Creativity is defined as the use of your imagination or your original ideas to create something. However, it doesn’t mean being wholly original. That is, in fact, impossible. Everything we create is in some way deeply influenced from who we are and what our experiences are. We can draw from anywhere and everywhere. Creativity is an enigma, but one that can be unravelled.
As filmmaker Jim Jarmusch says, “Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery – celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: ‘It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.’ “
Creativity is the cornerstone of our lives. It has influenced us as humans since the very beginning and everything great that has ever been invented or discovered would not be so without it. It is a fundamental part of life and we must engage in it with our heart and soul. Here are ten reasons why we need it now more than ever:
- It helps you in all areas of life:
Creativity can help you not just in business, but everywhere else in your life as well. Whether it’s thinking of out-of-the-box solutions for a problem you’re facing or just coming up with new and original ideas in everything you do. Creativity has no boundaries!
2. It helps you to be bold:
“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” – Joseph Chilton Pearce, American author.
Creativity is not a smooth ride. It has its ups and its downs. And in the start, there will be many more downs. You might be wrong a hundred times, or even a thousand times, before you are right. But that’s part of the journey, and it will help you overcome your fear of failure once and for all.
3. It helps motivate you:
Getting up to do the same thing over and over again can get tedious really fast. When you work doing something creative, you no longer dread your work but instead get excited by it! Getting to do something fresh and new everyday is a great experience.
4. It can make you more productive:
As a natural consequence of enjoying your work, you will of course be driven and dedicated like never before, and will be passionate about doing better and doing more every single day! Your productivity will definitely skyrocket!
5. It can help you destress:
In these strange times, the constant barrage of bad news and unexpected developments can be quite overwhelming. Creativity provides us with a much-needed refuge from the real world. It’s somewhere we can escape to for some peace and quiet. When we are engaging in our creative work, the whole world fades into the background and we can focus deeply.
6. It helps you connect with people:
When we experience any creative work that touches us, whether a film, a book, a painting, or anything else, we are not just making a connection with the work but also with the creator of that work. Whether they may be millions of kilometers away from us or maybe not even living, we can still connect with them and almost feel like we know them. In the same way, other people can also connect with us through our work.
7. It gives us freedom:
Everywhere in our life, we are restrained by boundaries. You can’t do that, you can’t go there, you can’t say that, and so on…
But in creativity, not even the sky is the limit. We can express ourselves however we like, wherever we like, and whenever we lik in any way, shape, or form.
8. It helps you make an impact:
We’re all trying to make an impact on the work, in one way or another. When we make something creative and something that we know is great, it can even outlast us. It can be our legacy. It can travel farther and reach more people than we ever could.
9. It makes us more self-aware:
When we get creative, we can be in touch with our deepest thoughts and feelings that we didn’t even know existed. We can discover new dimensions and worlds within ourselves, and gain priceless self-awareness, which is one of the most important keys to living a fulfilling, meaningful life.
10. It helps you live longer:
And finally, if all the other reasons weren’t enough, here’s the biggest one of them all. According to a Scientific American article, “researchers found that only creativity—not intelligence or overall openness—decreased mortality risk. One possible reason creativity is protective of health is because it draws on a variety of neural networks within the brain.” Studies show that being creative reduces stress and anxiety, decreases negative emotions, and can even improve medical outcomes. Not only does being creative help you live longer, but it can improve your quality of life too.
So, there we have it! I’ll leave you with this quote from author John Steinbeck:
“Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit of man. Nothing was ever created by two men. There are no good collaborations, whether in music, in art, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy. Once the miracle of creation has taken place, the group can build and extend it, but the group never invents anything. The preciousness lies in the lonely mind of a man.”
Let us know how being creative has helped you in the comments below!