Written by Dr. Mykim Tran, Humanistic Psychologist
Dr. Mykim Tran is an expert in humanistic psychology. She is a keynote speaker, educator, life coach, author, and scientist. She is on a mission to help individuals create a powerful legacy that will carry on for eternity. In the process, individuals will transform into the best version of themselves and reach their full potential.
Creativity may mean different things to different people. However, many creative experts and researchers agree that creativity involves creating something new, different, and effective. It requires doing things differently from how they are usually done or sometimes even defying society's norms.
Why is creativity important?
Society and the world are constantly and rapidly changing, so you must have the creative skills to adapt and become successful. Not a day goes by, perhaps not even an hour, without needing some form of adjustment, which means creativity is always at play.
Since each of us understands things differently and faces different problems, you have to use your creativity to arrive at creative solutions to your issues. Creativity gives you the ability to develop solutions to any challenges. For example, creativity skills, such as flexibility, openness, interest in the new, and courage, can enable you to devise successful solutions to life challenges.
Creativity helps you not to give up. For example, let’s say that you encountered a big challenge and you failed 3 times. If your creativity is low, you might believe there is no more solution, so you are more likely to quit. However, creativity is imagination, and imagination has no limit. There are unlimited ways to combine your knowledge and experience to develop solutions and ideas. It does not matter how many times you have failed, there will always be another solution out there. It just depends on how high your creativity level is. The higher your creativity level, the more motivation you will have to continue to learn and develop new ideas.
The types of creativity
There are four types of creativity, which refer to the 4 Ps (Person, Process, Product, and Press). A person is the “who,” the person developing the new idea. The process is how insights and new ideas are found through stages of work and thought and the talent and efforts that form the outcome. Product is the outcome, such as paintings, poems, novels, inventions, designs, patents, processes, procedures, and performances. Finally, the press refers to factors and environments that support the development of the creative act.
The myths of creativity
The first myth of creativity is that people are either born creative or not, and only an occasional "great man" or "great woman" can be creative. The second myth is that creativity has to be immediate. For example, many individuals believe they must develop immediate solutions to problems to be considered creative. These myths have led to the inaccurate conclusion that creativity is an innate quality resilient to improvement and developing one’s unique talents.
Developing your creativity
Creative mindset
You must develop the mindset that you are a creative individual. As a human being, you are born creative. If you have ever come up with a new idea or way to do something from anyone else, that is creativity. Creative potential is an enormous part of universal and human nature. If only a select group of persons were creative, describing creativity as a part of human nature would be inaccurate.
If you believe you are not a creative individual, it is only because others, the media, society, and other external factors have influenced you to think so. Yes, not everyone will become a creative genius, but you do not need to be a genius to develop successful solutions to solve your problems and thrive in life. Creativity can be developed and fostered in all individuals with the right learning conditions. Creativity is a learning skill like anything else. The more you believe you are creative, the more you are open to learning and developing new ideas.
Everyone relies on the same processes and mechanisms for their creativity. However, since we interpret and understand things differently, creativity is expressed differently in various groups, such as music, mathematics, performing arts, science, language arts, etc. Personal creativity can be applied across populations, from infants to adults, from someone who "never produces anything original or useful" to the unambiguously creative superstar.
Learning and applying
You must constantly learn and apply new knowledge and skills. The act of applying something new will increase your creativity, no matter the outcome. Become a lifelong learner by learning new things and from different people, and doing various activities. The more you learn, the more you can apply and develop novel ideas and solutions, the higher your creativity level.
Putting old ideas, concepts, and methods in novel ways
You want to develop the habit of putting existing ideas, concepts, and methods in new ways. For example, put together different exercise and eating habit routines. Try to apply your strengths, talents, and passion in various ways. You may come up with a creative way to do something better for your career and life that you have never thought of before. Creativity keeps your life interesting by not having the same routine repeatedly.
Apply the same knowledge to different life areas
Try to apply the same knowledge to different life areas. For example, one concept I learned about a healthy diet is to develop a balanced meal. This means I must ensure I have the right portion of vegetables, fruit, protein, and dairy for every meal to create a balanced meal.
With the same concept and logic of balance, I apply it to different life areas. For example, it is also essential to develop a balanced lifestyle. This means that important life areas such as health, relationships, and careers should be balanced if you want to build a stress-free lifestyle, according to health psychology. This means I must give those life areas enough attention and time throughout the day and life to keep them balanced.
The more you can apply the same knowledge in different areas, the higher your creativity level. This will help you solve many of your problems and live life successfully.
Be adaptable
You, others, and society will change as you go through life, and you must be willing to adapt to it. When you are not willing to be flexible and believe that things have to be a certain way, your brain is not as open to learning and applying new knowledge and skills, which will decrease your creativity.
Do not give up
Do not give up when you fail the first or second time in developing a successful solution to your problem. Do not shut your brain down by saying that there is no solution. Instead, you can take a break from solving the problem. Let the problem sit and engage yourself in something else. This will allow your brain to continue working and developing a different solution as you focus on something else. Creative ideas can manifest out of nowhere while you are doing something unrelated to it. Sometimes, the solution can come to you later during the day or after 1 or 2 days. You must always allow your creativity to be at play by having an open mindset.
Motivation
Creative ideas are more likely to develop in a supportive environment. Positive individuals are more likely to motivate you to do things aligned with your strengths and talents, increasing your creativity. You are more likely to be open to trying new things because what you do brings you joy and happiness. A supportive environment can encourage you to find solutions to your problems and not give up compared to when you are in a hostile environment.
Dr. Mykim Tran, Humanistic Psychologist
Dr. Mykim Tran is an expert in humanistic psychology. She is a keynote speaker, educator, life coach, author, and scientist. She is on a mission to help individuals create a powerful legacy that will carry on for eternity. In the process, individuals will transform into the best version of themselves and reach their full potential. Dr. Tran is the founder and CEO of Wake-Up Foundation, a non-profit agency, transforming individuals into social change agents to promote stronger communities. She received her bachelor's degree in Media Communications from the California State University of Sacramento, her master's degree in Psychology at Walden University, and her PhD in Humanistic Psychology at Saybrook University
