Creativity Perspective

Creativity perspective.

If you've ever done a little reading on creativity you will probably find two reoccurring themes. One being that we are ALL creative, and the other that creativity can be a way to keep our minds more engaged as we age. Although, there is some research that shows that creativity seems to diminish after a certain age. 

I think for some of us it is difficult to see ourselves as creative, because we have placed it into too narrow of a box. If we are not covered in paint, or locked away typing on a manual typewriter full of angst, or are not giving Joanna Gains a run for her money we assume we must have come up short on the creativity gene. 

However, if we fully embrace creativity we might find that we are more creative than we thought. Scott Sonenshein, author of Stretch refers to what he calls "little c" creativity which he defines as, "a form of creativity not focused on producing creative works but rather on solving practical problems through new uses and applications of resources." 

This perspective of creativity is one that most people can claim. Anyone who's thrown together a meal using only those ingredients on hand is practicing this type of creativity. Using only the resources on hand actually allows this kind of creativity to flourish. 

In fact sometimes having less is really better than having an abundance. Sonenshein explains that, "With abundance, people treat resources as what they appear on the surface, utilizing them in traditional ways. But when people face scarcity, they give themselves freedom to use less resources in less conventional ways."

My experience is that once you have too much of something you lose sight of what you actually have. Too many choices can become overwhelming. Keeping your possessions manageable might actually result in using them more frequently. 

Look for those ways in your day where you can be creative. Don't count yourself short, and when faced with a problem, rather than run to the store see if there is a way to utilize the available resources. I know for me when I am able to do this I'm usually quite pleased with my ingenuity.