In his 1996 book, Creativity: The Work and Lives of 91 Eminent People, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, said that “Of all human activities, creativity comes closest to providing the fulfillment we all hope to get in our lives.”
He reasons that creativity is one of the central tenets of our lives. “Most of the things that are interesting, important, and human are the result of creativity,” he writes.
But what of the person who doesn’t believe they’re creative? I think of Allen, a friend of mine, who has never considered himself creative – even when you explain there are two types of creativity: 1) aesthetic/artistic, or 2) solution finding/problem solving. In his mind, Allen is a master implementer, not a creator. He is brilliant at doing what someone else tells him to do, but he doesn't believe he could ever be able to create the idea to implement.
His belief matches what many people think, that a person’s creativity is a natural extension of their personality, a talent they’ve unconsciously nurtured since birth. My friend Greg is the opposite of Allen. Greg is one of the most creative people I know, who once told me that “(Creativity) is like breathing to me.”
So can a person really improve their creativity? For every Allen and Greg, I think of Marilyn. I believe she’s an extraordinary artist, but she only believes she’s become an artist through intense hard work, discipline and consistency. Her opinion is that some of the world’s greatest artists had to learn how to hold a brush, mix paints, apply it with different strokes to a canvas. They’ve taught themselves the relevant skills, and only through practice and diligence have they improved and excelled at their creativity.
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