Creativity!

Here’s the interesting tale on creativity.

A 5 year old boy draws a beautiful rose flower in his school , then he takes the liberty to colour the flower in black . The teacher looks at him and says : “this doesn’t seem right, it has be coloured red or pink ” . The child doesn’t quite like it, is disturbed but eventually learns that the flower has to belong to the family of red and pink. Everyone else in the classroom seems to be doing it in the same way. He learns to align and conform to do what is the expected

The next 15-20 years the child lives like this, trying to align and not do what he wants to. (call it social pressure, reputation risk ). He mirrors this behavior in every aspect of his life.

 But then one day when he grows up and starts to work in the corporate, a boss walks up to him and says – “Think different, Think out of the box, don’t give me the same stuff, Get some crazy ideas. We need fresh thoughts “

He learns from his colleagues: To become a leader you have to think differently! The poor child (now a man) doesn’t know how to reignite his creativity . He nipped his creative instincts way back in the classroom when he agreed to colour his rose red. 

So my point is, if I am not raised in a certain way, how do I inculcate these skills now. Can any course or classes help me cultivate these.

These abilities might be present in me maybe latent form, but will I get an environment which nurtures me to bring out these abilities at this stage.

So many of us are trying everyday to conform, to align, to belong, to become what we are told is the “right thing to do”. Whether it leads to mediocrity or dissatisfaction is another point of discussion, but the fact is that we keep telling ourselves, we are more capable than this! And then we never get a chance to showcase it.

Well, the only little tad bit that we can do is, lets not intimidate our younger generation, when they have a crazy idea. At least let them try.

Let our kids colour the flowers in black and the trees red.

And for us, ask yourself, what are your square wheels? Someday we will muster the courage to open our drawing books again.