Drawing Outside The Lines

There is always a constant in the people I coach that someone had stolen their creative dreams when they were young. I’m still shocked by how many people genuinely believe they are not creative and live their lives conforming to other people’s rules. How many books were not written, paintings not painted, buildings not built, and stories not told because of creative limits set on most of us as a child? Here is what I’ve noticed. No matter what country or culture they are from, teachers, parents, friends, sports coaches, etc., put a limit on creative ability and have scolded us for daydreaming or not being able to draw within the lines. Research supports this, stating that 95% of five-year-olds are highly creative. In contrast, less than 5% of thirty-year-olds describe themselves as creative. We are all used to five years old and brimming with creativity! How did we get to this point? What happened? Why do we lose our creativity? You can listen to my podcast with So-Young, a world-leading educationist redefining learning in the digital age. So-Young says she could never draw within the lines as a child, and she still can’t. She says society takes our creativity from us, and those who scold us for daydreaming only want us to draw within the lines and conform. So-young points out that even the way we learn was designed for a different age, and science is now informing us that we learn best through creativity, play, and curiosity. If you’ve worked with me, you know how important it is for me to dispel this notion. I’ve helped many folks do all sorts of creative things. Here are three tools I have used with folks to take a small step towards releasing your creativity: 1. Take some time today and ask yourself what areas of your life you are holding back because you don’t want to go outside the lines. Why are you holding back? Who says you can’t? 2. Ask someone you trust for their opinion of where you are holding back. If this format works, arrange to meet them regularly to coach each other on releasing creativity. 3. Learn a new skill to stretch and help you build your creative muscles.