When I talk to people (especially those who are not from a so-called creative field) and tell them what we blog about, I often get a confused look in response. They usually get the DIY part, but don’t t seem to understand why anyone would really have to write tips or ideas on (what we call) creative living.
I am guessing it’s because they think creativity is something you either have or you don’t. And that it’s only important to artists, architects or musicians. Creatives, as some might call them.
Well, as you and I both know, that is just not true. The importance of creativity goes well beyond being able to draw a pretty picture. And what’s even better is that everyone can work on their creativity, no matter how creative they might think they are.
I guess this article is just a reminder for all of us, why we are doing this. Why it is important to work on our creativity and how it can, in fact, improve our lives.
Here are three proofs creativity makes our lives better.
#1
Creativity pushes you forward
Not to sound dramatic, but without creativity, we probably wouldn’t be here today. And when I say we, I mean we, the human species.
Think about it. Thousands of years ago our ancestors didn’t have much going for them when they were faced with the countless wild beasts going after them. The beasts were stronger, bigger, faster.
However, as Gerard Puccio, Ph.D., from the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State, points out in his amazing TEDx talk they had one important competitive advantage.
You guessed it, it was creativity. At one point in human history, someone saw a rock and made a tool out of it. How amazing is that? He looked at something that he had seen hundreds of times before and imagined another possibility.
The importance of creativity for evolution is enormous. First, there were tools, then weapons, and body decoration, and clothing, cave paintings and so on and on. And later in history the steam engine, and electricity, and the internet and the iPhone. I know, I am jumping here like crazy, but you see what I am trying to say here…
Human history proves that we were born to be creative.
Creativity works on a number of scales
Sure, not all of us are brilliant enough to invent the next revolutionary thing, but creativity works on a smaller scale as well.
Even if you’re not aware of it, you have for sure made some kind of progress using your creativity. Maybe you came up with a much more efficient way to fill out those monthly excel sheets at work and you get them done so much faster now. Perhaps you figured out how to put together that Ikea cabinet without instructions (it can be done). Or you found a way to get the last bit of that toothpaste out from the tube.
Silly as those examples might be they are a perfect illustration of how creativity helps us in our everyday lives. Creativity means progress. Big or small, progress is progress.
#2
Creativity helps you grow
This perhaps sounds like an abstract concept and it probably is to some degree. Still, the importance of creativity in young children is something most of us understand, at least to some degree.
Children play. They spend countless hours exploring the most ordinary things and coming up with new ways to use them.
Watching my daughter play, nothing makes me happier than seeing her come up with whole new uses for things we don’t even think twice of. Like when she makes cookies out of play-doh and puts them under the coffee table (which, to her, is in the oven) to bake. It’s a whole thing, there are imaginary buttons and timers and kitchen gloves. She takes random objects and uses them doing things mommy does in the kitchen. She looks at something and imagines a new possibility.
Best of all, this kind of play comes so naturally to children. They don’t think about being creative, they just are.
What happens as we grow older?
There is a famous study that began in 1968 when George Land gave 1600 children, aged 5, a creativity test (the same test that NASA used to select innovative engineers) to see how creative they were. He tested those same children again at 10 years and at 15 years of age.
The results? As 5 year-olds 98% of the children scored highly creative. When they were 10, only 30% were still rated the same, and at the age of 15, only 12%.
What’s even worse, in the eighties, Land tested 280.000 adults using the same test. Only 2% scored highly creative.
What? How can that be? How can so much of our creativity get lost as we grow older? This calls for a whole new article, so I will not even attempt to find the answer right now. (But we will for sure be looking into it at some point here on the blog!)
So how does creativity help us grow?
As shocking as those results are, there is something to be learned from this. What these results show is that creativity does indeed help you grow. At the time of our lives when we learn so much every single day our level of creativity is at its highest.
Think about it. We go from being helpless babies to becoming toddlers who speak, draw, play, and do all sorts of crazy things.
And creativity is crucial for this. Because creativity encourages us to experiment, to uncover new possibilities and explore. By doing that, we become more knowledgeable, we come to new revelations. We learn, and by learning, we grow.
#3
Creativity makes you more successful in your career
There is no doubt that creative employees are extremely valuable to any business owner. Businesses everywhere are striving to be as creative as possible, following the example of companies like Apple, which is almost a synonym for a creative business.
As Tucker Marion, an associate professor in Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business and director of the Master of Science in Innovation program, explains: Creativity is essential in business because it’s a differentiator.
And to build a successful creative company business owners need creative employees. They are the ones who bring new ideas and new perspectives, which open doors to new opportunities. And that is what ultimately creates a competitive advantage.
Encouraging creativity in the workplace
Unsurprisingly, helping their employees be more creative has almost become the norm not just in the big systems like Google and Apple, but in smaller businesses as well. In fact, the more open-minded business owners encourage their employees to take a certain portion of their time on the job to explore new ideas.
Even if you think creativity is not important in the field that you work in, it is in fact crucial. Being creative is not just about coming up with new products. It is about thinking about your work process, about improving the time management in your team, about solving problems with a fresh perspective…
And guess who’s next for that job promotion? It’s not the guy who just sits at his desk day after day, not thinking twice about what he’s doing. It is you if you just let yourself be creative and aren’t afraid to share your ideas.
Same goes for those of you who are business owners yourselves. But I am guessing those of you already know being creative is a must. It’s what brought you to start your own business in the first place. And it is what will help you make it (even more) successful.
So really, no matter what career you have chosen for yourself, being creative is a skill that you must master. Or you become obsolete. Changes in the business landscape and in the world in general are just so fast that you must find a way to keep up with them. And being creative is your only shot at that.
There you have it. These are just three proofs creativity makes your life better. And the importance of creativity goes way beyond those three examples.
Now tap into that creative spirit and start creating, whatever that might mean. We have some great creative ideas here on the blog.
We also have a great post to help you boost your creativity. So if you are curious how you can become even more creative check out our 7 Amazing Ideas to Boost Creativity.
Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments below. What do you think about the importance of creativity? Do you have an example of how it has made your life better? We would love to hear your input.