Why creativity is important

Why creativity is important & How to Develop Your Creativity​

If there is just one skill that can be the biggest differentiator in your life's most crucial aspects, it is APPLIED CREATIVITY.

Just being able to think in a different manner it is not enough, it also has to be able to help you & others grow through its applications in real-life issues.

In this article we would touch upon

1.Creative Leadership for Successful Entrepreneurship

2.Making Creative Curiosity or Creative Inquiry part of your nature

3.How the parents kill the naturally inherent creativity in their children

4.Why the our millennials believe in YOLO & have FOMO and other insecurities

5.How our education systems creating preprogramed robotic people

6.What impact our society have on our life's most important parameters like happiness, peace, security, satisfaction, success & growth

7.The Creativity Process, What we need to do to instigate creativity & master the finesse

8.Shattering few popular myths about creativity

9.Which tools of Neuro Linguistic Programing can make you awesomely creative person

Few Myths of Creativity

1.I learned that for all my problem, only I can find the way, no-one would ever or can really help. This is the first major requisite of creativity, you are stuck and you must find solution yourself, you just cannot ignore or walk-away from this problem.

2.Then I learned creativity can be enhanced through structured approach, most people who think creativity is inborn would laugh – even the artist or any famous creative person recognized hundreds of year after their work, achieved by sheer hard work.

3.Then I also learned that irrespective of the nature of the problem, there would always multiple ways it can be handled, solved or overcome & that none of our major problems can be solved by standard sets of procedures in a mechanical way.

4.Contrary to the most popular myth surrounding creativity, it is hard skill learned with patience, practice & perseverance. "Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up."-Pablo Picasso.

My journey towards creativity, it may add some value by striking a chord with many of you

1.I was thought of as most structured person with no creativity, around 13-14 years back, by so called famously established creative persons in India I was working with.

2.I used to feel disgusted & ashamed with myself for not having this skills.

3.Then after couple of years I left them [because I was constantly feeling low of their continuous assessment of me and my capabilities this way] and was on my own.

4.For long time their prognosis stayed with me, and because of this acquired mindset, I kept acting in the same manner I never tried to actually think out of the box as the cliché says.

5.In fact I tried to do everything their way, like they would do, go to the conference and workshop totally unprepared, at least they told me[they used to laugh at me because I used to write the flow chart].

6.I failed miserably again and again, and was stuck in this vicious cycle.

7.Out of this misery, came a resolve that I was successful in worldly view earlier, only when I was with them my self-esteem went down and I started failing.

8.Then I came across this beautiful workshop by Edward De Bono. It actually made me think & change the way I operated, thought, reacted & responded.

9.After that I have dribbled into numerous major ventures in totally unknown territories, failed in many, but also created success in few.

10.But I did create few milestones that can be considered unique & I feel this was possible because I went on doing & practicing the very basics of creativity, that is looking for simple solutions when I was stuck & trying to learn when did not know, what I needed to know.

11.Recently I had chance to come across few of them, to my amazement, they are still talking the same way, using the same very words & share almost same anecdotes. And they are doing exactly the same work.

12.But I realize fully, that had I not had the feelings of shame I experience while with them, I could have achieved or even thought about these versatile ventures.

Let us see how we unlearn the natural gift of creativity

• 1.Our parenting mindset wants our kids to obey what they say, without challenging, yet they expect their kids to be extraordinarily unique.
• 2.Our society punishes the people who think differently since time immortal.
• 3.Our education systems focus on black & white thinking alone and not on wholistic learning which would focus on balance between creativity & logic.

