Creativity: A Plant We Must Nurture

Creativity:  a word we have heard so often. A word that everyone uses so often, whether they are experts in the subject or not. But are we really sure what this tool means for our daily lives?  We have always regarded it as an aspect of childhood and even of  youth. But it is a mistake to think that it disappears in adulthood.

Creativity increases your ability to solve problems

Creativity is underestimated. It is considered to be a trait of crazy people  or of geniuses. Fortunately, little by little we have been able to make this ability, which actually exists inside all of us, more popular. It simply lies dormant inside us, while it is a little more awake in others.

People who have awakened their creativity have a very rich inner world. In this world, the imagination reigns and has the power over problem solving or the ability to ask interesting questions. Creative people are able to accumulate innumerable alternatives and different options and approaches to deal with a single “problem.”

To be creative, we need to be flexible

Creativity comes from the verb “to create.” And creating is nothing more than the ability to invent or create something new. It is not a quality that is only found in painters, artists, architects and musicians as one usually thinks. A creative person is all those who can create original solutions to the problems that arise in their daily lives. It is also the person who marvels and asks questions about things no one has considered before.

Many of these individuals have been able to develop their creativity in childhood. It is because it was demanded and reinforced by the people who were part of their education. Let’s say that there is a child who drew a sheep with wings. We know that sheep do not have wings. In fact, it seems a little weird just to say it.

This is a fact, sheep do not have wings. It is fine enough. But  what is the problem with a child drawing a sheep this way? Why should we censor this piece of “ art? ”

Creativity is nurtured by rewards, not by punishment

Especially during childhood, the important part is the process itself and not the end result. There must be no rush to put a label on a child’s artistic expression with words like “good” or “bad.” By acting in this way, we punish the child’s spontaneity and therefore encourage him to give it up. If I give my child the freedom to use imagination in his drawings, then the child will be able to create other possible alternatives. Some alternatives that are different from those that already exist.

The child will develop the imagination and express himself spontaneously. The moment we interfere and disrupt the creative moment, ( “My child, you know well that sheep do not have wings. How not to draw it. Here, I help you erase those wings” ) and  if we do this interference to a habit, then the child will stop expressing himself in a creative way. 

Let us strengthen our ability to create solutions

If, on the other hand, I reinforce that imagination, then I can help the child continue to express what the child’s exuberant imagination longs to offer the world. “It must be a very free sheep. It wants to fly! How cool is it not just that you can help it fly! Where do you think it wants to fly to? ” …

All of these are expressions that validate and value the child’s freedom of expression. Using these abilities is a great way to cultivate the imagination that seems incredibly complicated to our adult eyes.

Being funny is not just for crazy people

Many creative adults were allowed as children to be free to express themselves. They got the reinforcement they needed to be creative. In contrast, the childhood of the adults who are not creative was probably marked by censorship of these types of expressions. Or by censorship of everything that was not expected or considered normal.

Let’s go for a walk in these people’s shoes. If people did not value something in childhood that would otherwise be useful in adulthood, then it was branded as “something for crazy people.” Free expression of these types of ideas may cause others to view us as “obscene.”

We certainly live in a world where self-control is rewarded. A world where spontaneity is censored in a way. Creativity needs this spontaneity to survive. It needs to be in touch with reality and even be a source of error. In this way, we prevent it from being parked in a corner like an old piece of junk inside us.

Often there is a deep-seated fear of trying. A fear of failing in the attempt, of the consequences of our own sincere expression. A fear that grows in some of life’s circumstances…

We were born free to express our most imaginative ideas

Nothing is further away from reality. Being creative means having a rich inner world full of possible alternatives  to all the steps I have climbed the stairs of my life. It means having a backpack full of resources, of colors in different shades, different textures…

We were not born structured and hermetically sealed. We were born free with an enormous power to develop that which is ours and born with us.

Let us not be afraid to develop and release something that is so beautiful. You will get to do things you never would have thought you could.