Ask a room full of 3 year olds to put up their hands if they are creative and you will get almost all hands waving furiously in the air, sometimes both hands.
Ask a room full of 10 year olds, you might get half of them tentatively putting up their hands, with a lucky few waving assuredly.
Now ask a room full of 20 year olds…maybe a handful if you are lucky and depending on the forum will have a raised hand.
It is a sad truth that as we get older we lose the use of the inherent creativity that we are born with. Watch as very young children explore their surroundings with wonder and curiousity, or spend an afternoon answering a child’s endless stream of ‘why?’ and ‘why not’ questions that drive you batty…after a while you may find yourself pondering that some of those child like ideas are not so crazy after all!
Creativity is not limited to arts – sure it is at its strongest when we are engaged in painting, drawing, singing, dancing, sculpting, performing, writing…but creativity is also very much alive and necessary, in regular business life, in problem solving, in…well…thinking!
Ever had a business problem to solve? Creative thinking.
Ever tried to plan a renovation on your house, or even buy a new house (imagining how you will fit all your furniture in it, and in which rooms people will be housed), or redecorated a room? Creative thinking.
Ever had to solve a maths, science, physics problem? Creative thinking.
Some of our most creative thinkers ask not only ‘Why‘ questions, but also question ‘why not‘ on a regular basis. How easy is that? I’m sure even those among you who consider yourselves not at all creative can ask why and why not on a more regular basis…can’t you? What’s that…do I hear a no? Well why not? Yes it does take some effort, but there are benefits to be had from training yourself to be more creative.
Use the words ‘could’ and ‘possibly’ and eliminate words like ‘never’ ‘always’ and other absolutes…enjoy more ‘I wonder…’
Next post we will look at the benefits of being creative. I wonder if you will be converted…