Why Does Creativity Come and Go?

Creativity is nothing but a mind set free." - Torrie T. Asai

This week I have been on a Marianas Trench kick. I was never a fan of their music but their sound has matured in recent years and I have fallen in love with their creative mixture of rock, pop, and orchestral scores. I recently watched a video on "The Making of Astoria", which includes an interview with the lead singer/composer, Josh Ramsay. He stated that he went through a difficult period in his life and "couldn't write". He lost his creativity to create music.

As someone who is more in tune with my creative mind than my analytical mind, I could certainly understand the struggle that Ramsay experienced. There are times when ideas flow freely and I am able to create. I am motivated to write, play, and record music; to design and make jewelry; to make scrapbooks and write stories and paint pictures and sew things. It seems that during these times I can't get enough of those things that make my senses spark with excitement. The colours! The music! The fashion! New ideas and future projects are popping into my mind faster than I can implement them.

And then there are periods where I have zero interest in any creative activity or thought. I'm sure anyone who is creativity-minded understands these times of creative stalemate. So where does the creativity go?

In order to answer this, I think that we need to have a deepened understanding of the nature of creativity:

What exactly is creativity?

There are many definitions of creativity but one that I found to be most inclusive was from a 2004  article by Dietrich (1): "Creativity is the epitome of cognitive flexibility; the ability to break conventional or obvious patterns of thinking, adopt new and/or higher order rules, and think conceptually and abstractly." Simply put, creativity is thinking outside the box.

Where does creativity come from?

While there are many brain process that contribute to creativity, most of it happens in the pre-frontal cortex (1). While some researchers adopt the theory that creativity is a result of spontaneous inspiration, others propose that it is the result of "deliberate and methodical problem solving"(1). So which is it? The answer is both. While some creativity develops through planning and trial and error, other times it comes as random thoughts or emotions. Take dreams for example. The dream state is thought to be a time of greatest creative potential; this is because there is a combined process of stored memories and knowledge  and an uninhibited thought space that is happening in the brain (1).

What affects creativity?

There are countless influences and factors relating to one's creativity. Studies have shown that age can be a factor. Apparently creativity peaks at the "height of prefrontal capacity", which generally occurs in mid-life (1). Other factors that can affect creativity include life experiences and knowledge, fearlessness, desire and motivation, atmosphere and environment, and space and time (2).

So, given what we now know about creativity and how it works, it makes sense that creativity comes and goes depending on our mental state, our surroundings, our knowledge, and our inhibitions. We can definitely foster our creativity by surrounding ourselves with things that "excite the senses"  and reduce inhibitions. Let me be clear that I am not suggesting the use of drugs or alcohol to accomplish these things. Rather, get outside! Surround yourself with the sights and smells of nature. People-watch, listen to music, go to art galleries, try new experiences, have fun! Sitting in front of the television and remaining in your comfort zone will not spark creativity. So if you want those creative juices to flow, surround yourself with creative people and things. Creativity may increase and decrease over time, but it never goes away. You just need to coax it out sometimes!

So go! Try new things! Be adventurous! Surround yourself with beautiful things! The creativity will come.

Judy

References:

(1) Dietrich, A. (2004) The cognitive neuroscience of creativity. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 11(6), 1011-1026.

(2) Saxena, S. (2016). Factors that Influence Creativity. Retrieved from passionconnect.in/articleview/articleid/factors-that-influence-creativity