Hint: It Starts With A “C”
Are you a creative person? We assume your answer is, “No. I am not a creative person.” The majority of the adult population believes they are not creative, although creativity is something everyone is born with. NASA tested groups of children for creativity and 95% of five year-olds tested as highly creative. Then years later as adults, only 2% of these same people tested as highly creative. The majority of people lose their creativity as they grow older. But why?
Because creativity is not accidental. It’s the result of your personal determination to learn and use creative thinking strategies. Creative people look at the same information everyone else is looking at, yet they see something completely different. A creative person will run their business more productively, developing solutions to complex business problems with the ability to revitalize and improve upon stale ideas, while creating better processes along the way.
Where should you begin? Start with belief. A key to regenerating your creativity is to believe in it, so reprogram your mind. People act in accordance with what they imagine to be true about themselves. Change the way you view yourself and soon your ideas will improve. Tell yourself daily, “I am a creative person.” And remember that the biggest enemy of creativity is fear, uncertainty and doubt—so stop playing it safe! Risk being known. Risk being rejected. Creativity is worth it.
Once you’ve reprogrammed your brain’s ability to be creative, the next step is to fall back in love with the word, “why.” A key to being creative is asking “why?” Children are more creative than adults because they continually ask the question, “why?” to discover new things. Instead of believing you have all the answers, seek new information and rekindle your childlike tendency to ask “why?”
We’ve grown up being taught that the teacher is always right and that there’s only one answer to a question. A more creative approach is to question and ponder many answers. Restore this way of thinking and teach it to your team. Practice looking for second and even third answers in your business even after you’ve found the “right” answer. You’re sure to find new ideas, new approaches and new processes emerge.
Remember, status quo is not always the best way to solve an issue. And as a leader, you must develop the ability to creatively solve problems. Sometimes even the same problem over and over again. Taking the time to brainstorm, you’ll soon uncover new ways to solve your problems and reinvent your business. And when facing problems, remember that challenges provide an opportunity for creativity, and that a series of corrections will steer you toward future success.
Join us next time for three ways you can start being more creative immediately!