Elements of Creativity

Being creative is nothing but the passion of doing things differently and creating new and unique concepts and ideas. Individuals need to work on things which no one has attempted so far. Why do you always want to follow others? Thinking out of the box not only helps you reach innovative solutions but also makes you a popular member at the workplace.

Let us go through the elements of creativity.

The first and the foremost element of creativity is willingness to do something new. No one can teach or force you to become creative. An artist sees various shapes and colours even in a crumpled ball of paper thrown in the dustbin. A creative person would never throw an empty soft drink can. Rather he/she would make a nice pen stand out of it. Creativity has to come from within. An individual should know how to express himself/herself. Believe me, not everyone can do the same. Do not keep your ideas within yourself. It is always beneficial to share your thoughts with your friends, fellow workers, superiors and so on. Never underestimate yourself.

Accepting challenges is another very important element of creativity. You need to take risks sometimes. What is the point of doing the same type of work for ages? Trust me, if you simply follow your Boss’s instructions and stick only to the key responsibility areas mentioned in your appointment letter, you would start hating your job in no time. As they say “Variety is the spice of life”. Attempt things differently.

Be open to critics. Do not feel bad if your Boss does not appreciate your idea. Instead sit with him/her and find out as to why your superior feels that your idea would not work out. There is absolutely no need of getting demotivated and eventually losing interest in work. Ponder over various other options and see which idea fits best in the current situation. Do not forget to take feedbacks from your superiors as well as fellow workers.

Open communication is another essential aspect of creativity. Rather than working in isolation, it is always better to work in teams. People who work in advertising agencies are perceived to be most creative. How do you think an advertisement is created? Believe me, to create a new advertisement for their respective clients; everyone be it key account executives, or the marketing team and even the creative director sit together, brainstorm ideas and reach to new concepts, thoughts ,and eventually a new advertisement is created. You can’t do wonders alone. Remember, a creative job is different from a MIS job or an accounts job. You can make excel sheets and manage data single- handedly but for creative ideas you need to discuss with people around.

Thorough research is another essential aspect of creativity. What is most important in creativity is that you need to have some thoughts atleast. Let’s suppose your client gives you a small description of their product and asks you to create a nice punch line for them. What would happen if you just can’t think of any new idea? Reading helps you in this. Trust me, reading, surfing various knowledge based websites help you get the right thoughts and ideas. Do not take the risk of attending a brainstorming session if you have not done your research carefully.

Enjoy being creative. Take it as a challenge rather than as a burden or pressure. The output must make you feel happy and excited. Creativity comes only when you enjoy your work. If you have to create something, just because it is your job and your Boss has asked you to do so, the end result would be a big zero.