Why You Should Work Out Your Creative Muscle

We often divide people into two types — analytical and creative. From a young age we’re told what we’re good at. If you’re analytical you become a scientist or a computer programmer. If you’re creative you tend to become a teacher or a designer.

Our experiences tell ourselves we’re only good at one or the other and we pigeon hole ourselves. And sure, we naturally gravitate to what we’re good at but that’s not to say we should shy away from mathematics just because we’ve programmed ourselves to dislike it. Or not to listen to classical music because you’ve told yourself you don’t enjoy it. It’s important to try new things and take in as much knowledge as possible — even if you don’t think you’ll use it on a daily basis.

Who Cares About Creativity?

Creativity is important for everybody, not just those who want to grow up to be artists. It’s important to always workout that creative muscle, no matter how small it is to start. Creativity is what determines your success in the modern work age. Analytical people always work for creative types so if you want to be the boss one day, you have to start flexing that creative muscle.

We have the notion that analytical people have better jobs — after all they are generally the engineers and the doctors — that we shouldn’t waste our time with the arts. Creatives do take more risks which coincide with failures. But we shouldn’t be afraid of tripping and falling sometimes. It’s unavoidable, no matter what you pursue in your life.

Creative people are able to breakout of molds and old patterns easier. They generally enjoy their lives more than people who aren’t. They are able to problem solve, generally have more confidence, and have better leadership skills than people who aren’t creative.

Yes, You Can Learn to be Creative

We don’t like doing what we’re not good at. I can’t carry a tune to save my life and therefore I stay away from singing unless it’s in the safety of my own four walls. But it’s good to try new things and new experiences even if you suck at it. That’s okay. Sucking isn’t a bad thing. It’s just a starting point. We all suck at one thing or another.

Unfortunately there is no manual or textbook to being creative. You have to explore or creativity yourself. Your journey will be unique to you. And that can make it difficult. You should start by taking some time to let your mind wander. This has all sorts of benefits that go far beyond connecting yourself with your creativity.

Creativity isn’t always quantifiable. (I bet you have your mom’s voice in your head by now telling you to stop wasting time and do something useful.) Creativity takes time and energy just like doing a math problem. However with creativity you don’t always end up where you want to be. Allow yourself to take time to be creative and if you end up exactly where you were to begin with then that’s okay. Don’t be hard on yourself that you didn’t find a cure for cancer or fix world hunger. Creativity comes in small steps.

One of the modern day’s problems is stress which is the number one killer of creativity. It’s very hard to be stressed about finances, family issue, and health and still take time to be creative. Dealing with stress is difficult and a whole other topic. If you find you can’t be creative, look at your stress level and you’ll probably find the culprit.

You Can Learn to Analytical Too

Recently I did one of those escape rooms with a bunch of computer programmers. It was called The Butcher’s Shop and we were tasked with finding a missing CSI agent.

The key was to find a combination of numbers, decode them, and arrange them in order to advance to the next room. This took both creative and analytical skills. During the entire time I played, I felt totally inadequate as the computer programmers put the numbers together and solved problem after problem. I felt my internal dialogue raging: “You can’t do this. You’re not good at solving puzzles. You’re not good at numbers.”

But just as you can learn to be creative, you can learn to be analytical too. Just because I was the last one to solve those number problems doesn’t mean with practice I couldn’t be good at one of those escape rooms. It forced me to confront my own limitations around numbers and numerical problems. It was hard at first but I gave myself permission to suck too.

I would encourage everyone to try one of the escape rooms, whether they believe themselves to be analytical or not. It’s a good test of both your creative and analytical skills. If you find yourself lagging behind, it’s okay. Don’t let your internal dialogue beat you. Try it again.

Creativity Lasts

Creativity is the only thing that stands the test of time. Everything else crumbles and disappears. Think of anything that’s older than a hundred years old — buildings, books, scientific laws, knowledge, artwork. They all have some component of creativity. You follow somebody else then you’re just average and nobody remembers average.

I’ll give you an example of a marketing campaign since that’s what I do. Before De Beers came along diamonds weren’t all that valuable. In fact during the 1930s, the prices of diamonds collapsed and had gone out of style. Engagement rings had all types of different stones or sometimes they were just plain gold. Nobody instantly thought of diamonds as a symbol of love or eternity as they do now. But then De Beers came along with a creative marketing campaign “a diamond is forever” in 1947 and instantly changed how we think about marriage and relationships. Now it would be almost unthinkable to propose without a diamond because it’s so intertwined with love and marriage. Now diamonds are a multi-billion dollar industry.

Is this the type of creativity we think about when we sit in front of a canvas or a blank piece of paper? Not necessarily but it’s an idea that broke the mold of marketing campaigns that had come before it. This idea broke the mold of western ideals and changed a tradition. It has gone far beyond De Beers and is a stable of modern society.

Creativity Enriches Your life

When we try new things it makes our lives better. Whether it’s taking a risk on a new restaurant or a new career. When you’re creative, opportunities open up. You find ways to achieve your goals and get the things you want.

Spend some time each day to look at the bigger picture. Do something just for the sake of creativity at least once a week. Try not to look at your problems in a linear way. Whatever your goals in live are, having a little extra creativity will help you achieve them.