5 Key Benefits of Practicing Creativity for Our Society

Creative activities are often associated with ways to relax, escape from the difficulties of the world, or express one’s feelings. Although this is true, I think there are many other reasons why creative activities benefit our society.

Practicing creativity in whatever discipline we are involved in could lead us to a better world. Here are 5 reasons why I think it’s of great importance:

1. We need solutions for complex problems.

We need more than ever the ability to think and act by ourselves; to stand for what really matters in life, and from what our intuition tells us that is right. 

We must be able to question the current way of doing things and have the necessary “creative muscle” to suggest and experiment with new ideas. 

2. To tackle daily life.

With creativity in our lives, we help our brains make new connections that could generate new useful ideas for our daily lives.

New approaches to how to live our lives are continually emerging, thanks to all the people who have the courage to think differently and act according to their new ideas. 

From how to save water, to a new business perspective, thinking creatively has a powerful impact in the long term and for our surroundings.

3. To increase confidence.

Creating a project, a piece of art, or a new enterprise needs an initial boost of confidence. 

Practicing creative activities on a daily basis strengthens that “muscle” that makes us feel capable of changing the course of our circumstances and the world we live in.

4. To develop critical thinking.

Being able to not believe in everything just because someone said so has never been so important, in an era when we are bombarded with tons of information of all kinds.

Critical thinking goes way beyond double-checking with serious research facts. We need to have a creative foundation in our minds that reminds us constantly: “What if this could be done differently?” Is this the only way this situation can be approached?

From this state of brain activity, we can live more peacefully, by experimenting and concluding facts following our perspectives, values, and intuition.

5. To improve relationships.

A creative perspective about all that surrounds us could help us open our minds to other ways of thinking, coming from other human beings. 

We can also redirect the previous questions (What if this could be done differently?”, Is this the only way this situation can be approached?) to ourselves: to our conduct and behavior. There is always room for improvement as human beings, but there cannot be any changes in ourselves if we don’t analyse first what could be improved.

Improving as human beings from within can have a great impact on all our relationships and therefore our society. But we won’t make big changes if we stick to the procedures and practices that are no longer helpful.

Two ideas to practice creativity in 2024:

1.- Solve a problem without asking the Internet.

Next time you need to solve something, such as doing a repair, or a DIY craft, ask yourself: How could I solve this without the need to browse it on the Internet? 

Then try, experiment, have fun.

After doing so, browse the solutions given by your favorite search engine, and compare them.

2.- Start a new artistic activity with no guidance. 

Sculpture, music, painting, you name it. Start right away with the joy of not knowing anything about it. Explore the possibilities, and learn by doing. Have fun feeling your creative spirit emerge. 

This is an idea proposed by Ellen J. Langer in her book “On Becoming an Artist: Reinventing Yourself Through Mindful Creativity”. 

“The truth is: we’re often better off not knowing the rules. When we know them, we run the great risk of mindlessly following them, obviating the potential enjoyment and personal growth the activity could otherwise provide”. Ellen J. Langer.

One last thought:

"A community of standardized individuals without personal originality and personal aims would be a poor community with no scope for development.

On the contrary, the aim must be the training of independently acting and thinking individuals, who, however, see in the service of the community their highest life problem". Albert Einstein, On Education.

Long story short:

In our daily lives and the society we live in today, we need solutions for our daily lives and the world's complex problems. We need the confidence to start new projects and the capacity to think critically. I believe all this can be improved and attained if we practice creative activities in our daily lives.  

What do you think about the importance of Creativity for our society?

Author of this article and featured image (collage): D. Y. Pinto, 2024. First published at dypinto.blog, on May 21, 2024. All rights reserved.