How To Use Creativity To Improve Your Life
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Given the current state of Hollywood and, to some extent, even publishing, one might be tempted to ask, “Are there still original ideas in the world?” Despite the old adage that there is nothing new under the sun, I believe there is. To be original doesn’t necessarily mean to be new — just different, a unique expression of your perspective.
Then there’s the situation where you feel that someone else has beaten you to some bright idea. Well take that idea and tweak it again into something original.
And don’t even get me started on those who wine about past failures: “I’ve failed many times before. I can’t think of anything else to solve this problem anymore.” Boo hoo.
These statements reflect the thought of someone who has given up on creativity. Sadly, a lot of people share this way of thinking. They never viewed creativity as a very useful tool to improve or improvise in life in all its diversity.
A situation that requires a solution can be approached in a variety of ways. There isn’t a single way fix any problem. Being creative opens new horizons and can deliver many benefits. Creativity can sometimes be mistakenly interpreted as an obstinate attitude. Some people think that insisting on doing things in a different way is a sign of stubbornness.
Well they can take a flying leap. I say never hold back a good idea. Everyone is free to interpret in his or her own unique way. Any interpretation by itself is creativity at work. A person who enjoys creative thinking can easily come up with innovative solutions.
And think about it. Say you’re working on a piece of of fiction, and you’re just stuck on some aspect of one of your characters. Don’t just sit there and beat your head against an imaginary wall. Set that story aside and do something else creative. Bake a cake. Create a scrapbook — even better, focus that scrapbook on your character. Do something that allows you creative expression so that your subconscious can work on that issue for you.
You might be surprised how many aha! moments you get while tackling a stubborn flan or wrestling with the weeds in your backyard. Just when you think that you’re no longer focused on that issue in your story, BAM! The perfect idea will pop up in your mind.
Think of yourself as a literary “MacGyver.” The main character from that past TV show was an extremely creative and crafty guy. Whenever he found himself in a tight fix, he tried to find a way out of it with his quick fixes using available materials around him. When you step away from the computer and attack some other creative task, that’s what you’re doing. You’re fixing your blockage with the materials you have around you.
In a way, creativity is a never-ending learning process. From learning, you gain untold benefits, which you can use in real life situations.
Being creative might require you to think out-of-the-box, venturing your mind into the uncommon. You can never be sure of your ideas until you try them. As long as there is no perceived danger involved, it is always worth a try.
Inventions are products of creative minds. The field of science, in whatever branch you may touch on, is invention itself. Without creative minds, science would have been a forlorn field of knowledge.
Erich Fromm said it this way, “The conditions for creativity are: to be puzzled, to concentrate, to accept conflict and tension, to be born everyday, and to feel a sense of self.”