Why the our millennials believe in YOLO[You Only Live Once] & have FOMO[Fear of Missing Out] and have deep insecurities

• 1.Because our creativity is stripped by the time we are ready to enter into the real world, many decide to take the easy way out and get that job that doesn't require much effort, forever living life the way society wants us to rather than the way we ourselves want to.
• 2.This is the exact reason why so many become miserable before their 30s and feel like they have gone nowhere in life.
• 3.This is the exact reason why so many people within Generation-Y are so lost in life and have no idea what route to take when it comes time to making a decision.
• 4.The reason they have no idea what they want to do is because they hate everything they do- all because society is telling them what to do rather than allowing us to create our own ideas and make our own decisions.
• 5.When most people out there see a problem, they just complain about it instead of trying to resolve it because they never had to use their creativity to problem shoot before.

How Parents kill the creativity in their children

1.Excess SCRUTINY & Control

2.Instead of having confidence in their inane abilities & supporting their passion, we either force-feed or dictate their choices & decision making

3.Setting too tight boundaries, which does not let them expand their thinking or give them many options

4.Not thinking through the long term impact of saying, "No" or "Don't" or "You must."

5.Pushing too hard

6.Impatience and fascination with unrealistic results

7.Projecting their own insecurities, fears & doubts on their children

8.Treating all the kids in the same way without recognizing their uniqueness & their need for different environment and approach

9.UNFAIR EXPECTATIONS

10.Comparing with other children like apple & potato

11.Pushing down their throats our own[maybe failed] dreams

12.Making them champion of all by making them learning-weary through too many focuses those which does not take into account of their capabilities, interests & strengths

13.Giving them wrong support

14.Setting bad examples

15.Making kids responds to external rewards

16.Micromanaging them

17.Over protection

18.Not making the learning and curiosity as fun, but make it as a burden to do and get over with

19.Suppressing their natural curiosity by ignoring their questions or suppressing their inquiries

20.Shaming & embarrassing them to create feelings of guilt

21.Expecting perfectionism from them

So what happens to our kids

1.They learn the rules, how to survive and the benefits of following the.

2.Ever-guided by mom and dad, they discover that our career ambitions are best left as a hobby.

How our education systems is jamming the creativity in their students

• 1.Our Schools & education system actually limits our creativity more than anything else because it is so solely focused on how well you can cram and memorize things you will forget right after the fact, which is why we all hate it.

2.In our current system, making a mistake is stigmatized, even though making mistakes and taking chances is the only way we can come up with new ideas. He says that many people lose the fearlessness of their youth as they get older.

3.Using Our brains as hard-disks instead of as processors

4.Too much focus on getting the right answer right is ignoring the merit in creative attempts to solve a question that might eventually lead to failure.

5.Focusing on teaching them the quickest way to solve a problem

6.Because of examination system preventing & discovering the joy of learning

7.Creating unhealthy completion where none should

8.Students who choose to pursue their dreams fuelled by creativity, do so by running the risk of falling behind in the rat-race and facing the ire from parents, teachers and society.

9.Innovation, daunting though that challenge itself might be, is made even more arduous by societal attitude and the education system.
Student aspirations are simply focused on gaining jobs instead of creating jobs. For every student who is being trained to think of himself as a mere employee, we are possibly losing an entrepreneur or a change-maker

How our society is killing our creativity

1.By telling us to do well in school

2.By telling us to work as hard as we can, and eventually teach our kids to do the same

3.By telling us how to live

4.By telling us what our lives are supposed to look like

5.By telling us what is right and what is wrong

6.By telling us how to conform to the wrong laws established by the politicians, the religions & other elements

Developing Creative Inquiry or Creative Curiosity

Creative Inquiry happens when curiosity crosses the threshold of "Ok I am curious, but why bother" to "I have to find out, I won't be comfortable before finding out"

The best creativity comes from a desire to contribute to the lives of others

The most creative people find ways around obstacles because they see them as opportunities.

