Creativity and the Modern Gentleman: Why it’s No Longer Optional

Wayne Tingle shows that creativity isn’t just for the “artsy” folk, and gives five reasons why it’s healthy for men.

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It used to be that creativity was best saved for those “artsy” type people. You know who they are because their constantly talking about it. They tweet, post, and pin every time they doodle on a napkin, leaving the rest of us feeling like they have the market cornered.

Not true my friend. Not only is it not true, but it is absolutely necessary that you practice creativity regularly. Here’s five reasons why:

It’s needed in all walks of life.

In your job, with your kids, in your marriage, creativity is a skill that is sorely needed. The “thinking outside the box” mentality is coveted and respected by all. It changes you from boring cubicle doldrum to roaring office hero. Doesn’t that sound nice?

It keeps you healthy.

Your body takes a literal dump of waste every day (hopefully). When you practice your creativity it allows your mind to take the same dump, freeing up room for new ideas to be consumed. This helps keep you mentally healthy and well balanced, which increases confidence, which in turn helps you perform better in every other aspect of life! (High fives exchanged).

It inspires action.

After any creative endeavor you feel recharged. A new rush of energy comes over you and inspiration leads the way. You become the guy making a path for himself rather than the guy just plodding along.

It temporarily removes you from the equation.

Getting away from everyday tasks is refreshing. It gives new eyes to old problems. When you flex your creativity muscle, you’ll find it flexes itself when needed in everyday society.

Creativity creates (surprise!) new ideas. 

All sorts of things will come to you when you immerse yourself in the creative process. You’ll become a man that can figure things out, someone who can really problem solve. You’ll be known as an “idea man”, and when time for promotions and raises come around, you’ll be remembered.

Before we unleash this awesome power, there are some rules that need to be addressed.

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It must be done regularly.

Creativity will atrophy in your brain in a short amount of time when not used routinely. If you want to become the creative powerhouse you know you can be, make time for it.

There are no limits.

You can do anything creative! Carve a whistle, draw a picture, build a sandcastle, write an article (ahem). Nothing is exempt. Once you start you’ll find creative opportunities around every corner.

Don’t be annoying.

Remember at the beginning of this article? Scroll up and read again if you forgot. Don’t be that guy. Taking a hundred pictures of your new hand carved pencil and vomiting it all over the internet is a violation of everyone else’s eye space. Keep the conversation about it to minimum. Be the strong, silent type that has a cool hobby. People love that.

Now that you’re an expert on creativity I challenge you to start applying yourself. There are literally no boundaries. It doesn’t have to be original (nothing is), just done by you. Before you know it you’ll be seeing things from a whole new perspective.

 

Photo credit: Philippe Boukobza/flickr