If you were to rate your creativity on a scale of 1 – 10 (1 being low and 10 being high), where would you place yourself?
Maybe you’ve had people comment regularly on how creative you are, then you’d probably place yourself in the 7-9 range. After all, who would ever be so bold as to rate themselves a 10?
Perhaps you’ve dabbled in different creative arts and enjoyed it, but you also don’t see yourself as a creative genius by any stretch of the imagination, so you place yourself, modestly, in the 5-7 range.
Then there are those of you who don’t see yourselves as creative – at all. To you, creativity is for the Michelangelo’s, the de Vinci’s, the Bach’s and the Baccio Pontelli’s (he designed the Sistine Chapel). You’re convinced that it’s your cousin who takes incredible pictures, or the guy who designed your neighbor’s landscaping out of recycled material, or ‘Trisha’ at church, who wrote a fabulous worship song while she was washing the dishes! Or Frank, at work, who makes incredible woodworking designs in his spare time.
The dictionary definition of creativity is, “the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.”
In other words, creativity is not just about art, music, dance, and design!
When things are no longer working and you need a solution, that’s when it’s time to draw outside the lines. To get creative. To problem solve. To imagine what could be, instead of being stuck in what is. History reminds us of this truth over and over. It’s how innovation happens.
“Creativity isn’t a gift for the lucky few, it’s a natural part of human thinking and behavior and once unlocked and mastered, provides a powerful attribute to help unlock innovation.” Morgan Lovell Design Company
Genesis 1:27 tells us:
And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Since we are created in the image (physical likeness or representation) of God, as the Bible tells us, then it stands to reason that, built into this likeness, is the ability to create, whether we think of ourselves as creative, or not. However, I think many of us have lost this ability to recognize and develop our own God-given creativity.
Perhaps, it’s because we’ve stopped exercising or developing our creativity.
There was a study done by Dr. George Land and Dr. Beth Jarman. They found that children are naturally born with a large dose of creative genius, but gradually lose it as they transition through school and into adulthood.
What happens to our natural, God-given creativity?
FACTORS THAT INHIBIT CREATIVITY
Negative feedback is probably first on the list. You put your heart and soul into expressing an idea or creating something, and somebody comes along and says, “That was dumb.” Or “What is it?” Suddenly the air goes out of your ‘creative balloon’.
Self-doubt is another creativity killer. This is when we doubt our own abilities or that God can even use us. Instead of seeing our creativity as a work in progress (something we’re continually learning and growing in), we find every excuse not to get started or finish something we did start!
Perfectionism can be a creativity killer. You have a project that has been rolling around in your mind for years, but you’re still waiting for everything to be perfect before you take that first step. Here’s a little secret: things will never be perfect. Start with the imperfect and see where God takes you! (This one hit home for me)
Worried what others might think is another squelcher of creativity. It’s good to benefit from the wisdom of others, especially when it’s something that helps us improve or avoid unnecessary difficulty. However, we should never not create because we’re too worried about what others may think of our idea. The Wright brothers would never have attempted flight if they were worried about what others thought of their crazy idea!
Bad life experiences can also contribute to our lack of creative confidence. An example might be whenever a person sits down to draw and it reminds them of when their parents fought as a child. Drawing was what helped them mentally escape. When they try to draw now it triggers undealt-with memories. Yet, they know they’re gifted because they can’t stop looking at things through the eye of a pencil.
Last, but not least…
Being part of an uncreative community can inhibit anyone’s creative expression. Those may be communities you find yourself in (family, work, church, friends) that discourage others from thinking ‘outside the box’. They want to keep things as they are; afraid of the change that creativity can bring.
Take the time to recognize which of the above may be at the root of where you placed yourself on that 1-10 scale of creativity. Are any of them holding you back from confidently creating something that you’ve been imagining?
CREATIVITY NEEDS TO BE EXERCISED
Why do we tell ourselves and others, “I’m just not creative”? It might also be because we only think of creativity in terms of art, music, dance, and design. If we do, we’ve limited ourselves by not recognizing the various opportunities there are every day to express creativity.
Or, it might be that we haven’t been developing our creativity muscles.
Just like we won’t build our physical muscles by sitting on our couch, we won’t build our creative muscles unless we intentionally use them. This happens when we take the time to quiet the noise around us to ponder, think, and imagine, especially when we’re faced with a problem.
CREATIVITY IS PART OF SOLVING PROBLEMS
Think of how creative Adam had to be when he was given the task of naming all the animals God had created (Genesis 2:19-20). Would you have looked at a long-necked, steeple-legged, brown-spotted creature and called it a giraffe (or whatever it’s called in Hebrew)? There were an amazingly large variety of insects, birds and other living creatures that filled the garden God had created and who God asked Adam to name.
Then, think of how creative both Adam and Eve had to be when they were forced to leave the garden for disobeying God. Up until then God had provided for their ideal living conditions. They had wanted for nothing. Now they needed to be creative just to survive. This did not mean painting a water-color landscape! They needed to tap into their creativity to solve all kinds of problems they hadn’t faced before. Problems like how to provide themselves with food, shelter and clothing.
Fortunately, our heavenly Father, who loved them despite their rebellion, had equipped them (and all of mankind) with the ability to think outside the box (or garden)! They used their God-given creativity to solve many of their day-to-day problems.
Embedded in every human is the capacity to be creative and it was put there by God.
As Christians, we recognize that we have a relationship with the Master Designer through His Son, Jesus Christ, who was there in the beginning, creating everything (John 1:1-2). We also have access to an incredibly creative power source – the Holy Spirit, who lives in us (John 14:16-17).
Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness… Genesis 1:26
So, today, look for opportunities to work on your creativity. Perhaps you’re cooking your next meal and, for lack of ingredients, you have to improvise. Be creative doing it! It may work out, it may not, but you will have learned from it and maybe discovered a new recipe!
Maybe you’re frustrated and need a way to bond with your teenager. Take some quiet time, pray, and ponder about what they enjoy doing. You will be surprised by what you think of.
Is there a problem at work? Instead of staying frustrated take some time to quietly pray and ponder what is at the root of the problem. You may come up with a solution right away or it might come to you over the next few days. Sometimes creative problem-solving takes time.
However, the more you practice thinking ‘outside-the-box’ the stronger your creative muscles will get.
Ask the Holy Spirit to stir up your creativity and help you overcome some of the wrong thinking that may have been holding you back. Encourage others to do the same.
Let me know in the comments if you found this article helpful and what kind of creative problem-solving you've done.
Blessings as you stir up and develop your God-given creativity!
Deanna Storfie
Owner, Writer, and Performer
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