Creativity: Bring out the Child in You

People that think they are not creative are simply experiencing a creativity block. The truth is you are never too old to be creative. The problem is as we grow older, we lose our childlike creativity. From infancy to the age of 4, we are generally thinking ‘why not?’ From age 4 to eleven, most of us wonder why about almost everything. However, after age 12, we generally remain in a ‘because’ state of mind. We lose our childlike sense of wonderment and curiosity.

As we grow older, we become more concerned with what others think of us. It is not as attractive to be considered different or strange. As adults, most of us resolve to live a life of coloring inside the lines. At work, we worry about remaining confined to policies and procedures. Our personal lives are often nonexistent or incredibly structured or routine. It would seem creativity has no place in adult life. Contrary to popular belief, being creative could quite possibly make adult life even better. Increased creativity certainly aids in problem solving and makes it easy to as it can lead to discovering new interests, hobbies, and activities.

Children are very creative because they are always asking questions. They are always thinking about the stories behind things or how to use ordinary things differently. Think about it, don’t children often make drums out of household items that we’ve never thought of using for anything other than its primary function? Children make up characters and personas and have a great time doing it. If you want to be more creative as an adult, bring back some of those childlike qualities. There are some fun activities you can do to truly bring back that childlike creative spirit.

Make your own greeting cards for a day that isn’t a holiday. You could make a card to celebrate a specific season like summer or fall. The occasion, or lack thereof, is purely your choice! Create the drawing or graphic for the card. Write the cover and the inside. Mail them to your friends, especially those you haven’t talked to in a while. The unexpected gift may make them want to reach out to you. Creative people surround themselves with diverse people so mail your cards to a wide range of people that you know.

Write your own story. Take a moment to yourself without distractions or interruptions. Think long and hard about the life you truly desire to live. Be specific. Know the details and be as vivid as possible with your description. If you feel blocked, take time away from your story and come back to it later. Try to write at least 1,000 words. When you’ve finish your story, try to illustrate it to get a visual picture. Do not worry if your drawings are only stick figures. This story is just for you in order to boost your creative and create some focus around living your best life.

Lastly, and most importantly, do not be afraid to be different or strange. Urge yourself and others to “think outside of the box.” It may sound very cliché, but, being inside a box can’t ever be good for any living thing so why not be outside of it. In the winter, if you build a snowman, do you have to use a carrot for a nose and coal for eyes? What if you used different materials? What if you built a snowwoman instead of a snowman? Don’t those options sound exciting? The variety of possibilities is infinite.

Being an adult does not have to mean being uncreative. In fact, it should be quite the contrary in order to live your best life. Remembering your childlike sense of wonder will help enhance your creativity abilities. Try activities such as writing your best life in a story or sending homemade greeting cards to old friends and new friends. Just try something different and new. Be willing to be strange and open to diversity and differences. The results could be truly amazing.