Creativity is more than an art, more than an expression of oneself. It is closely linked to the personal development of individuals.
Last update: May 11, 2020
It often happens to define creativity as an art form, to conceive it as a form of artistic expression, innovative or attractive, conflictual. But creativity is much more than that. In this article we will analyze the role of creativity in personal development, the importance it assumes in the individual within society.
Creativity is no longer understood as a gift that belongs only to artists and musicians. This is a crucial skill for professionals in any sector, which goes beyond production or innovation. Creativity is associated with the personal growth of the individual.
The influence of creativity in personal development is due to the union of individual experiences and information from the outside world. This gives rise to a unique individual with an independent way of being. An individual who must meet himself, in his purest form, to create, innovate and give solutions not only to complex issues, but also to personal issues.
Creativity is a great motivational boost, because it allows people to take an interest in what they are doing. This is a feature that gives the hope of being able to find an idea of ​​depth. Creativity offers the possibility of achieving universal success. Creativity makes life funnier and more interesting.
-Edward de Bono-
We are all creative
Regarding the role of creativity in personal development, we can make a comparison with intelligence. It is a quality that manifests itself in some people in a different way than others, a quality that moreover can be enhanced.
However, from an early age they label us as more or less creative (or creative at all) based on our "artistic" manifestations in disciplines such as painting or drawing, music and dance, or other skills.
As we grow, other qualities also need to be considered (such as lifestyle when it comes to dressing up or decorating the house, our drawing skills or having innovative ideas) in order to label creative people and distinguish them from whom. it is not.
There is no doubt that creativity is an important trait of the human being, one of the most important indeed. Furthermore, it is a characteristic that we all possess, one of the main ones, of those that make us successful individuals, part of a kind of success.
Incredible how easy it is, using the right techniques, to induce people who believe they have no creative skills to do a truly innovative and imaginative work.
In fact, that a creative idea or product depends on the context. In this regard, the American neurologist Alice Flaherty, in her book The Midnight Disease, states that "a creative idea will be defined as innovative and useful (or influential) only in a certain social context".
According to Flaherty, this is true of business, computer science, science, mathematics, as well as everything that we generally consider part of the group of creative sectors (the art of creative writing, theater or other forms of art).
Creativity in personal development
We could understand creativity towards personal development as the ability to create or, in other words, to do or produce. But this is an understatement.
We said at the beginning that creativity mixes individual experience with information absorbed from the outside. But doing or producing is not necessarily the result of the combination of personal experience and external informationbut in most cases what we create is the result of a mixture of information from the external world and external experience. This is not creativity. Creativity requires a more independent and individual approach.
Concluding remarks
Being creative isn't just about creating new things. Creativity is the basis for solving problems and is the solution approach. Many problems cannot be solved by applying pre-existing structures and rules, or by using formulas that offer mechanical solutions. Creativity requires space to develop on its own.
To solve problems and take advantage of opportunities, you need to think creatively and thus come up with useful and original ideas. From a personal development point of view, being creative means thinking independently, being able to create instead of producing or reproducing. Being people who take advantage of their special gifts, who know how to make the most of their experiences, their values ​​and their ideas.
