Creativity is not some gift given to a select few. It is not. To be human is to be creative. We are all born creators. Just look at the little children playing and you will see what creators we all are. And we all were once those little children. Is there anything different between the man organizing the huge cranes, creating the newest sky scraper in your city and the young boy playing with his toy bulldozer? They are both playing! The successful people of the world are playing at what they do!
Media Coverage on Creativity
Recently, doing some research on what is currently written on creativity, I discovered 95% of what’s out there addresses, the so-called “geniuses” of creativity. And while there is value in looking at theses geniuses and even studying them, there is always some between the lines writing, saying that “creativity belongs to the gifted few!” This way of thinking has a negative influence on many would be creators.
The Tortured Artist
Many love the story of the tortured artist — the thinking, that you have to suffer to create art, or suffer for art — that happy people cannot create. Happy people create happy art. Tortured people produce tortured art.
Creativity is natural and normal. A child doesn’t need to be tortured to play and create. Suffer and create are two different things.
You can gain insight after living through a meaningful experience. But we all do that. It is not something only a select few go through.
Creating is Too Heavy a Responsibility
Recently I heard an author, who just had a best seller talking about that the responsibility to create something great was too much for a human to bear. I do think that we are taking things just a little bit too seriously here. They didn’t create a mountain! or another earth. It was just a book, that people liked!
I heard a musician say that music ruined his life. I don’t think so. You always have choices and you make them. I think someone who feels they ruined their life, would have found the way to ruin it, with or without music. Music was not to blame. That’s like blaming the gun for shooting. It doesn’t shoot by itself!
Creativity is Natural and for Everyone
To create is natural to humans. I would go as far as to say that it is a need. We have a need to be individual, to have our own unique say and to express our uniqueness. Isn’t that what a great part of the generation gap is about? Too often, the parents have given up, conformed to society and the young ones refuse and so goes the battle.
I see so many people wanting to be more creative in their life and not believing that they are one of the gifted ones. It’s time to stop buying into that way of thinking. Creativity is natural and normal for all of us and is not only for a select few. Creating is pure joy and it is for everyone.