Creative Inquiry process elements

• 1.Exploring – Initiating inquiry, developing questions
• 2.Investigating – designing the plan, selecting information, formulating focus
• 3.Processing – analyzing information, evaluating ideas, organizing & synthesizing findings
• 4.Creating – making & presenting the product, assessing the product & process, extending & transforming learning
• 5.Observe
• 6.Record
• 7.Investigate
• 8.Experiment
• 9.Analyze
• 10.Synthesize
• 11.Contemplate
• 12.Remember
• 13.Reflect
• 14.Respond emotionally
• 15.Symbolize
• 16.Narrate
• 17.Illustrate
• 18.Interpret
• 19.Explain
• 20.Negotiate
• 21.Instruct
• 22.Specify
• 23.Reflect
• 24.Dream
• 25.Imagine
• 26.Fantasize
• 27.Visualize
• 28.Hypothesize
• 29.Test an idea
• 30.Transform
• 31.Planning
• 32.Solving problems

Polishing Creative Entrepreneurship Leadership – these can be practiced even by a housewife

1.Creative leadership is the ability to create and realize innovative solutions especially in the face VUCA situations & disruptions by other innovators.

2.We live in a world that is constantly becoming innovated with new concepts, ideas and technology.

3.In evolving work environments, complex business situations and accelerating global markets, people who lead must bring not only imagination to challenges, but also the inspiration and skills to capitalize on opportunities.

4.Leaders have to be able to do both. Responding to shifting and uncertain situations while remaining faithful to your core values and beliefs is no simple task. And no single leadership style, trait or theory can ensure success in today's fast-paced and volatile creative business universe.

• 5.In this disruptive times, our future business will make money from sources that does not even exist today
• 6. When you change yours and people's perceptions about what can be accomplished or achieved, you contribute to their humanity in the richest possible way. You give them hope for the future.

Creative Leadership Traits

1. They Shake & brake the status-quo

2.They are constantly imagine new possibilities. They instigate change that they envision even when others don't.

3. THEY trust their gut-feelings & INTUITION 4. THEY act with speed

5.Best leaders realize that perfection is impossible, and pursuing perfection often stands in the way of what's most important: progress. Leadership requires making consistent strides, no matter how big. And the quicker the stride, the greater the progress.

6.Instead they focus on creating excellence in their next step, every time

7. they persevere in their belief either UNTIL succeed or totally reject 8. They don't have a set way of doing things they constantly create newer ways 9. They focus on enhancing their team's creativity 10. They embrace & encourage Diversity 11. They do not Micro-manage but rather Trust their people to empower them to take actions

• 12.They know how to harness the cumulative collective power & strengths of the team
• 13.They allow for failures as well as mistakes
• 14.They challenge themselves & challenge the experts as well as enjoy being challenged by encouraging people who don't agree with the popular wisdom
• 15.They make themselves obsolete
• 16.They are in the in constant mode of reinventing their future

17. They Champion ideas they feel have advantages, even if they do not agree with these

• 18.When facing Too big an undertaking or too many overwhelming goals, they use the following method to make these into byte size goals by asking themselves
• A.They First Clarify by asking the following & additional questions
• I.What do I want?
• II.Why do I want this?
• III.What are the benefits of achieving this?
• IV.What will this mean about me as a person?
• V.How will it benefit those who are close to me?
• B.Then they plan by asking the following & additional questions
• I.How can I make this dream happen?
• II.What steps must I take to make each milestones happen?
• III.What are all the elements of this dreams & what are the action steps needed
• IV.What resources (time, people, money, etc) do I need & what I already have?
• V.How will I know that I have achieved a particular milestone?
• C.Pulling Down Stage to identify the most doable and value addition ideas & shoot down the ones that do not support your vision[but for this we have to first collect all possible options/possibilities/alternatives]
• I.What are the weaknesses in this Plan?
• II.What are the threats?
• III.Why would it fail?
• IV.What is not within my span of control right now
• V.What is missing?
• VI.What challenges, issues, problems may derail my plans?
• VII.How will I solve these?
• VIII.What need to happen before I solve these
• IX.When and where might this not work? Or not be desirable?
• X.Any other weaknesses/threats in this plan?
• XI.Can I sustain the energy, the motivation, the perseverance needed to take the requisite actions till success?
• XII.Repeat these steps till you discover that you not only are passionate & eager to go but also see the complete process from launch to success

