Nowadays we expect people to be creative, to embrace change, come up with ground breaking innovative ideas at work and create new thinking. We also need to be flexible, happy and find our purpose. How are we going to keep up and deliver what is being asked? So we read books and blogs about successful people and companies. Watch TedX videos. Go to workshops and join teambuilding sessions. All very practical and yes, you do learn, mostly about how others did it, do it, or should do it. What I found interesting is that many of these people who write these books and organise workshops are not the living example themselves.
So back to being creative. How do you really learn to think creatively? How to come up with these brilliant ideas that will give you or your company a boost? It’s actually very easy, creativity is in our genes and play helps our creativity. It’s about creating something new. But creating won’t happen behind your desk or in the boardroom. It won’t happen when you are in that traffic-jam during rush hour. It does happen on your bike on Saturday morning, of during drawing classes or planting herbs in your garden. It’s then when you empty your head, feel totally relaxed and your thinking becomes razor-sharp. That’s the moment when you start exploring possible answers to your questions. Sometimes you do this alone, sometimes with others.
Exploring, discovering, going on adventures. We have done it since we crawled around the livingroom. We encourage our children to play, because we find it important. But we have totally forgotten to play ourselves.
It’s time we find our play again and not only on a Saturday morning, but also on Tuesday afternoon of Thursday morning. If we continually play we will continually be creative and find these answers we are looking for.
So, go outside today for a while, with no set agenda, just adventure and exploring. Be curious. Be open for new experiences. Dream about the big and small things.
And keep on doing this. It’s actually that easy.