What is this? An expanded definition of creativity.
Why should I read it? It will inspire and amuse you.
When hearing the word “creativity”, many people immediately think of music, art, theater, dance, film-making or other artistic pursuits. And many people who are not artists are reluctant to describe themselves as creative. If you are in this category, please allow me a few more paragraphs before you click on a cat video.
Here is my challenge: I propose that every person has creative potential and that there are methods to learn and develop this “EVERYDAY CREATIVITY”. I can teach you methods to develop and train this "muscle".
In addition, it is urgent to cultivate creativity skills as a protection against the damaging forces in modern society that are eroding our well-being. More about this existential challenge later.
A study in 2010 from the University of Connecticut suggests that there are two kinds of creativity: radical - that which influences the world - and incremental - discrete steps like a beautiful melody.
Examples of radical creativity feature artists like Picasso, Mozart or Shakespeare or innovators like Walt Disney or Steve Jobs: those rare geniuses who operate at a superior level in their field, influencing millions and changing history. Ezra Pound famously called artists the "antennae of the race".
By contrast, incremental creativity is the more accessible form of creativity, where one takes
existing ideas or structures and expands or improves them, one step at a time. This method is what most activities require – whether you are improving a recipe in the kitchen, improvising a solution to an unexpected problem at your job or simply observing “what is” and imagining “what could be.
Here are a few examples of incremental creativity.
1) PROBLEM: Teenagers won’t help with household chores
MOM: “Hello kids! Today’s WiFi password can be revealed by texting me a photo of a spotlessly clean kitchen. Said photo MUST contain today’s newspaper with the date visible to discourage any trickery with previously used photos.
Many thanks in advance for your enthusiasm!
BTW: I’ll be at the beach.”
Love, Mom
2) PROBLEM: Hey! We're getting thirsty!
In 1959, Ernie Fraze was a picnic guest and forgot to bring his can opener to open a sealed can of soda. He used his incremental creativity to open the cans by prying them against a car bumper. Later he used his experience with machine tools to design a “pop-top” can that could be opened with a small familiar tab. By 1980 the annual revenue earned by his firm was over $500 million a year.
3) NO PROBLEM! Here is an epic husband-and-wife exchange that borders on radical creativity.
Creativity can be applied in countless areas: in daily life (problem solving), in the family (improved communication) or in the workplace (critical thinking). There are numerous studies that associate creativity with leadership and successful business practice. The governments of the USA, Brazil, Scotland, India and Thailand have developed programs to systematically teach creativity to their citizens.
Here are the skills that are associated with both types of creativity.
• self-reflection • originality
• curiosity • humor
• imagination • patience
• flexibility • an open mind
These qualities can be learned or strengthened with various tools and techniques. But how is this possible? What is the secret? The amazing human brain. It is almost as if our brains are designed for learning and creating. Thinking beyond the present into the unknown - one could call that imagination - is a distinctly human quality. Imagination is defined as "forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses." Doesn't every person do that every day? What if I take a different route to work? What if I surprise my partner with a home-cooked gourmet meal? Compared to other animals, humans are “brain freaks” (brain size to body size) like giraffes are “neck freaks” (adult males stand 15 to 19 feet) or cheetahs are “speed freaks” (over 60 mph!).
Look at this diagram of the human brain. Why are there so many wrinkles on the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of our brain? This marvelous development of nature occurred during the last phase of human evolution when the brain nearly tripled in size, growing faster than the skull and creating these familiar wrinkles. This adaptation provides more surface area and inter-connectivity to better help us think, plan, design, invent and create; both radical and incremental.
What about creativity in the workplace? Check out these two surveys:
2018: World Economic Forum-Future of Job Trends Survey
1) Analytical thinking and innovation
2) Active learning and learning strategies
3) Creativity, originality and innovation (up from place 10 in 2015)
2010: IBM Global Survey
1500 CEO’s
60 countries
33 industries worldwide
The most important factor for future success above rigor, management discipline, vision or integrity: creativity.
So what are the aforementioned “damaging forces” that stand in the way of pursuing a path to creativity? I’m glad you asked. Technology, screen time, artificial intelligence, automation, virtual reality and more are surrounding and distracting us, and there is a battle for your attention. Are you prepared?
Does technology free us or is it a burden? Does it save us time or steal time? Of the households surveyed by advocacy group Parents Together in April 2020, nearly 50% of the children were spending more than six hours per day online - an increase of nearly 500% from before the Corona crisis. More than twenty years have passed since John Naisbitt coined the phrase “Technologically Intoxicated Zone” in his book “High Tech High Touch”. What connects these influences is a pull to the outside which prevent us from finding equilibrium on the inside and making choices that serve our positive growth and well-being.
So what can be done to protect us against these external influences that are sabotaging our internal sense of wholeness? It is imperative that we learn to exercise authority over our own life choices that guide us towards maximum integration and fulfillment. How do we accomplish this?
The path to creativity requires mastering these important skills: metacognition, self-reflection and critical thinking: the ability to think about thinking, to know yourself and your values, and to be capable of rational, disciplined analysis. It’s not possible to self-reflect unless you can “unplug from the matrix”. Turning off the screens. Sitting in a chair. Going for a walk. Taking a break. Meditating. Or you can try my two-minute suggestion at the end of this blog.
Creativity is not the exclusive domain of the artist, musician or innovator. It must be the realm of every person who desires to expand, develop and grow into their own fullest potential. Considering the increasing number of external influences in modern life, we can barely afford not to.
Perhaps creativity CAN save the world. It's up to us. One person at a time.
Unleash your potential.
Creativity for everyone.
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