19. Fix yourself first - "Start where you are and solve your own challenges before you try to solve challenges for someone else 20. Forego the safety net. If you're feeling unfulfilled in life and work, it maybe be that you're playing it too safe. "All passion is found in uncertainty," 21. Foster gratitude and appreciation. Creative people put their souls into their work, then send that work out into the world for feedback. This can wear on a person, and the way to fight it is by practicing gratitude 22. Gather New Ideas and Resources 23. Return to Your Creativity Rainy Day Fund 24. Move On to Another Activity – when you are not getting anywhere with the problem. Often our best ideas come when we don't even realize we're thinking about a problem. If you move on to another activity, your mind will continue to work subconsciously on the problem you left behind. 25. Reverse Brainstorm - is to identify possible causes of the problem, rather than focusing solely on the possible solutions. 26. Shift Negative Thoughts Into a Positive information & actions27. Clarify Your Values 28. Take a Break From the Mundane 29. Avoid Being a Perfectionist 30. Watch a Stimulating Video 31. Read Biographies or Autobiographies of Inspiring, Creative People 32. Determine Your Goals 33. Start a Journal 34. Listen to a Podcast 35. Stimulate Different Areas of Your Brain 36. Draw a Picture through mind map process 37. Physically Change Your Surroundings 38. Surround Yourself By Nature 39. Organize and Declutter Your Personal Space 40. Get Active With Exercise and Movement 41. Focused Breathing Exercises 42. Talk a Walk 43. Do Yoga 44. Let Yourself Daydream 45. Consult Someone You Trust 46. Have Family Time 47. Listen to Stimulating Music 48. Play a Game 49. Intentionally Stop During the Middle of a Project 50. Go to Bed Early 51. Do what you love 52. Understanding the market 53. Trust your gut 54. Learn to be resourceful & generate your resources 55. Engage with your online community 56. Be prepared for the long haul

57.Understand & accept the following

• I.Nothing is concrete, everything is uncertain
• II.Only if you create the truly differentiating distinctions, you will beat the competition
• III.Some dreams requires diverse creative skills
• IV.Differentiation & Positioning is the key for growth
• V.Managing Energy is of more importance than managing Time Foster the idea of community over competition
• VI.Obstacles need not be obstacles
• VII.When you need to slog, it has to be slogged out

When Creative Leaders face Too big an undertaking or too many overwhelming goals, they break their big picture into every day actionable steps

Process of Development of creativity

It is not enough to just BE creative, it is even more important to develop creativity & use in everyday life.

The following make help you understand the developing process to become creative

• 1.There has to be space for free play.
• 2.It has to be sustained, being focused and concentrated.
• 3.Learning from others, discussions and interaction.
• 4.Using personal emotions and experiences.
• 5.Taking a unique perspective.
• 6.Develop skills, make it functional, production.
• 7.Presentation and working together.
• 8.Defining value and defending against attacks.
• 9.See where it fits in society and start promoting.
• 10.Being constructive, seeking borders and becoming an authority.
• 11.Dialogue and seeing the essence of other creative individuals.
• 12.Sacrifice, selfless sharing with others.

Improving Your Life & Performance in every area through the following NLP Tools

• 1.Circle of excellence

2. Swish 3. Polishing Our Visual/Kinesthetic/Auditory and other sensors

4.Change your behavior & removing detrimental beliefs

5. BELIEF CHAINING 6. CALIBRATION

7.Collapsing Anchors

8.Conflicting Beliefs Integration

9.Mirroring

10.Modeling: States Of Excellence

11.Non-Verbal Cues Recognition

12.Phobia Cure

13.Rapport: Pacing and Matching

14.Resolving Internal Conflicts

15.Creating Resourceful States

16.Self-Anchoring

17.Reframing

18.Future pacing through timeline imaginary

19. Visual Squash