If you read my previous post, you’ll know I’m a big believer in boredom as a means of fostering creativity. But what is creativity?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about creativity and what looks like. I realised that I’ve been creative my whole life. Even though, a decade ago I would have said I was a technical person, not a creative one.
But now I’ve realised that that’s not wholly true. I’ve ALWAYS been creative.
Perhaps not always artistic, but always creative. Even working as a software developer – a very technical job – my creativity was called on for problem-solving, for communicating with clients, for writing documents. I also worked closely with graphic designers and user experience experts. And eventually, I was designing the user experience myself.
I once even started a company newsletter and was its editor. If that’s not creative, what is?
But when I wasn’t working, I would draw, paint, dance, sing, write, sew. Things I have been doing my whole life, for fun.
Thinking about it even further, you could say I even apply my creativity to my house and garden. I love home renovation magazines. I love scouring antiques bazaars and homewares stores and garden centres for the perfect extra touch. I’m somewhat of a minimalist at heart so I rarely buy anything new but I love to look and dream of the day when we can finally afford to extend our little home and update the crumbling bathroom.
Sometimes I even learn something new and add my own handmade touches.
So, don’t think of creativity as being artistic. You don’t have to be a flamboyant, colourful person living in a house full of paintings and pottery to be creative. There are many ways in which we can be creative, quietly or loudly. And when it comes to our children, there are many ways in which we can encourage them to be creative.
How do we do that? Well, read this post that I wrote back in 2017. 🙂
