround yourself with a variety of interesting and unrelated objects, such as kids’ toys, artifacts from other cultures, tools or Christmas ornaments. Altering your environment and introducing random and unrelated “stuff” is bound to trigger the unexpected.
Also, exercise expends nervous energy and leaves you with an unusual clarity of thought.
Whether you are working on a physics problem or at a potter’s wheel, doing anything different can help generate fresh ideas and novel solutions. And implementing the above strategies on a regular basis will surely allow you to flex your creativity muscles, naturally and often!