Creativity is a remarkable characteristic that most people admire in others, rarely recognize in themselves and often assume is personally unattainable. Ironically, the business world recognizes the value of creativity more easily than does the Church or the School. Isn’t it time to reverse the perspective?
We are created in the image of God. This, of course, means we have the capacity to imitate our Heavenly Father, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. But many of us have traded our birthright of creativity for the porridge of the mundane. Because we often faced negative judgment of our imaginations in youth, many of us have abandoned creative expression for the security of public acceptance. We don’t want to rock the boat. But now, Father God calls us to step out of the boat onto the rough seas and trust Him to guide us in a storm-threatened world. This call will require not only persevering faith but abundant creativity.
God gives us intelligence to celebrate His presence and to solve perplexing problems. As the body of Christ, we are to help heal the hurts of a wounded world. But first we must break through our own internal barriers to creativity which were subversively built over a lifetime. What are these barriers?
Barriers to Creativity
They are mind ruts and attitudes that say:
- I must always have the right answer. For the most part, formal education taught us to look for the one “right” answer to earn higher grades. Current standardized school testing accentuates that mindset. But real life tells us the second, third or tenth answer may actually be the best solution. Many inventors claim mistakes often lead to new and better discoveries. So, some errors may actually be stepping stones to new territory. If we never risk the possibility of being wrong, we have no need to trust God to lead us into and through the unknown.
- I must be practical, follow all the rules. To get the creative juices flowing, we must look beyond the obvious for the hidden possibilities and unique connections, and recognize that some traditions can suffocate imagination. We are said to be a “peculiar people” because we follow the unseen Spirit, not the world. Even Jesus broke with tradition when that tradition stifled rather than illuminated God’s purpose. He questioned laws that boxed people in rather than freeing them to love each other.
- Being foolish is childish. Most blocks to creativity are really emotional obstacles that become the battleground for our need for acceptance. Most people fear failure, criticism and ambiguity. But the initial stages of creative problem- solving are messy, with periods of randomness and waiting. Some fear it may make them look undisciplined and foolish. We sense a need for closure – again, the quick “right answer” – so we make premature judgments. But a desire to succeed too quickly and a failure to incubate ideas during the creative process may lead to safe but half-baked and bland solutions.
- Creativity should “just happen.” There are many myths surrounding the “mystique” of creativity. The most prevalent is that creativity is the gift which belongs at birth only to great artists and entrepreneurs. In fact, all of us are creative. We vary only in the extent to which we have developed our creative potential. Just as the body must be trained for strength and flexibility, so must the mind and imagination be stimulated to produce creative expressions. Creativity doesn’t spring from an empty well any more than spiritual insight gushes from a vacant heart that has not waited before the Lord. A prepared mind that is flexible and fluent with ideas and insight will be the most immediate tool for creative problem-solving.
If we fail to develop our natural God-given creative gifts they will atrophy and, just like muscles, turn flabby from lack of exercise. Developing creativity is no less complex than most personal talent growth, but it can start with baby steps as any extended life journey does.
How to Develop Your Creative Gifts
The first step toward creative development is to reawaken awareness. Determine to become more mindful – to “see with new eyes,” so that you can recognize your perceptual blocks and learn how to circumvent them more strategically. Purposefully “tune in” to catch a fleeting opportunity, to recognize the illusive moment of convergence, and to observe beyond the obvious for within may be hidden precious “treasures.”
Additionally, be aware of self-imposed limitations that can narrow your imagination while slowly cooking your brain. You may unwittingly become less attentive if your eyes are glued to media minutia, your ears plugged by electronic stimulation, and your mind stultified by pre-determined computer programs.
Now that you are aware of these potential limitations, you can begin to exercise your creative qualities. The creative qualities that merit intentional exercise include intuition, empathy, flexibility, and tolerance of ambiguity.
How to Exercise the Creative Mind
1. Move out of your comfort zones that deter exposure to outside input: dig in new areas of art, literature, music, and travel. Find stimulating friendships that prompt you to explore and discover, rather than inhibit and judge. Remember, ruts take a while to make and they can keep you traveling in the same direction past the same scenery. New experiences stimulate fresh insight and help to make novel connections that lead to creative solutions. All of this takes time. It means you will get better with mindful exercise at the creativity gym.
2. Ask “What if?” questions. Take vicarious “as if” trips.
3. Reverse roles with others to gain new insight.
4. Connect ideas and information from unrelated fields.
5. Compare the problem/project with an analogy or parable.
6. Incubate new ideas while working on other problems.
7. Get away from the problem or project for periods of time.
8. Use negative feedback positively and use praise constructively.
9. Collaborate. Call on family and friends for ideas and feedback.
10. Observe everything and everyone. Reflect and connect.
11. Rise above the issue and imagine the broader aerial view.
12. Seek the “Ha Ha!” and “Aha!” moments of life.
13. Tolerate more ambiguity–celebrate the “scribble” stage.
14. Do not fear overall logic and organization.
15. Trust the Father to guide.
It takes nine months to develop a little human life and years to construct a personality. Likewise, you won’t create a solution over-night. It must move from conception to birth. So, embrace patience.
Creativity rarely blooms from the crevice of chaos. It takes concerted discipline, intellectual fervor and spiritual commitment. Add to that the depth of your own personal character from which to draw. All are a part of the joyful journey toward becoming more like our loving Creator.
