Creativity is the Catalyst
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have” — Maya Angelou
In my experience a lot of people have a belief about creativity that goes something like this: “I’m not creative” or “I don’t know how to draw, paint, [insert any form of artistic expression]”.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but this blog post is all about deconstructing that myth about creativity.
What I believe, is that all people are creative.
“There’s no such thing as creative people and non-creative people. There are only people who use their creativity and people who don’t" --Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
What is creativity then?
The American Psychological Association defines creativity as “the ability to produce or develop original work, theories, techniques, or thoughts”. That “a creative individual typically displays originality, imagination, and expressiveness”. The part of the article that I really want to emphasize is that “creative thinking refers to the mental processes leading to a new invention or solution to a problem, [and] that products of creative thinking include new machines, social ideas, scientific theories, artistic works, and more”.
Yes! Because, while art definitely uses the creative process so too does science or mathematics or business or technology.
Creativity is a process not an event.
Let's repeat that because it matters: Creativity is a process not an event.
This is why all people are creative because all people have the capacity to engage in the process of creative thinking.
In many ways creativity could simply be described as “the power to connect the seemingly unconnected” (William Plomer). Or you might say “creativity involves honest expression” (from the article The Science Behind Creativity). This resonates with me as well because there is no judgment involved. There is no discussion about whether your honest expression is good or bad, it just is and has inherent value.
creativity is the expression of originality, [it] helps us stay mindful that what we bring to the world is completely original and cannot be compared”. --Brene Brown (she gets it, right?!)
Why does creativity matter?
Creativity matters because if creativity thinking is a process that involves an honest expression of who we are & what we bring to the world then creative thinking is also the process that enables us to change our stories & beliefs about who we are & what we bring to the world. When we are stuck in a rigid set of stories & beliefs about who we are and what we are capable of creative thinking is the process we can use to break free from those stuck places.
If we allow ourselves to get curious, explore & play we open up space for new ways of being in the world. When we are flexible and in the flow of the creative process without judgement we give ourselves permission to be different and expand the idea of what we thought was possible.
Through creativity we see new possibilities, and when we begin to see things in differently, the space for change is created. We can move from what we thought was impossible (stuck or rigid) to possible (free or flexible).
"creative thinking refers to the mental processes leading to a new invention or solution to a problem, [and] that products of creative thinking include new machines, social ideas, scientific theories, artistic works, and more" -- American Psychological Association
This is why it is my mission to encourage all people to nurture their unique creative spark.
So, embrace your creative thinking and engage in any creative process that works for you just please don’t tell me that you are not creative.
Because if you have ever in your life made a change or solved a problem or met a challenge you used your creative thinking to do so.
Everyone has a unique creative spark waiting to be ignited. What's Yours?
