I can’t draw and I’m not creative”
There is not a week that goes by that I hear, “I can’t draw and I’m not creative.”
My response every time is, “Yes you are, everyone is born with creativity.”
From the early days where our imaginations ran free, our minds overflowed with creativity. From playing dress up, to playing with make-up, to building blanket forts, accessing our creativity was easy.
Growing into society, we were met with structure, and often spent less time and feeling safe to roam with our imaginations and exercise this creative muscle. This is the start to many people’s new relationship with creativity and ending up believing:
“I can’t draw, I’m not creative.”
Creativity is a muscle and resides within each of us. For many of us we have simply lost the key to access this. The key that keeps this part of ourselves open to find the creative spaces within.
Looking at George Lands’ process for searching out the most creative individuals to work at NASA, his tool was so successful he decided to measure this from childhood through to adulthood. His results were staggering:
Children at the age of five were using 95% of their creativity. By the time they reached 22, they were only accessing 2% of their creativity. Yes, that was not a typo…2%!*
Not only does this mean many of us aren’t exercising our creative muscle, but a part of who we are and what fulfills us is hidden.
But not all is lost, as every day we are in fact using some of our creative muscles. From the morning when we pick something to wear, to creating something in the kitchen, to thinking how we will navigate through the day can spark problem solving which is creativity. It’s still there but it needs to be strengthened.
One way to do this is through mindful doodling (you knew I’d get to this eventually, didn’t you?)
Doodling for as little as 10 minutes a day can recharge your creative spirit. Not to mention help you de-stress, focus better and be more productive. There’s something magical about embracing the tactile and putting pen to paper (or tablet).
If you’re intrigued and want to start building a creative mindful habit like doodling, I’ve got a free 5-day challenge for you to try. Delivered right to your inbox every morning. Get it here .
And If you or your team are looking to bring more creativity into your workplace, reach out, and let’s see how I can help.
*Gavin Nascimento, Study Shows We Are Born Creative Geniuses But The ‘Education’ System Dumbs Us Down