Every living, breathing human being
has the potential to be creative. Each of us is a unique individual
capable of creating...it comes with the human territory. We
are, simply, quite a creative species.
All people can be creative but those who are recognized as
being creative have an awareness that others don't. Creative
people seem to be able to tune in more to their thought patterns
and glean great ideas. People who do not use their creative
potential don't know how to do this or aren't even aware it
is possible. Creative people can start thinking about something,
then forget it.
Meanwhile,
their brains are still thinking about it. Later on, the person
will start thinking about whatever it was again and their
brain will say, "Excuse me, I've been thinking about
this while you were off doing other things and I have a few
ideas. Care to hear them?" Non- creative people don't
know that their brains are working for them off- shift --
they don't know what they don't know!
There
are many components that influence the creativity of individuals.
This is not to say that people tremendously fluctuate in their
creativity day to day and hour to hour; the opposite is often
believed - that some individuals are generally more creative
most of the time than others. The reasons why some people
are more creative, however, are many.
a)
Without the abilities needed to do the creative act, it is
highly unlikely the individual will do the act. Just because
a person has the ability to do something, however, does not
necessarily mean that the person will do it. This is why researchers
examine people's motives.
b)
Without the motivation to do so, it is unlikely that a person
would complete an act, regardless of the person's abilities.
c)
Lastly, opportunities in the environment can affect the creativeness
of individuals and groups of individuals.
d)
If you've ever generated a novel response to a problem or
challenge then congratulate yourself as being creative. If
you do this on a regular basis, say every day, then put the
"creative person" badge on yourself. With, practice,
your ability to generate novel and useful responses to problems
and challenges will greatly improve.
One
aspect of a creative personality is the fluency with which
he/she generates a number of new ideas. Not only does the
creative person think of good ideas, but he/she can think
of many ideas, explore them, and record them. If you feel
a need to quantify your creative ability, go to a local psychologist
and ask about taking a test to measure your creative ability.
If you live near a college or university approach their psychology
department with this request. But recognize that creative
ability can be learned, improved upon, and increased over
time. |