Getting In Shape For Creativity
Over the years, several research and studies have concluded with the same result: every human being is born creative. We see clearly that creativity is a fundamental trait of been human and it is well known that children are considered to be creative.
However, there is very little creativity on display amongst adults, a study conducted suggested that less than 2% of the adult population displays creativity.
How can we get back in that original creative state?
The big idea: creativity is a state that can be achieved by anybody, anyone at all. World changing ideas, creativity, scientific breakthroughs, technological inventions, radical new economic policies can come from anybody, regardless of their background, age, gender, race, or skin colour. It is not connected to the size of your wallet or your geographical location.
These all sounds like some far reaching theory that bears no resemblance to daily reality. Nevertheless, it is not impossible for most people to become more creative, regardless of their background. The ability to activate unlimited creativity is closer than most people think and it is more accessible than most people think. Let me share a quick story with you.
After many years of teaching farmers some potent secrets behind how to increase the productivity of their farmlands, one year the harvest was in excess with respect to available market demand. People couldn’t sell their crops. Shocked at this outcome of his work, and seeing the threat of a disaster, George Washington Carver, the man responsible for it all, retreated into his laboratory. He didn’t ask for government aid, or demand people to stop planting.
Carver locked himself in his laboratory for several days and nights. When he emerged, he announced that he had come up with a solution. He was going to synthesise new uses for the surplus harvest, and he eventually came up with 300 things the harvested crops could be used for.
From the peanut, and later the pecan-nut and sweet potato, Carver discovered how to extract, or synthesise, face powders, printers ink, peanut butter, shampoo, creosote, vinegar, dandruff-cure, instant coffee, dyes, rubberoid compound, soaps, wood stains, and hundreds of other uses.
George Washington Carver said that, “The great Creator gave us three kingdoms, the animal, vegetable and mineral. Now he has added a fourth, the synthetic kingdom.”
There is no need to idolise Carver, which is not why I am sharing his story with you. I want you to read his story and trust that “if George Washington Carver; a former slave that grew up in a racist and very negative atmosphere could access and unleash the highest levels of his creative abilities, what then is my excuse?”
You can reclaim your creativity, channel it in a productive manner and unleash your inventions. However, the reality of things is that not everybody is able to retain their creativity beyond childhood or reclaim it after maturity. We need to come up with a solid roadmap for achieving that.
Let us develop a clear and unambiguous roadmap to connecting with our innate creativity. Digging deeper into how we can get in shape for creativity and inventiveness. We might have been born creative, but in order to maximise creativity, one might need a few pointers on the journey.