Creativity to
me is a state of being, or an ability to look at problems and see how to solve
them in a way that may not be the current standard, but could be a better way. I
think some people are either naturally gifted in the ability to see through the
norm, or they were raised in a way that fostered their desire to question
things that maybe other people wouldn’t think to question. Even if you weren’t
gifted or raised in a creative environment, there is a possibility to continue
to foster your creative side and learn your own creative capabilities. A lot of
people are scared to try to unlock their creative side, with a fear of disappointment
in their own outcomes, myself included. Many times it seems easier to hand off
the creative problems to the “creative people”, and being satisfied in being a
part of the solution in other ways. But other times you can be creative even
when you least expect it. Steve Jobs said "creativity is just connecting things." I agree in the sense that creativity can be used even in the simplest of ways. You don't have to be in a creative job to use your creative skills.
Personally, the
times in which I have felt most creative have been alone in nature, or in a
group setting where I felt completely comfortable expressing my ideas without
fear of judgment. I have felt uncreative in situations where I did not know some
of the variables, like full information or the desired outcome.
I did an
internship with an Austin tech start-up, and I started working with them just
as they got their feet on the ground and started trying to build a presence on social
media, in the press, etc. Due to their completely unstructured business model,
I felt a lot of freedom as well as a lot of responsibility with the position I
was in. I was able to have an influence on the business foundation, and that
empowerment gave me motivation to be more creative in that space. I felt as
though since I had no guidelines, no background, and no previous work to
compare myself to, that I could use that to my advantage. The company feel was
very conducive to creativity in general for a number of reasons. The founders
were all great friends that also have a lot of respect for each other as well
as a strong passion for the goal and mission of the company. Also, the
environments in which we worked were all very informal and in our situation,
led to more collaboration and eventually more creative ideas. In addition, I
have worked in an environment where it was next to impossible to produce
creativity. My boss made the work space intimidating and almost hostile to
suggestions that could be “wrong”, and so no one was motivated to come up with
new ideas.
I do think
that I am capable of being creative by myself, as long as I do not feel
pressured to be particularly creative, in the sense that someone is looking for
an idea that no one has thought of. I think it is a lot easier to be creative
when you aren’t trying so hard to be creative. If someone told me to “be
creative”, I would have no idea what to do and would most likely come back with
nothing, or at most something bad that would be pointless. But if I am given a
problem, or even just a large pool of information about a certain thing, once I
become familiar with the problem or situation it is much easier to think of
interesting ideas. Thinking about a group within an organization, I think there
is obviously a chance for creativity, as many things would have ever been
created if it weren’t for this fact. If the group can separate itself from the
overwhelming weight or pressure from a large organization, their creativity can
blossom into great ideas. If they get caught up in trying to perfect each idea
and tailor it to the restraints of the company before fully exploring where the
idea can lead, there is no way that they will come up with anything
inspirational for the company. The company can grow around big ideas, as long
as the team is willing to dream about them. I am a big believer in dreaming big
and seeing where you can go to reach that dream.
I think every
problem has a different way to introduce creativity into the process of solving
it. Even when you don’t think you need to be creative, you usually end up being
creative inherently because of the problem solving skills or the introduction
to a better way of solving the problem. Each problem you encounter will be
unique. There can be no standard, cookie-cutter creative process to solve the
problem. Many people have theories of how to be creative in different
circumstances, and many of them can work to encourage creativity in a person or
team. Of course you need different creative processes, because if you keep
trying to solve problems the same way, eventually your own routine will hinder
your ability to think outside of the box. Although you may know different
processes, there is always room for more learning and knowledge, so you cannot
always trust that we know the best way to approach a problem. If one approach
isn’t working or fostering creativity properly, there may be research to be done
to find a new process. Breaking up routine is a great way of getting people to
break the mold of their own thought process.
Creativity is
such a vague concept and can mean completely different things to different
people and even in different circumstances. It is introduced in all lines of
business, and is necessary to success, even if you don’t know it. I wish creativity
had been encouraged and fostered more in my own schooling, and I plan on
enabling my own children in their own creative processes, as it makes life more
enjoyable when you don’t only see the face value of any given situation or
problem. If you can see around the problem, you can enhance your own
satisfaction out of life and become more optimistic.
