Creativity - Use It or Lose it
By Sue Dickinson
copyright 2003
My son is a ski addict. Now that the season is winding to a close, his dad and I are starting to wonder how we’ll make it through the summer. Does a five-year-old boy obsessed with a winter sport languish in the summer like a spring lily in a hothouse? I don’t know. But last night, he solved the problem himself. I found him in his sandbox erecting a very complicated and detailed terrain park. His cars became the skiers; his firetruck was the ski bus. If he couldn’t ski for real, he would do it in his imagination.
Creativity gets harder as we get older. Children have mastered the art of imagination. They escape the boredom of car trips by imagining a wild race in which their daddy is the victorious champion. They invite their friends to join them in an exciting circus experience right in their back yard. They can create detailed stories with only the smallest shred of inspiration to get them started. They aren’t bound by the constraints civilization places on the rest of us about what we can do and what we can’t do. They press forward as they invent their fantasy games without concern about how it will end up. Kids never hit the backspace button or erase something that doesn’t sound “right.”
I’ve often thought that kids are so creative because their minds are new and emptier than yours or mine. We have filled our brains to capacity and there’s just no more room. How sad if that’s the case—it’s hardly inspiring to try new things if our ability to learn, grow, and create will only get smaller the older we get.
Fortunately, I read a theory today that suggests otherwise. In his book “Jump Start Your Business Brain,” Doug Hall describes research he has done with business executives to attempt to quantify the ideal circumstances that nurture the creative gene. Okay, they were attempting to come up with new and inventive products. But the innovation used to discover the next hot product is the same used to solve a tough personal problem or to write the great American novel. So if they discover how to improve your chances of success in one area, those findings should logically be accurate in any area. Indeed, they have been able to pinpoint a number of conditions that foster creativity.
The most exciting finding to me is simply an affirmation of the old Nike advertisement: “Just Do It!” New stimulus of any kind can create a chain reaction in your brain causing those creative juices to flow and your imagination to run wild.
The trick is to find new stimulus. The reason we lose our innovation is because we just get in a rut. I can certainly relate. Each day I awake at about the same time. I eat the same breakfast. Drive the same route to work on auto pilot, do basically the same job, and then reverse the drive. My evenings vary night to night, but not week to week. I feel like the scene in “When Harry Met Sally” when Billy Crystal asks Meg Ryan if her dreams ever change. “Well, sometimes they vary.” ȁHow?” he asks. “What I’m wearing,” she responds.
According to Doug Hall’s study, that just doesn’t cut it. To tap into your creative energy you need to stimulate your brain neurons in new and exciting ways. No, you don’t have to run away and join the circus. But it’s important to stay out of the ruts and to expose yourself to new and exciting experiences. Learn to play tennis, read a book you wouldn’t normally read, change from Country music to Classical for a week. Take a bike ride or walk a route you haven’t walked before. Shop in a different mall. Learn a craft you’ve never tried or join a kickboxing class. Surprisingly, trying something new can imporve your ability to solve a problem that you were not able to solve before. New experiences help to inspire the brain to think in new ways.
Why are kids more creative than adults? Maybe, just maybe, it has nothing to do with the amount of space left in the brain at all. Maybe it’s because everything a kid experiences is new. And that constantly motivates them to consider fresh ideas. So, are we adults in trouble? Our brains are older and full of more of the same old stuff. So what! We can change that in a minute. Try something new—and watch your creativity soar.
Sue Dickinson is the author of What’s a Mom to Do? Overcoming the Urge to Put Your Life on Hold and the creator of www.UnlimitedMom.com, designed to celebrate the many facets of Mom. Because when you recognize them all, your possibilities are unlimited! Contact Sue atSue@UnlimitedMom.comor visithttp://www.UnlimitedMom.com
