From an early age, kids are taught to be creative, but not to fully express that creativity.
Growing up, people acted like being creative was celebrated. We were encouraged in the classroom, but when rules weren’t followed, we’d get punished. We’re told to express ourselves, to be true to who we are, but instead we get shunned. I know I wasn’t too encouraged to be creative.
I wanted to sing, dance, draw and paint, but all I ever did was do math problems and study for tests I didn’t give two shits about. We’re trained to follow the rules, do what we’re told and everything else is an “extra-curricular.” And our parents who just want us to be successful, can make us fear the one thing we are born with. Creativity.
I am speaking from my own experience of course. I know that even when our environments don’t pressure us, WE pressure ourselves. We fear our creativity. We fear rejection, we fear being laughed at, or being terrible. We may even fear that we could be good at it. The thing about creativity is, it is overflowing with ideas of anything and everything. There is no shape or form. It is not controlled. It is imagination. I fear it all, sometimes. And I feel that there are so many others conforming to what they have to be, suppressing their creativity, who end up fearing their potential. They fear expressing themselves. Experiments performed at University of Pennsylvania came up with four conclusions:
- “Creative ideas are by definition novel, and novelty can trigger feelings of uncertainty that make most people uncomfortable.”
- “People dismiss creative ideas in favor of ideas that are purely practical — tried and true.”
- “Objective evidence shoring up the validity of a creative proposal does not motivate people to accept it.”
- “Anti-creativity bias is so subtle that people are unaware of it, which can interfere with their ability to recognize a creative idea.”
Therefore, consciously or unconsciously, we fear creative ideas that seem unpractical. We fear the uncertainty, researchers say. People want what’s reliable and secure, associating creativity itself with stepping out of bounds of safety. We follow rules our entire lives, ending up refusing to acknowledge a creative idea that may be better than a “secure” one. Creativity isn’t seen as beneficial if it’s not for survival and we are rooted with these beliefs because we ourselves fear being creative.
So what do we do when fear is provoked by creativity? We are trained to fear it. How is it overcome?
We keep going. Get some guts, and express yourself. I have learned that by keeping my thoughts and ideas stagnant, I am not only hurting myself but I am hurting society. We need creative thinkers. We need people who break the rules their minds are confined to. We need to realize that our imaginations have no end, and someone out there will love your ideas. And if not, do it for yourself. Our minds are not as stable and secure as we want them to be. We are full of ideas that go unpursued. Expressing your ideas and thoughts will help you to see the world and the people in it a new way. This fear should be replaced by the love of imagination. When we can love our own creativity, we can recognize and accept the creativity of others.
Neelam Khan is a sophomore studying screenwriting and producing. Do you think creativity is being stifled? Email her at nk852613@ohio.edu.
