Let’s Talk Being Creative!

The use of imagination or original ideas to create something;

inventiveness.

This is the definition that Google presents us with when asked of

what is creativity. And I completely agree with it. Sadly, this is not
what the majority of us perceive when we hear the term ‘creativity’,
especially those from the more logical and intellectual fields.

Creativity- a product of the brain’s right hemisphere

When the majority is posed with this question, the most common
answer will be something related to “making something beautiful or
aesthetically pleasing’’, which basically limits the term to career
fields that can create a tangible product, rather than offering some
other form of service. So, does this mean that the service people are
not creative?

NOT AT ALL!

What creativity means to me is simple- the action or ability to create

something new- something that was never there before. Now, this
creation part can be mixed up with your ingenuity and be taken to
unfathomable levels. So, it means that even if you are a medicalor an
engineering student, you can still be creative.

All it requires is for you to put your grey cells into motion and cook
up something new- maybe a new way of executing a code in
JavaScript, or a few tweaks here and there in a mathematical
formula that generates the same results in MS Excel but with less
work done.

You can be creative to an unimaginable extent- that’s the beauty of

it. But still, we choose not to be the limitless creatures that we are.
Sometimes it’s plain laziness, but here are a few things that might be
sucking on your creative juices without you knowing about them.

Fear of failure
Fear of failure is one of the most significant creativity killers. It can
stop you from trying new things, taking risks, and exploring new
ideas. To overcome this, you can reframe failure as a learning
opportunity and focus on the process rather than the outcome.

Try failing at new things every day!

Lack of motivation
A lack of motivation can be a significant hurdle to creativity. It can
be challenging to get inspired or find the energy to work on creative
projects.

For example, I have a classmate who aspires to be in NID(National

Institute of Design) because he is an automobile design enthusiast,
but for the time being, he’s studying in NIFT(that’s my college-
National Institute of Fashion Technology) and has taken Fashion
Design as his major discipline. Naturally, he isn’t as passionate
about clothing as he is about cars, so it’s safe to say that he lacks
motivation in assignments on the topic of clothing.

A snippet from his sketchbook

But this one day, we were given an assignment where we could take
anything as an inspiration. So he took a car as one-his favorite-BMW
M5 Competition, and believe me, it was so inspiring to see him
telling the professor so passionately about his project.(and he HAS
the required charisma you need for explaining things passionately to
others who may not share the same passion with you)

So maybe we can all be truly creative in the fields that we like. Which
is good- at least it’s better than being a dull a** in everything! To
boost motivation, you can set achievable goals, take breaks, and find
inspiration from other sources, like my pal here did!

Distractions
Distractions can come in many forms, including social media,
emails, and other interruptions. They can disrupt your creative flow
and make it challenging to focus on a task. In my case, I delay work
till the last moment because I just want to do it all in one go(I am a
perfect blend of the need for perfectionism and endless
procrastination- nothing to brag about obviously) It happens
because when I done with half the work, then after that, there just
isn’t a need to go and complete the remaining because now the work
flow has been disturbed.

To minimize distractions, you can create a dedicated workspace,

turn off notifications, and set aside specific times for creative work
(this can be different for everyone). Also, if you get a solution to my
problem of not being able to concentrate after taking breaks, I’m all
ears!

Criticism
Criticism can be constructive, but it can also be a significant
creativity killer. It can be demotivating and can stop you from
exploring new ideas. To handle criticism, you can focus on the
positive feedback, consider the source, and use criticism as an
opportunity to improve.

But what about times when there IS no positive criticism because

the criticism is based on a senseless argument. For example, my
professor told us about this student who had taken a risk and had
presented an assignment digitally, although it was clearly stated in
the brief that it had to be done physically in print. She did it digitally
and argued that she won’t print it because that wouldn’t align with
her personal agenda which was to practice sustainability and argued
till the end that she won’t print it. This ruckus made its way to the
higher authorities where she had to state her argument even more
rigidly.

Sadly, at the end of the day, she had to print it out because the
institution was stubborn as hell on its rules (even though it was a
lame argument). But even though she couldn’t benefit from her risk
and her creative approach and eventually had to give in, what it did
was that later on the whole assignment brief was changed because of
this act. And then digital formats also became acceptable. So do not
fear criticism.

Fight for your idea!

Perfectionism
Perfectionism is a common creativity killer. It can make it
challenging to start a project or finish it, as the focus is on achieving
perfection rather than progress. I can relate very well with this one,
especially because I have a rigid belief that I want to do my best in
every work. And whenever I try doing my work ahead of time, some
part of me always thinks that this isn’t my best work- that I will only
get the best ideas when I do it at the last moment.

So from now on, I have started giving at least some time to thorough
brainstorming, after which I finalize my idea and decide to go with
it, without thinking perfection-wise. This sets a realistic and
achievable goal for me. And even though there’s still a nagging voice
inside me that tells me this isn’t my best work, I get to celebrate the
fact that I did not wait for the deadline to make me do it:)

Peer Pressure
And this is one of the most common killers of creativity(I see it
everywhere in my college). I probably should have placed it first in
the sequence of creativity killers. Let’s call it “the environment”
rather than peer pressure, since peers are not the only ones behind
it, and they are not always the ones pressuring us.

Sometimes its teachers too(YES, that happened!) Some teachers in

my college are so in a box that whenever a student wants to break
open the box and explore some more, they limit them by saying
things like “this isn’t appropriate” or “you don’t need to do this
much”. And that ultimately extinguishes the creative fire of that
fellow and they then have to do some mundane work just to get the
average grades.

As for the peers, if you do something out of the box, the good ones
will always appreciate(I’m quite lucky to have them :) but some of
them will feel burdened and disgusted with your work because then
that raises the bar for them. But get this- not everything is done for
marks- some things are done just for fun! But I guess most people
omit the fun part and focus only on the marks. That’s where they get
their creativity killed, and then kill it for others too.

Conclusion
Since you’ve read till here, you’ve probably got to this conclusion
yourself that you ARE a creative individual, it’s just that maybe you
haven’t explored your full potential yet, or maybe you have. Either
way, you can still build up on this invaluable skill of yours, and if you
get stuck, maybe the above pointers will help get your creative bone
tingling.

By recognizing these creativity-terminators(me getting creative with

words, haha) and taking steps to overcome them, you can unleash
your creative potential and achieve your goals, or maybe even
transcend them!

Can’t say anything- it’s your creativity after all!