What is Creativity?

I read this article written by Kate Jackson from a magazine Social Worker Today called “The Mindful Social Worker: How Mindfulness can Help Social Workers Practice More Creatively.” In the article, they have found that mindfulness can be linked to creativity.

What do you think of when you think of the word “creativity?” The article continues that many people have misconceptions with the idea of creativity. People often think creativity is an artistic expression or it’s must be a “God-given gift” that is a rare quality that not everyone has. Have you ever heard anyone say “oh, I’m just not the creative type?” I used to always think this way too until a colleague of mine pointed out that everyone is creative in their own way.

Many times we do things mindlessly out of habit. Sometimes while I drive on my one-hour commute to work, I get to my destination safely, but I have no Idea how I even got there. How about those times when it’s your 4^th hour of binge watching TV? Or you’re sitting at the dinner table eating dinner, but you can’t remember what you ate or any of the conversations that were held at the table.

What is the opposite of mindlessness? It is mindfulness. Psychologist Ellen Langer who is the pioneer in mindfulness research has “championed the idea that creativity is engendered by deep engagement, and that deep engagement is engendered by mindfulness” (Jackson, Social Work Today Vol. 17 No. 5 P. 14). Langer continues that when we are mindless, we are not fully experiencing life. The more we take the time to notice things, the more we are aware of the changes in context and perspective. Langer states that creativity and mindfulness go hand in hand.

So what if we took a moment to hear our thoughts? What if we took a moment to notice how we’re feeling? What if we took a moment to experience the things that are going on around us? What would that look like to you?

Here is the article written by Kate Jackson – “The Mindful Social Worker: How Mindfulness can Help Social Workers Practice More Creatively.”

https://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/SO17p14.shtml

Here is Ellen Langer’s Ted talk “Ellen Langer: Mindfulness Over Matter”