Why is creativity important not only for creative professions?
Many people are used to believing that creativity is necessary only for artists, writers or musicians. It seems as if this is a narrow talent that manifests itself only in art. But if you look closely, it becomes clear: you can't do without this quality in everyday life! The ability to think outside the box helps not only at work, but also in the simplest situations - from solving everyday problems to getting out of unexpected difficulties.
Large companies have long understood this: according to the World Economic Forum, creativity is one of the five most in-demand professional skills. The reason is simple: standard processes are gradually automated, and machines, no matter how smart they become, are not able to think as flexibly as humans. A person with a developed imagination and the ability to look for unusual solutions is one step ahead: in crisis situations, such people adapt more easily, find new products, ideas, and strategies that help them move on.
What is really hidden behind the word "creativity"
In simple words, creativity is the ability to create something new, something that did not exist before. It can be an original product, a non-standard approach to the task, or an unexpected solution to an old problem. This skill distinguishes a specialist who is able to offer more than just following instructions.
People with a flexible mindset do not get lost where there is no ready-made plan – they come up with it themselves. That is why employers value them more, because in a rapidly changing world, such a skill is becoming critically important. It is no coincidence that in the business environment, creativity is called one of the key soft skills, that is, soft skills that help to make a career and develop professionally.
Why children are initially creative, but over time they lose this skill
Interestingly, young children between the ages of three and five are almost all creative! They have not yet learned social rules, they are not afraid to seem strange, so they easily surprise others with their words and actions.
But as they grow older, the situation changes. At school, the emphasis is on memorizing facts, competent speech and the development of logic. All this is important, of course, but such tasks involve the left hemisphere of the brain more actively. But the right one, which is responsible for imagination and figurative thinking, often remains without a sufficient load. Gradually, children get used to acting strictly according to the instructions, moving within the framework, and being afraid of making mistakes. As a result, they start to get lost when faced with a problem that doesn't have a ready answer.
To prevent this from happening, the child must be given the opportunity to think freely. The ability to come up with and offer new ideas makes him more self-confident: such a child does not look back at other people's expectations, makes decisions more boldly and copes with uncertainty more easily.
The good news is that creativity is a skill that can and should be developed! So, it is best formed at school age.
Simple Ways to Boost Creativity at Home
Many people think that this requires special courses or clubs, but this is not true – it is enough to include exercises and games in everyday life in which there is no one correct answer.
- For example, you can draw with your child, sculpt, make applications or come up with your own designs from improvised materials. It is not so much the quality of the result that is important here, but the process itself: when a child acts according to his own design, he learns to express ideas, trust his imagination and take the initiative.
- There are also easier, playful ways. You can take a sheet of paper, draw a few random lines or a blot, and invite the child to complete the picture. Then you should ask them to explain what exactly happened. Sometimes a couple of lines give birth to fantastic characters or amazing new creatures!
- Another way is to ask questions that seem strange at first glance. For example: "What does this cloud look like?", "Where is this sparrow flying?", "How was the boy with the ball's day?"
- Fairy tales are a great tool! You can start telling a story and invite the child to come up with its continuation, describe the appearance of the characters or imagine where they live. This is how not only imagination develops, but also the ability to build a coherent story.
- Books in general play an important role: reading broadens your horizons, and discussing what you read helps to form your own opinion. If you additionally keep a diary where the child writes down thoughts or unusual findings, this will be another step towards the development of creativity.
- Sometimes the simplest game is enough. Name the word, and the child must choose a rhyme for it, gradually you can complicate the task and compose whole rhyming lines. Or offer a task — to come up with ten ways to use a common thing, for example, a paper clip. Here the imagination can lead very far: from jewelry to a miniature tool!
- Board games also work. In "Crocodile" you need to explain the word with gestures, in "Imaginarium" associative thinking is involved. Even a competition invented on the fly like "make a sentence where all words begin with one letter" helps to train the ability to think outside the box!
The main thing in such classes is that the child is interested. Positive emotions and a sense of freedom are more important here than the result.
Freedom as the main secret of creativity
Sometimes it seems to adults that the development of skills is constant exercise and control. But in the case of creativity, it is not only training that is important, but also the space for self-expression. If the child is passionate about something, he can forget about time: at such moments, it is better not to interfere, but to allow him to finish what he started.
Sometimes it is in this freedom that real creativity is manifested. A child learns to concentrate, get things done, and believe in their ideas, and these are skills that will be useful in the future, regardless of who they become.
