‘The creative adult is the child who survived.’ — Ursula Leguin
People often tell me, ‘I’m just not creative.’ This certainly isn’t true. How many children have you heard of that do not want to draw, paint or build things? We’re all born creative, it’s just that over the years, pressure to earn money, education and social environments erode the ‘inner child’ in us. Also, some of those subjects that we’re good at in school are not highly valued or are stigmatised.
In our careers and at home, we become ‘fire fighters’, as we have no time or space to think up new and innovative solutions to issues. This is also often the case in jobs where we’re expected to be creative, but are restricted by client demands, budgets, fear of making mistakes and other factors. Creativity can be fostered, taught and honed, but it means being given time to think and being allowed the freedom to be open-minded with no rules to suffocate our ideas.
Creativity needs to be nurtured
Creativity needs to be nurtured and supported from an early age and those that understand the importance of it, still manage to introduce some imagination into their lessons, despite the curriculum constraints. But overall, the humanities and arts are rarely encouraged as they generally don’t provide a secure career path.
It can be argued that education on its own is just literacy and that the arts and humanities should be maintained as a core element of the educational system at all levels, otherwise we limit ourselves, our imagination and potential for ‘big thinking’, innovation and new ideas. We also miss out on all of the positive mental health aspects of the arts. There are many white papers and articles on the benefits of creativity on mental health and the effects of using it as therapy. After war and other crises, people often reach out to the arts for a sense of identity, culture and history.
Do we ever really stop being creative?
I’ve spent the last 4 years working with people who’ve returned to art, music or writing later in life, often after loss, illness or perhaps because they’re finally at an age where their children are fully grown and they have some time for themselves.
I’ve spoken to a number of them about how these ‘hobbies’ have changed their feelings about themselves, their overall mental health and their confidence – the results were remarkable. Whilst this was by no means a scientific experiment, the comments I received were in line with a number of reports that I’ve read on the same subject about using creativity to overcome depression, coping with chronic pain and dealing with grief. Perhaps, more interestingly, the vast majority of the older generation I spoke to (many of whom were extremely talented), had been steered away from ‘creative careers’ when they were younger and had only felt able to return to their aspirations later in life, when retired and money issues and other responsibilities were no longer a problem, even though these influences had always been a huge part of their life.
As a teenager, I too was steered away from the arts and humanities as a career, but 30 years later, I’m as passionate about them as ever and it makes me wonder what I might have achieved with this dedication and devotion had I been allowed to follow my heart. Many people like me, do return to the more creative professions later in life because we feel it’s ‘in our blood’ and it’s what we feel driven to do, eventually we choose happiness over earning potential. Whilst it’s too late for me to pursue my chosen career, I have at least now made space for these interests in my life as hobbies and by working in various volunteer roles.
Is it wrong to be encouraged away from a career in the humanities and arts? I guess there are many factors to be taken into consideration, such as talent and earning potential – to name but a few. My personal experience is that if it’s something they feel they were born to do – people will always find a way back to it in the end.
Do schools kill creativity?
On a lighter note, if you can spare 20 minutes to listen to this hilarious and also fascinating Ted talk by Sir Ken Robinson on ‘Do schools kill creativity?’; it raises some interesting ideas about why as children we’re steered away from jobs doing things we like.
Sir Ken Robinson’s talk is filled with fabulous quotes and hopefully it will give you some food for thought. I’d love to hear your comments on the subject whether you’re someone who encourages creativity, or you believe these ‘artistic callings’ should be kept as a sideline.