On Being Creative

To be creative might not be as simple as it sounds.  The root of the term is to create, which means bringing something new around.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be artistry or craftsmanship only because in a situation like that, there has always to be some natural talent and inclination that could require cultivating.

 It might not be possible for someone to go to school to learn painting, for example, because it is among those natural artistic abilities or craftsmanship that requires spotting somehow (parents or teachers) and the individual would be directed to pursue the particular field.  In fact, for some individuals, that kind of talent might somehow manifest itself, to the point where it can compel them to do something about it. Or while doing inventory about what to do with their lives, individuals could find out that they have a useful natural talent.

However, the number of such individuals is not much, and people will only know about those who became successful.  At least, what that means is, the number of individuals who must have been creative at some given point in time must have been high, but all of them had not attained success.  The question that is addressed here is how to fend off boredom that could still linger even if individuals had attained a required level of education, skill, or work experience, and could be gainfully employed or not, but they might still have to grapple with boredom.

 Hence, the question is how is it possible to be creative?  Or what does being creative should mean?  It does not necessarily mean to become artists or craftsmen and come up with new items, ideas, or concepts that could require the mother of all dedications.

As stated earlier if someone chooses to take that route, it does not matter at what point in their life, if they decide to attain a certain capability, it would mean they will have something to keep them busy. The outcome is their being creative somehow would enable them to fend off boredom.

What about those who cannot commit to attain a certain creative ability, skill, or talent?  It might not necessarily have to do with age or station in life. As long as there is a desire to fend off boredom, being creative might be the way to go.

The best place to start might be to look at a means and an end, where the means is what should be there in order to attain a certain goal, whatever it is. Financial reward, for example, is among the best ends because most people do not have a lot of money.  If they had been creative and successful, the assumption is those who might have been creative could have been in a position to put aside a rainy day fund to fall on or even having a sideline economic activity might have helped when a calamity such as COVID-19 hits.

Consequently, once a means and an end are figured out, what comes next is to start keeping an open mind. Because there could be so many things in the immediate surrounding that can be put to work as a means to attain a given end.

If that end is to become a rocket scientist, (among the highly sought-after fields) it is not far-fetched because it might be attainable.  But reality check, hand-in-hand with being rational is highly recommended when choosing ends.

Conversely, all those available lucrative fields or ends, for that matter, should not be listed here in the first place. The focus here is fending off boredom and if possible to be creative and productive that requires thinking of new approaches and possibilities. As usual, solutions for existing problems are good starting points, and should be on top of the list.  All kinds of masks had become hot commodities lately and it had been observed that a good number of people must have cashed on the shortage.

The following quotes might help.

“Creativity is the ability to come up with new ideas through a mental process of connecting existing concepts.”

“The ‘disciplined mind,’ is that masters information; the ‘synthesizing mind,’ is that utilizes information; the ‘creative mind’ is innovative, inventive, bold, this mind is able to start ideas and make changes.”

“Being creative means solving a problem in a new way. It means changing your perspective.”

None of them talk directly about ‘the carrot at the end of the stick’ though, as if it is a taboo.