TEDTalks’ tagline is “Ideas worth spreading”. Here is an instance where I wholeheartedly agree. Earlier this year, David Kelley (of IDEO and Stanford’s d.School fame) put together a remarkable talk about building your “creative confidence”. This is twelve minutes worth of an introduction to the topic of erasing the line drawn between “creative” and “non-creative” people.
Do you have early childhood memories of classmates or teachers slamming your attempts at making something artistic? I sure do. Somehow in the space of just a couple years we went from being a kindergarten class full of budding artists to having most of the class think “I’m not really the creative type…”. By the time we hit the professional world, this viewpoint has become deeply ingrained. Way too many people write themselves off as “non-creative” and in doing so profoundly limit themselves.
We desperately need to remember we are all naturally creative. We can all come up with innovative new solutions to problems. We need those ideas that have been locked away. We need your ideas.
I happen to agree with Kelley. A good process paired with a little coaching can help overcome fear and unlock the ability to start creating again.
Take a couple minutes to check the video out and let me know what you think in the comments.
Via the d.school blog