Why We Create

Why do we create?

Creative people, whether they are writers, painters or inventors will tell you that they feel a need or drive to create. They feel satisfaction from having created.

They will also tell you that they are gratified when others appreciate their creation, but that gratification is secondary.

Civilization progresses almost solely due to the actions of creative beings, most of whom have gone unrecognized.

Most creations are driven by need. Those whose creations yielded enhanced survivability survived better and endured to create creative progeny.

Many creations are not useful or successful. But without failures, and the repeated trying of new ideas, there could be no successes.

Most people posses a kernel of some kind of creativity. After all, we are the progeny of ancestors who were creative enough to survive. But in addition to our inherent creativity, I believe that creativity can be sparked, nurtured and enhanced.

Developing Your Creativity

Start with area which is a natural fit for your experiences and interests. Creative actions start somewhere. What is in you? What idea fires up your mind?

Think about where you can take your kernel of an idea. You can think of these thought-directions as horizontal or vertical.

A vertical development takes a specific idea and develops on top of it - making the direction more specific, focused, detailed and specialized.

A horizontal development would involve a broadening of the idea to related or distant ideas, finding an unexpected yet unifying connection.

Experiential Exercises to Develop Creativity

There are creativity exercises which can really help develop new creative neural pathways.

For visual & graphical development, my favorite exercise is looking at "negative space." Sit down outside near some trees. As you gaze at the trees, try to see the spaces between the trees as the focal object. Allow the trees to recede as background. The pieces of sky you see around and among the trees will assume a life, shape and beauty you may have never seen before.

CAUTION: Can Be Psychedelic!

The Importance of Doing It

One of the most important parts of creative development is in the actual doing. Thinking is not enough. You must do physically do something with your hands. Draw, write, touch, shape, carry... do! Doing is interactive. When you do something, your action gives you information and experience in return. You must get this feedback loop going. You will be surprised at the enrichment of your creative process.

Use Writing as a Tool to Develop Creative Thinking

To develop ideas or writing, carry a small notepad (I use the memo pad feature on my phone) at all times. When you have an interesting idea, thought, conversation or experience, jot it down immediately. Make sure you write the part about how you felt or were impacted. This experience is an essence you will want to preserve.

In a variation of the negative space exercise, run a circuit in your brain called "the observer". The "observer" watches you in your daily life. He (or she) looks for humor, drama, patterns or themes.

Of course, jot down what the observer notices.

Developing creative thought and creating new things can be a real life-enhancer. The truest rewards come from within. You can create at any age, with any education and any set of capabilities. You owe it to yourself to continue to blossom. You just might invent the next Velcro!