You are born with endless creative possibility.
What you’re born into is another matter, but that aside, we arrive with a genetic blueprint that informs what our talents might be, our leanings and what comes naturally or not. From there, it becomes this giant science project of us.
It’s genetics, yes. Intelligence too, both inherited and developed. But it’s also who raises us, who surrounds us, what we’re exposed to, what we’re taught, what we believe to be true and, maybe most importantly, what we grow to believe about ourselves.
By the time we’re in our teens, maybe sooner, most of us have already begun believing what kind of kid, teen or young person we are. Or think we are.
Some of that serves us. Some of it doesn’t. So much of it depends on the circumstances we grow up in.
From a young age, I knew I was creative. I felt it. I was told it. My environment not only supported it, but created and encouraged it. I had to figure things out. So I’m pretty hardwired today to believe that I am creative. I’m visual. I’m curious. I’m good at seeing the big picture. A problem solver. And I can make something out of almost nothing.
But what am I decidedly not? At least according to the story I tell myself?
A numbers person (or at least I don’t enjoy them). Someone who puts physical things together. Toys, IKEA furniture, puzzles. I’m hopeless. I’m not super techie, although I’m priding myself on my full immersion into AI, both personally and professionally with all the tools we’ve been bringing into the office. Go figure. And there are plenty of other boxes I decided long ago I don’t check.
We all do this. We decide I’m this kind of person or not that kind of person. I’m good at this. I’m terrible at that. I’m creative. I’m definitely not creative.
Ahh, but, and a big one here, creativity is one of those things I really think we’ve gotten wrong. Since when did it become an identity? Today, we call artists, designers, writers and musicians creatives. I get it. But even this is only one aspect of who they are. And where does that leave everyone who doesn’t identify as one or make a living that way?
I think it’s a resource. And one we can all tap into.
To do so, you’ve just got to know how. How to identify it, cultivate it, grow it and use it. And the using is a big part of it.
Because once you know how to use it, it doesn’t stop. It becomes a way of being.
