Growing Creativity

Creativity. It’s poorly understood. Sometimes undervalued. Sometimes considered rare.

But we can all be creative. I offer these quotes to inspire you to nurture the creativity in yourself and those around you.

Abraham Maslow:

I think...a good question might be not why do people create? But why do people not create or innovate? We have got to abandon that sense of amazement in the face of creativity, as if it were a miracle if anybody created anything.

Brenda Ueland:

... imagination needs moodling - long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering.

Erich Fromm:

Conditions for creativity are:  to be puzzled; to concentrate; to accept conflict and tension; to be born every day; to feel a sense of self.

Linus Pauling:

The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.

Margaret J. Wheatley:

The things we fear most in organizations -- fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances -- are the primary sources of creativity.

Mary-Claire King:

I think there are two keys to being creatively productive. One is not being daunted by one's fear of failure. The second is sheer perseverance.

R. I. Fitzhenry:

Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.

Tina Turner:

Sometimes you've got to let everything go - purge yourself. If you are unhappy with  anything . . . whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you'll find that when you're free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.

Claire Cunningham:

Be courageous.  Be creative.