Pop quiz. Which of these do you agree with?
- Some people are creative, others aren’t.
- There is one person that is creative, and one person more creative than the next
- “We as humans were born to create,” Nick Onken said. “Creativity feeds the soul.”
- Creativity is the ability to capture (and implement) ideas that pop up when the brain is not focused on something specifically
If you agreed with the first two statements, you’re coming from a fixed mindset. If you agreed with the second two, you’ve got a growth mindset.
When we see or visualize things in our mind, we are more than eager to share it with others. That is either we tell them what we saw, we write what happens, we text the happy feeling to a friend or share a drawing. This means we are creative enough to relate what we experience in whatever way we are capable of.
Defining Creativity
Creativity is defined as an act of expressing what we see subconsciously and turning it to reality. Creativity is characterized by seeing the world differently, to find missing patterns, to view connections between unrelated things or events and to produce solutions.
As per the Cambridge dictionary, creativity is the ability to produce or use original and unusual ideas or to make something new or imaginative.
“Creativity is a combinatorial force: it’s our ability to tap into our ‘inner’ pool of resources – knowledge, insight, information, inspiration and all the fragments populating our minds – that we’ve accumulated over the years just by being present and alive and awake to the world and to combine them in extraordinary new ways.” — Maria Popova, Brainpickings
“Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being. Creativity requires passion and commitment. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness: ecstasy.” – Rollo May, The Courage to Create
“If you have ideas but don't act on them, you are imaginative but not creative.”
Linda Naiman
Creativity, the studies and Innovation
A 2012 Adobe study on creativity shows 80% of people feel that unlocking creativity is critical to economic growth and nearly two-thirds of respondents feel creativity is valuable to society. Yet a striking minority – 25% of people – believe they are living up to their own creative potential.
Thank God, a study by George Land reveals that we are born creative people and as we grow up we learn to be uncreative. This follows creativity can be learned, just like athletes who learned their craft and can be harness to its full-blown.
We are in creativity age. Economic development as per Daniel Pink in his book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future (2006) are as follows:
1. Agriculture Age (farmers)
2. Industrial Age (factory workers)
3. Information Age (knowledge workers)
4. Conceptual Age (creators and empathizers)
Pink said the right-brain empathy, inventiveness, and understanding as skills most needed by business replaces the former – left-brain linear, analytical computer-like thinking. This, therefore, explains that creativity gives a great edge by adding value to your service or product and creating a unique character as compared to your other competitors.
Either you innovate or you’re in commodity hell. If you do what everybody else does, you have a low-margin business. That’s not where we want to be.” Words from Sam Palmisano when he was CEO of IBM (2004), “
Creativity and innovation are interrelated to each other. Great innovations come from one’s creative mind. The key driver for both innovation and creativity is value creation.
The Latin word “innovare” – which means 'to make changes' or 'to do something differently' offers a partial answer to the question of what innovation is.
“I define innovation as executing new ideas to create value.” Tim Kastelle.
“Innovation is the commercialization of creativity.” Anonymous.
“Innovation is the creation, development, and implementation of a new product, process or service, with the aim of improving efficiency, effectiveness or competitive advantage.” Government of New Zealand
“Innovation is the creation of something that improves the way we live our lives”
Barack Obama.
Studies by Clayton M. Christensen and his researchers uncovered The Innovators DNA: Your ability to generate innovative ideas is not merely a function of the mind, but also a function of five key behaviors that optimize your brain for discovery:
- Associating: drawing connections between questions, problems, or ideas from unrelated fields
- Questioning: posing queries that challenge common wisdom
- Observing: scrutinizing the behavior of customers, suppliers, and competitors to identify new ways of doing things
- Networking: meeting people with different ideas and perspectives
- Experimenting: constructing interactive experiences and provoking unorthodox responses to see what insights emerge
The ABCD mantra owned by Sir Richard Branson runs through the DNA of Virgin companies. ABCD mantra means Always Be Connecting the Dots. Creativity is a practice, and if you practice using these five discovery skills every day, you will develop your skills in creativity and innovation.
Inner creativity is something innate among us, which grows least without practice. To awaken your inner creativity, try the following:
1. Treasure the little thoughts
The world today is busy, just as the traffic streets and highways especially during weekends. This is analogous to our brain, but we have a tendency to try and shut off our minds up. We always feel that little thoughts are unimportant, weird, no- relevance and burdensome. We shut them off to give way to other larger matters like family, work, money, and others. However, these little thoughts give us a breeze, a time out to be more productive and creative which in turn serves as a bridge solving the larger matter. "Some of us discount the little voices in our heads," says running coach and trainer Susie Lemmer, in an interview with Bustle. Instead of shutting them out, "use them as a jumping-off point, even if they seem to have no relevance," she says.
2. Be Optimistic
Life, just like a spider web, is intricate and challenging and staying happy and positive somehow works like magic and solutions to the problem come easy.
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.”
— Willie Nelson
“In order to carry a positive action, we must develop here a positive vision.”
— Dalai Lama
3. Choose the path of least resistance
The easiest way to get there from there is to choose the path of least resistance, words from Abraham Hicks. If you’re facing a painstaking problem or are proving to be stagnant, shake things up with few creative twists and choose the least resistance. Creativity gets into action when the brain is at ease.
4. Inner Child mindset
Adult relationships and office deadlines will be in chaos if you have a child mindset but the mindset of ability to play solicits an open channel for creativity. The inner child mindset also strengthens the imagination which connects to personal success. So why not take a few moments for Hoola hoop, read a child book or doodle. So don’t be surprised if these will boost cognitive thinking and productivity at work.
5. Layout in a grassy area or take a walk
Connecting to nature can boost creativity, and that laying out in the sun, under the farm cottage or even just a cozy picnic munchies with the blanket in a grassy area will be a good place to daydream. Let’s lay down facing the sun, finding faces in the clouds and think of the next plausible solution to the office problem. Taking a walk promotes cognitive skills and creating, not to mention this regulates and boosts the blood flow circulation.
6. A day with Exercise
Exercise boosts our mood with a rush of feel-good endorphins and fosters creativity to a more productive day. Spend either a morning or before bedtime exercise and this will surely sharpen your mental awareness and memory. Doing it with friends or loved ones will surely create a difference.
7. Digital devices No-Zone
Creativity doesn’t emerge with the presence of your Android phone or iPhone. By paying attention to the moment and appreciating the presence of your loved ones offers a breather between your busy fingers and your mobile device. Providing a Digital Device No Zone will encourage you to enjoy coloring books, drawing or even sketching a funnel strategy for a new campaign.
8. Meditation Practice
One of the most effective ways to become creatively toned and start accessing core creativity is through a meditation practice. Through meditation, we can see things usually not seen or overlook, this also offers a good glimpse of fresh ideas or outside the box perception. Many people are intimidated by the idea of meditating with excuses for not having the time or ability to quiet the mind. Really all you need is 5 to 20 minutes a day and there are many mediation CDs that can help guide you through the process
9. You should be Present
Finding a way that your soul, gut, and heart should lead the way instead of your logical thinking. The creative mind uses the technique of service creation, not the other way around. Be present and hold your thought about family, budget and other things. Some people pray and have breathing techniques become more focused and present, but whatever your way is, creativity sprouts in a calm and open mind.
10. Use your Senses
The more senses you use the better is your grasp to your creative side. Listening to the sounds around you, feel the air, smell the flowers, and taste something new, Touch the things around you and notice how your body responds to them since the energy surrounds you. By allowing such, you will feel delighted of the wonderful surrounding, let this feeling be your guide in creating your next image, special collection pots or your next grand piano piece.
