Myth busting around imagination
Are the ‘myths’ around imagination and creativity true? Among them, that only special people are creative. Sir Ken Robinson busts several of these myths in his book, ‘The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything’. Instead, he recognises that each of us has a unique power called imagination. He describes it as a “fundamental feature of all human intelligence”.
Here is his response to several myths:
MYTH: only special people are creative.
ROBINSON: “This is not true. Everyone is born with tremendous capacities for creativity. The trick is to develop these capacities.”
He likened creativity to literacy suggesting we take for granted that nearly everyone can learn to read and write.
“If a person can’t read or write, you don’t assume that this person is incapable of it, just that he or she hasn’t learned how to do it,” he wrote. “The same is true of creativity. When people say they’re not creative, it’s often because they don’t know what’s involved or how creativity works in practice.”
MYTH: Creativity is about special activities in ‘creative domains’ such as the arts, design or advertising.
ROBINSON: "These often do involve a high level of creativity. But so can science, math, engineering, running a business, being an athlete, or getting in or out of a relationship. The fact is you can be creative at anything at all - anything that involves your intelligence.”
MYTH: People are either creative or not.
ROBINSON: “This myth suggests that creativity, like IQ, is an allegedly fixed trait, like eye colour, and that you can’t do much about it. In truth, it’s entirely possible to become more creative in your work and in your life.”
A first critical step is understanding the relationship between creativity and intelligence.
“It involves stepping back to examine a fundamental feature of all human intelligence - our unique powers of imagination,” he wrote.
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Dawn Adams offers one-on-one imagination coaching or Imagination Session® small group workshops to encourage people to develop their imaginations with purpose; to find joy, optimism and hope; to hone professional skills; and to better plan a future.
