Remember when you were in grade school? Think about the unbridled creative energy and abundant curiosity surging in you back then.
Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, in the process of “growing up” and learning the “rules,” you abandoned your box of crayons with its bountiful array of colors.
Being creative and innovative does not have to stop when you “grow up” but in order to rekindle your creative flames, there are some things you need to know and more importantly, need to do.
Years ago, researchers did an experiment to measure creativity and discovered a striking trend. Their research indicated that ideas developed by children under age of five were deemed to be “original” nearly 90-percent of the time. By age seven, though, the percentage of ideas considered original dropped to 20%. The worse news was that only 2% of adult’s ideas could be classified as original. This experiment raises the question: “Are adults less creative in their thinking than children?”
The answer is a resounding “no.” Adults often simply stop believing in their creative abilities. For whatever reason, adults abandon their childhood creative genius and accept less originality in their life.
Through it all, adults can very much still be creative. In fact, if we adults use our decades of knowledge, experience and skills, we can produce creative output that children would find absolutely impossible. It’s a myth to believe that people become less creative as they age. Perhaps it’s because the older we get, the more self-conscious we become taking a risk. Aging doesn’t mean we can’t be spontaneous and craft new ideas.
Consider that Michaelangelo created the architectural plans for the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli at the age of 88. Harlan (Colonel) Sanders founded Kentucky Fried Chicken at age 65. Cornelius Vanderbilt started buying railroads at age 70. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote her very first book, “Little House On The Prairie” at age 70.
Mark Twain wrote, “Age is nothing but mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
Creativity proves that we don’t need to follow the rules completely and requires we need a new perspective on things. Without creativity, in one’s business or personal life, there would be no new ideas, no new inventions and nothing new to try.
The threshold question is, “How can I be more creative?”
However, most people find moving into a creative space difficult because they have been stuck doing the same things over and over again. Here are some tips that can help you build (or rebuild) your creativity.
- Read Whether it’s books, magazine articles, booklets or blogs, the more you read, the more you’ll find yourself motivated to try new things and be creative.
- Experiment Creativity is making way for new ideas, trying new concepts and developing new solutions. By looking at the world from different perspectives, you’ll conjure up new and creative ideas, answers and solutions.
- Embrace New Hobbies Trying a new hobby and working diligently at it will naturally foster new thinking, fresh new ideas and be a catalyst for creativity.
- View Traditions Differently We all get trapped into celebrating birthdays the same way… or going on vacations with the same model in mind… or communicating with relatives and friends the same way. Why not creatively invent a new way to celebrate a birthday… or a uniquely new way to travel… or experimenting with new communication models?
- Take A Shot Hall of Fame iconic professional hockey player Wayne Gretzky said, “I miss 100% of the shots I never take.” Creatively try something new. Get out of your rut. Take a shot.
You will become shocked at just how creative you can be if you make a commitment to try new things. Examples? Why not try and write your daily experiences in a journal… with a creative flair? Why not learn to play a musical instrument? Why not enroll in an art class and learn to sketch, draw or paint? Why not re-decorate one of the rooms in your home and make it uniquely you?
The two most important words are “Why not?”
Everything in life is 5% idea and 95% work. Being creative and inventive comes first with an idea (5%) and then followed with the need to work the idea (95%). Whether it’s an upcoming event in your family or a business presentation, try looking at the activity differently and force yourself to come up with a handful of solutions… all different, all unique, all creative. Then, try one. Take a shot.
Poet Sylvia Plath wrote, “The worst enemy of creativity is self-doubt.”
Go for it. Take a shot. Be creative!
Ira Blumenthal is a business consultant, a Georgia resident, a best-selling author, a globally renowned public speaker, a university educator and a college Lacrosse coach. Ira welcomes inquiries and can be reached at Ira@Iraspeak.com. His web site is www.IraSpeak.com
