Could Creativity Be Key in Self Awareness?

Yes, We’re All Creative. Could Creativity Really Enhance Our Self Awareness?

Do you think of yourself as creative? Just what makes a person creative? Some people define creativity very narrowly and believe that only successful writers, performers, or visual artists are creative. The truth is that we’re all creative, and we express it every time we perform even the most mundane tasks such as deciding what to wear to work or what to fix for dinner.  Practices and rituals involving creativity could indeed be the key to self awareness and finding our life purpose.

Three Must Have Conditions for Enhanced Creativity and Self Awareness

While some people may seem more creative than others, we can all enhance this natural ability by following a few guidelines. Carl Rogers, the famous American psychologist, identified three conditions that must exist for creativity and self awareness to flourish:

1. Being Open to Experience. If you are curious, have a tolerance for ambiguity, and are able to suspend judgment, you are likely more creative than someone who has a rigid approach to life. Seeking out new experiences and having a childlike sense of wonder will get your creative juices flowing every time. Life is a great smorgasbord. Are you filling your plate with all kinds of juicy experiences or sticking to the meat and potatoes?  Try doing at least one thing each week that’s different from your normal routine. It could be as simple as taking a new route to work, listening to   music that’s usually not on your playlist, or trying your hand at a new craft.

2. Relying on Your Own Evaluation. When creating a work of art, a piece of writing, or something as simple as a new furniture arrangement in your home, do you rely on your own judgment or wait for the approval of others? Seeking approval can stop creativity dead in its tracks because it interrupts the flow of your imagination and ingenuity. This doesn’t mean you should be unwilling to hear others’ opinions, but the final determination of your creative work’s value should reside with you—and that requires keeping your inner critic at bay!
3. Toying with Elements and Concepts. What some might consider wasting time is an essential element of the creative process. Allow yourself to play and even daydream. Playing spontaneously with ideas, colors, shapes, and relationships of things to each other can bring about surprising bursts of genius. Rearranging elements into unlikely groupings can help shape new ideas. Sometimes toying with the ridiculous can bring forward a hunch or hypothesis that will be the genesis of your next great creative project or invention.

Weaving these three strategies into your daily life might do more than just expand your creativity. It could transform the way you see yourself, while making your life richer and even more fun!  And if you listen to your inner voice closely, you might just reveal hints about your life purpose.
What have you experienced when engaging in creative activities?  Have your improved your level of self awareness? Leave a comment and share with us and others.