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Dedicated to all who have been victims of creative blocks and know how much of a pain in the bu** it is to overcome them.
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Y
es, they’re picky eaters. And
Which is why they’re perfect role
yes, they screech, scream and
models for divergent thinking
shriek, wail and take their pants off
methods. If you’ve been having
in the middle of the living room.
trouble cutting through the
But for all their shortcomings, kids
noise in your head to discover
have a trait that any adult should
the things that make you enjoy
envy: They’re not cynical. Their
what you do, consider taking
minds run uninhibited and so does
some cues from the little ones
their creativity and imagination.
in your life.
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A
s a kid, you hear tales of magic
identify goals and hone our skills. But
and see technology around you
growing up comes at a cost: we lose our
do amazing things. As far as you’re
naiveté that facilitates creativity and idea
concerned every problem can be
generation.
solved. When we are young, our minds and unconditioned and free. With every
The human brain is incredibly good
new piece of information we collect, we
at recognizing patterns of what has
form new thoughts which lead to new
previously worked, and what hasn’t. It’s an
questions. And we continue learning,
evolutionary benefit to prevent us from
collecting knowledge from observations
going into risky situations, like going into
and experiences. This period in our life
a dark cave without checking if there was
gives us time to explore before we have
a predator inside. However, this same
to face the stern and earnest realities
process also makes it harder to have
of life.
creative ideas. Fear coms in the way of decision making. All the experience and
Growing up surely has its benefits.
knowledge we have gained through our
As we age, our intellect sharpens and
lives now spouts doubt within us fueled by
willpower strengthens. We come to
negative emotions such as fear of failure,
control our thoughts and desires. We
rejection and humiliation.
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It’s not age itself that fades the imagination. It’s experience.
It’s waking up from our fantasies and slamming into the hard, grey wall of reality. Boring jobs, exams, relationship issues and other anxieties. The hard grey wall is often the only thing we see. So how can we boring ol’ grown-ups train ourselves to look at problems in a more creative way? 6
So what is it exactly that gives children the upper-hand when it comes to creativity ? And while we’re at it, you might want to smuggle some traits 10
into adulthood.
Children have the benefit of not knowing what’s possible and what isn’t. This allows them to experiment with ignorance. It liberates them from risk-calculation that plague an adult’s thinking process.
From ignorance blooms curiosity, which drives children to learn new things and discover how the world works around them. They try to understand everything around them by constant questioning, and when questions fail to satisfy, they come up with their own fresh theories. This kind of thinking can help generate new ideas and overcome creative blocks. 8
Kids don’t just live in the moment; they are enchanted by it. This allows them to absorb more of what is in front of them, observation is key. We can be present if only we allow ourselves to pause and appreciate the beauty of life again, the same way we did as kids.
Children aren’t afraid of showing emotions. They scream loudly, they laugh unabashedly. They haven’t developed a sense of fear yet, which allows them to explore the world uninhibited, unafraid of failure, rejection or humiliation, 12
something adults tackle quite often.
We asked a bunch of kids to draw out what they wanted to be, and these were the results. Enjoy.
The do it if they want to do it, or don’t
Ever watch a child play? They’re
do it at all. Kids are process oriented
constantly creating and changing rules
whereas adults are usually more
for games they invent. And when the
focused on the outcome of their
rules don’t work they re-invent them.
creation. Enjoying what you do is
As adults, sometimes you have to
such an advantage since it then isn’t
throw away the rules and just let things
work anymore- its fun.
flow. Embrace spontaneity. 10
There is a moment in every adult’s life where they wish they were a child again. The appeal of childhood is strong, especially when facing the reality, and responsibilities, of being an adult. We try everything to avoid it, but age is inevitable. However, does growing older correlate with a decline in creativity? Or rather, does adulthood stifle the creative mind?
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