Creativity and Me – A Personal Reflection

In the digital age we live in, the power of words can connect people from all corners of the globe. Through the pixels on our screens, authors have the opportunity to share their unique perspectives and stories with readers worldwide. One such author who has embarked on this journey is the creative mind behind Pixels & Perspectives.

life is a journey

Creativity, as I see it, is one of the ways I process information and emotions. It has meaning in one’s life and expresses the identity someone has. It is not only limited to storytelling or digital design; it is also to do with how concepts are created through ideas. Like Teresa Amabile explains in her componential theory of creativity, it is powered by skills relevant to a specific domain, creative thinking, and motivation, all of which I developed while writing my first book, *The F*ckurry of Life*, and working on my second, *This Is How She Likes*.

According to John Cleese, creativity fosters in an open mode, an unbounded period of time along with a lack of concern for judgment (Cleese, 1991). This resonates, since some of my best ideas manifest when I am left alone—with music to soothe me, candles around me, and blissful silence. This also reminds me of Steve Jobs and his idea of connecting the dots (Jobs, 2005) in which he talks about life’s patterns, which people form in hindsight, be it good or bad.

This reflection and the creativity self-assessment makes me realize that a person can’t be distinctly labeled ‘creative’. Creativity has no bound; it is flexible and versatile, and is regarded as a muscle that one must exercise regularly. It needs risk-taking as well as leaving room to breathe while making me trust my inner voice.

References

Amabile, T. M. (2012). Componential theory of creativity. Harvard Business School. https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/12-096.pdf

Cleese, J. (1991). John Cleese on creativity. Brain Pickings. https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/04/12/john-cleese-on-creativity-1991/

Jobs, S. (2005). Connecting the dots. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc