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I don�t think of myself as creative; is it possible to grow more creative?

Home » Careers » Creativity » I don�t think of myself as creative; is it possible to grow more creative?
Posted by Your Guide on October 5, 2005 10:03 AM

Research indicates that the average child thinks of sixty alternatives to a situation. The average adult thinks of only three to six alternatives. To a large degree, then, the issue is not who is born creative, but rather who retains their innate creativity. Everyone has creative ability, but your creative skills can be enhanced through encouragement, opportunities, and practice, and the skills you use to spark creativity on your team are the same skills you use to spark creativity in yourself.

Practice creativity by brainstorming. If you have a problem at work, brainstorm all possible solutions without (yet) discriminating the good ones from the bad ones. Joseph Chilton Pearce said, �To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.� Oftentimes, there is one good idea amidst ninety-nine bad ideas, and you can only find it by going through all one hundred.

Think about the problem from different perspectives. If you were a customer or a client of your business, what would you want or need or appreciate? Practice creative reading and thinking habits. Ask co-workers, friends, or family for their help, even if those people are in completely different fields; an outside opinion often sheds much light on a subject.

Akio Morita said, �Curiosity is the key to creativity,� and generally it�s true�the most creative people are the ones who are constantly asking, �What if?� Look at your resources and options and consider how you could modify, rearrange, or combine ideas to provide a fresh solution. Could you substitute one resource for another or use resources differently?

Next Page: What holds up creativity at the workplace?

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