Then tertiary came by and I was happy to be free and express my creative juices, only to be known as a librarian. People who knew me in tertiary thought I worked at the local library. I was there all the time, reading and challenging my skills in crossword puzzles. I had become the nerd I hated to see in high school.
Working life steps in and everything is about creating, adding value and originality, things that school did not really glorify.
At work, if you do not have creative input, or any input at all, you stick out like a sore thumb. This was me in the first few months, even year of working. I had ideas, thoughts and opinions but I could not press the 'share' button. This was definitely fostered by my high school and tertiary experiences.
You are never really challenged to be creative in school. You are encouraged to answer the question correctly - and that is the end of the equation. We were taught to find joy in being right and that is it! Work life, on the other hand, wants you to be wrong once or twice, learn, create, be original and above all, be the best.
This was not taught at school, and living life will teach you a lot of the aspects that are needed. Most of us get so stuck in perfecting the phrases from the text book and even though that creates a foundation for performing well, it is a very small fraction of what is required for growth in a job or career.
So why don't our schools teach or embrace creativity? Well, the plain truth is that, being creative cause's chaos and you would need to hire a military head master to manage the calm. Creativity explores ideas that are not traditional, and school is based on tradition.
Creativity is a word that allows everyone to think, challenge norms and think they are the best, in school, only the elders can be the best because we need to learn from them.
So, it is left to you.
You need to harness your creative juices and allow it to live in everything you do. You cannot place the blame on the schooling system because that has come and gone. Working and making a meaningful contribution is dependent on your willingness to explore your creativity and also, to make it work!
Creating is not something you are going to wake up tomorrow and start excelling in, but it is something you need to wake up to and start doing, as soon as possible.
Please share your views on the lack of creativity or the enormous amount of it in the industry you work in.
