Creativity: a learnable skill

Listening to A. R. Rahman's music or viewing a painting by Renoir you come to the unmistakable conclusion that they are really creative people. When you listen to certain other melody makers and view artistic creations done by others you might think creativity is something they are born with. Does it mean that if you are not born with creative talents you can never be a creative person? This is a question that has been worrying many intelligent people.

I really do not know how we came to believe that being creative is what a few gifted artists, inventors or entrepreneurs do very occasionally. Whenever somebody solves a problem that has been pestering us for so many years, we call them creative people.

Similarly, when a person comes up with a new idea we see some trace of creativity at work. However, the puzzling nature of creativity is something we have to understand.

Before dealing with creativity in detail we have to explode some of the myths attached to it. For instance, contrary to popular belief, creative ideas are not the products of lightning flashes of inspiration. Creativity is a product of hard work, persistence and commitment to improvement.

Creativity does not require you to be another Einstein. Most creative people in any field of activity are ordinary men who are somewhat better than their colleagues. These creative people know how to get ideas and how to select the best ones to act on. We are bombarded with ideas every minute. But only a creative person will know which idea would bring good results. Then he works on it with diligence and keeps on improving it.

If you look around you will see that most people are floating aimlessly. Many students can be seen following courses that do not suit them. When you cannot find a meaning to your life, you start drifting. If you want to know what you are good at, look within yourself. Without this self assessment there is no progress. Try to succeed even in a small way and you are on the road to creativity.

Follow your passions and take control of yourself without drifting aimlessly. When you do so, you begin to understand yourself better than you have ever thought of.

When you are determined to be a creative person, you may have to go through many difficult phases. In the first place, you will find the most creative idea in the midst of very bad ideas. As one psychologist said, creativity is something like mining for diamonds. You will have to throw away en masse what you are digging. Never think that this is a waste of time or energy. Even if you have to throw away 90 per cent of your ideas, it is worth the trouble.

Creative work is really hard and you are likely to get tired of it very easily. That is no reason for you to lose your sense of direction and enthusiasm. Be ready to face numerous difficulties with courage.

If you feel dejected, you need to think of your aims once again.

Creative people do not give up their struggles easily. As you go along you will receive further inspiration from your own work. Every now and then evaluate your progress and take necessary steps. Brilliant ideas will come to you at the most unexpected moments. That is why you need to carry a notebook wherever you go. These ideas are like birds. If you do not catch them, they will fly away!

Sir Isaac Newton, one of the most creative scientists, used to work on difficult problems just before going to bed. He said, "I invariably woke up with the solution."

By following a course in creative writing you will never be a creative writer unless you have the will to be one. I have met numerous people who have followed these courses at various places, including universities here and abroad, but they have not produced any creative work.

It is time that we stopped looking at creativity from a traditional angle. Perhaps we might have to look at it in a more scientific way.

For instance, we might have to adopt Edward de Bono's "lateral thinking." In his path-breaking book 'The Mechanism of Mind' he shows how the brain forms asymmetric patterns. According to him, lateral thinking involves cross patterns to find new ones and new ideas.

Osho sees creativity as some kind of rebellion in existence. He says, "If you want to create, you have to get rid of all conditionings. Otherwise, your creativity will be nothing but copying."

By the way, creativity is something personal. In other words, only an individual can be creative but not a mob. For that matter mob psychology is uncreative and sometimes destructive.

Someone who is creative will not follow the well-trodden path. If you are creative, you will find a new way to shine. Those who really want to find something new have to go through dangerous jungles and that too they have to go alone. If you cannot think on your own, you are far from creativity. Unfortunately, most human beings are still guided by the herd instinct. Only the Buddha, Jesus Christ and a few other philosophers have got rid of the herd instinct. They were original and creative thinkers who have enriched humanity in so many ways.

To be a truly creative person you have to be a disciplined person. If you think you are highly educated and claim to know almost everything, then you are not fit to be a creative person. A highly disciplined philosopher like Socrates would say, "I know only one thing, that I know nothing." Will any of our professors say that they know nothing? Most of them would say that they know everything!