Creativity – Do you have it in you?
Ever looked at the clouds in the sky and made imaginary stories? Or looked at the peeling paint of the walls and recreated faces? Well …I have and I bet you have too!As a kid (and even now many a times) when I sat idle looking at the walls of my house with its paint peeling…I used to be transported to an entire new imaginative world. From behind those layers of peeled paint used to walk out a horse with a prince and witch and keep me enthralled for hours together.
Robert E Franken in his book Human motivation defined creativity as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining others and us. It is basically an ability to think outside the box resulting in innovative or different approaches.
The concept of creativity can actually be understood by observing a 2-yr old. The inquisitiveness of a toddler; the shining eyes looking for things beneath the surface; the hands ready to explore the world; the incessant questions “why?” “What if”…these are all features of creativity. In fact it wouldn’t be hard to buy it if I tell you that our evolution as a species has happened mainly because of the creativity of our ancestors. Had our ancestors not been innovative, inquisitive and imaginative their survival would have become difficult. The human race wouldn’t have reached the pinnacle of success if it hadn’t been for civilizations which explored the world and beyond, pulled apart things to put them together in different ways, invent and reinvent.
Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
So do all of us have creativity within us? Are we born with it?
And the answer is a big YES. We all are born as creative individuals. Our right brain is wired to be creative. But we give up on this asset of ours as we grow up and surround ourselves with the mundane things of life.
No body is “uncreative”. Things, which cultivate creativity like dancing, painting etc can also be done in an uncreative way. And the most mundane thing can be done in a creative way. A chef exhibits his creativity in cooking –right from cutting vegetables to the presentation. A teacher gets creative and innovative to grab attention of her pupils.
Michael Grybko, neuroscience research scientist and engineer from the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington, says “In science, we define ‘creativity’ as an idea that is novel, good, and useful. It’s a little broader than the Oxford Dictionary’s definition, where it’s just the ability to create, because that doesn’t really say much. You can create something and it’s not very useful or it just won’t work well. Pooling from this wealth of knowledge we store in our brains and making connections between different ideas, we have to solve a new problem, or create, write a new novel — that’s what science looks at when we study ‘creativity.’ Just to drive home the point, this is very much a function of the brain. There’s no need to invoke all that folklore into this. It’s our brains doing what they do.”
So guys let the brain do what it is meant to do and start getting creative!
About Author :
Dr. Vishakha Jain is a Physician by profession and a medical educator. She is an independent woman striking a fine balance between her professional and personal life. She is hands-on, passionate mother of 3 year old. Evidence based approach to things makes her thoroughly research things not only in her professional arena but also when it comes to parenting.
