I believe that we all come equipped with an in-born creativity. It never ceases to amaze me how naturally creative little kids are. If allowed, they are continually in a state of inventive thought and action. I think that our natural creativity gets squelched when it comes up against conformity of thought perpetuated by socialization, our public schools and other lock-step systems. Certainly, without these systems, anarchy and chaos would rule, but somewhere along the way we threw out the baby with the bath water.

Creativity is the hallmark of innovation. Imagination is the starting gate for change. I like the way John Maynard Keynes puts it ~ Ideas shape the course of history. William Blake said ~ Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination and What is now proved was once only imagined.

Powerful words. Powerful concept. Powerful force. Creativity is to be embraced, not distained or held at a fearful distance. Our brains thrive on a heady and seemingly contradictory mixture of creative and “safe” thinking. Boredom sets in with too much routine. Too much chaos sends us diving for security. However, an essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid of failure.

A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free. ~ John Maynard Keynes. It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all. ~ Edward de Bono.

Creative thinking is particularly important in today’s global economy. The old-think of business as usual just doesn’t cut it anymore. I read that over fifty percent of the 500 largest companies in the U.S. have in-house programs focusing on problem-solving or creative thinking. New-think companies actively encourage the continual flow of new ideas. In other words, they encourage an entrepreneurial spirit within a corporate framework.

Nobody talks of entrepreneurship as survival, but that’s exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking. ~ Anita Roddick.

In next Monday’s blog, I will write about strategies for incorporating creative thinking.