Creativity is the human capacity to come up with a new idea or way of doing something. We most often think of creativity in terms of art and music, but creativity is part of our everyday lives. We all enjoy some amount of creativity, though each of us uses it in different ways. We may use it to write poems or draw pictures, but also to help us solve problems, to change our behaviors, to entertain ourselves, or even to be more social. Creativity actually enables us to grow and mature. Benefits of Creativity According to Matthew Swan, MA, Registered Art Therapist, “Through creativity, we often find answers to our problems.” He says when we’re stuck, it helps if we can step outside the box and find another way of doing something. To be successful at this, we need to do things outside of our normal, everyday routine and to make connections between things that we had not thought about before. In fact, the creative process is the act of making these new connections. Marsha McGlinchey, MCAT, Registered Art Therapist, art therapist for Upper Bay Counseling, takes a similar view. She says our creativity opens us to the idea that anything is possible and therefore it can boost our self-esteem. “Creativity offers us choices, new ways of looking at things, more possibilities,” she adds. “And this is not limited just to those who express themselves as artists, but to everybody. Each person has a certain amount of creativity. She suggests another benefit. Creativity may offer us hope because it informs us that not everything has to be the same. We can always imagine something different, something more. The Creative Process Most creativity follows a similar process, though we may not be aware of it. The first step is to identify the problem. What is it that needs a new solution? Then we begin to consider different options for our solutions. This is often called “brainstorming.” Then we usually stop our conscious thinking about the problem, letting the options mull around in our head. Psychologist Jacob Getzel called this the incubation stage, a time of “chaos of ideas and knowledge.” Then the ideas we like best begin to surface and we select the one or two we like best. Finally, we test one new idea, revise it, test it again, and then we settle on this option and use it as our final choice. Matt Swan says that people’s creativity becomes blocked when they’re too concerned with the product. There’s something to be learned by paying attention to the process. The process includes everything we do in the creative act. There’s joy in the process. Creativity Enhances Our Lives By Rich Bayer, Ph.D.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 20:48:26 +0000
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