What is Creativity & Why is it Important?

When faced with the word “creativity”, most people tend to start thinking of famous artists like Picasso or Andy Warhol, or perhaps they think of famous writers, poets, or even John Lennon or another musician they admire. But creativity is really just a human trait that we all posses, so why not think of ourselves, or the people around us?

Over the years, the definition of creativity has gotten a little distorted. Those that weren’t encouraged to foster their creativity as a child have come to believe that it is a mysterious quality that only some posses. But in reality, having creativity simply means you are able to bring your ideas to life. Its about imagining something, then figuring out how to make it real. Everyone has ideas. Sit back and think – I’m sure you can bring back a few ideas you’ve had in the past. Now all you have to do is find the ambition, knowledge, and tools you need to bring it to life. That my friend is creativity.

“We’ve become narrow in the way we think about creativity,” observes Teresa Amabile, a psychologist at Brandeis University, MA. “We tend to think of it as rarefied: artists, musicians, poets. But the cook in her kitchen is showing creativity when she invents a variation on a recipe.” Creativity can be as broad as finding a new way to get your child to do their chores, or creating a new solution to fit all those tools on that tiny shelf to as narrow as painting a picture in oils or writing a symphony.

The world is not divided between creative people and uncreative people.

If there is a divide, its between those who nurture their creativity and those who are suppressing it. Creativity is the essence of everything we do, its in our nature. People are creating everyday whether you are aware of it or not. Look around you. Everything you see… your home, the styles you wear, the food you eat, the tools or electronics you use… everything has been created as a direct result of creativity.

Creativity is a gift to us all. It gives us the ability to change the world we live in, and it allows us to express who we are. So you shouldn’t be asking, “Am I creative?” because we are all inherently creative. What you should be asking, is “What inspires or motivates me to create?”.