Chapter 17

Developing Your Creative Self

I had a teacher that always made us find creative solutions to problems. It was the best thing I’ve ever learned. —Anastasia, age 16

Most of you probably think of creativity as something related to the arts. In truth, being creative means much more. Creativity not only refers to the act of creating something, but also the ability to think divergently and find ways around conventionalism. In other words, creativity is a form of “out-of-the-box” problem solving.

Over the next chapter, you will learn how to tap into your creative self and explore nontraditional ways of looking at the world. It is a skill that will help you not only as you journey toward your authentic self, but in any endeavor.

In the next scenario, I want you to think of all of the creative ways you can answer the question posed and write them down.

What Would You Do?

Your teacher is into creative problem solving tasks. She tells your group to make a list of all of the things you can think of that are “red.”

Make a list of those things.

Then she explains that there are many meanings of the word “red.” Think of all of the other meanings there are for “red,” like “I read a book” and any others you may think of, and continue your list.

How many did you come up with? Did you need guidance in order to broaden your thoughts to things other than the color “red”?

Creativity 101?

This entire book has been about finding your own unique point of view in the world. One of the best ways to do this is by stretching your creativity muscle. As I mentioned in the opening, being creative isn’t limited to being artistic. Some of the most creative endeavors have happened in the science and math industries. Take some of the new technology I mentioned in Chapter 15, for example. Nanorobotics is definitely born of creativity. As was the computer Watson, made famous on the game show Jeopardy! a few years ago.

Stretching your creativity muscles enables you to approach problems as opportunities for new perspectives. It enables you to open your mind to new ideas and helps to create perspective. In the opening chapters of this book, I listed creativity as an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle. That is because creativity not only helps to develop your problem-solving skills and perspective taking, it opens you up to learning and allows an outlet to the emotions you have no doubt felt along this journey.

When you first started on this path of self-discovery, I said that you would need to be brave, have faith, and be fearless. The same attributes are needed when you embrace creativity. Additionally, dedicating yourself to a creative mindset will help you become more adventurous, develop your faith, and keep you on the path to your authentic self.

Take a look at the Being Creative worksheet and open your mind to the wealth of creative options you can find when you are willing to ask yourself “What if?” and “What else?”

The Girl Guide

Worksheet #25

Being Creative

Directions: Take a moment and think of all of the things you can do with the items or topics listed. Then add a few items and topics yourself.

Topics/Items	What I Can Do With Them	More Things I Can Do
Paperclips and note cards	Make a garland celebrating a holiday	Make an old-fashioned comic strip
Toothpicks and playdough
Paperback books, empty paper towel rolls, and markers
Things that are “blue”

Many Paths

Creativity is not something you are born with exclusively. It is a way of looking at the world that opens you up to possibility. Developing creativity requires spending a little time every day exploring the world of “What if?” It means seeing obstacles as challenges and being willing to fail a hundred, a thousand, tens of thousands of times before figuring out a solution.

As I mentioned, developing creativity involves doing something creative daily. Take a look at the following list of spontaneous thinking games and activities used in programs like Odyssey of the Mind. These activities, along with brainteasers and Mensa puzzles, are designed to foster out-of-the-box thinking.

Tool #17

Embracing Creativity

Try to do as many of these open-ended activities as possible:

  Using only baby marshmallows, toothpicks, and notecards, build the biggest structure you can.

  Using spaghetti and gummy worms, make a bridge.

  Make a list of everything that can be “read.” (Hint: Remember all of the definitions of the word!)

  Pretend you are on a deserted island with only three items. What are they and why do you have them?

Doing activities such as these stretch out your creative muscles. Do something creative every day!

Other ways to practice your creativity include the brain bender games available on most gaming systems and all over the Internet, as well as doing something as simple as asking “What if?” with various scenarios. For example, “what if” you had to get from home to school only making left turns. How would you do it? Or, “what if” tomorrow was speak-in-adjectives day. How could you tell me what you did without using anything but adjectives?

How you practice your creativity isn’t nearly as important as developing the skills to try things without fear and to think divergently.

Problem Solving Revisited

You live in a world that measures everything in terms of testing. Most school districts focus on the high-stakes testing that is required nationally. And sometimes that focus doesn’t promote creative thinking or advanced problem-solving skills. But, in life you will need both. And on the road toward your authentic self, you will need every tool you can get your hands on to foster divergent thinking.

Problem solving using creativity enables you to embrace solutions you may not have otherwise considered. Furthermore, such problem solving fosters risk-taking, collaboration, and self-reflection—attributes you have been working on throughout the book.

In Chapter 15, I mentioned that both knowledge and technology are increasing so fast we really don’t know what the future is going to look like. I went on to mention that learning to think will be more important than ever. Creative problem solving is a great way to develop those thinking skills and prepare for an uncertain future. It requires brainstorming free from fear of making mistakes, as well as reflection, task analysis, and adaptation.

Approaching life from a creative point of view will give you the tools you need to overcome any obstacle. Additionally, creativity fosters adaptability, which can allow you to bend with life’s punches, instead of being completely knocked out by them. Take a minute and review the goal setting you did at the beginning of this book. Using a little creativity, are there additional ways you could achieve some of the goals? Add to Worksheet #23 as needed to allow some additional creativity to enhance your problem-solving and goal-setting skills.

Note to Self: Be Yourself

Don’t be afraid to be yourself.

I’ve always been kind of a spaz. When I was a kid, adults were always trying to rein me in, tell me to control my energy, lower my voice, don’t be so crazy all of the time! I felt like I was wrong somehow. Not doing something wrong, but that I was actually just WRONG.

Then I grew up and embraced my inner spaz. It’s who I am and I’m quite happy to admit it. I wish I’d been able to learn that lesson earlier. —Gretchen McNeil

This chapter was all about learning to look at problems with a creative eye. If you did the activities, you learned that the simple answer is not always the best answer. You learned to push out of your comfort zone, take risks, and how to brainstorm. These attributes are needed if you are going to continue your journey inward beyond the scope of this book, and learning these tasks can help you overcome any obstacle that you may encounter.

Take a moment to think about everything you have learned about yourself over the past few weeks. Then read and answer the questions below.

My Voice

Keeping in mind the authentic you inside, answer the following:

  Reflect back on a few of the problems you have encountered over the past month or so. Using your new creative skills, can you brainstorm other solutions? How do you think these new solutions may have worked?

  Sometimes it is scary to try new things and experiment with new ideas. Why is that? What can you do to combat that fear?

  Creativity requires a measure of risk—risk of failure, risk of humiliation, and other risks. How will you deal with these types of risks and be willing to continue the path of creativity?

  Reflect back on your dream poster and goals. Are there creative and nontraditional ways you can achieve some of those dreams?