University Killed my Creativity: And How to Reawaken Your Creative Mojo

When was the last time you wrote a story just because?

When was the last time you painted a picture or made up a dance?

For me it’s been a long time.

My theory…university killed my creativity.

Hear me out…

I was driving with a co-worker last year (let’s call her Sarah) and we were discussing complaining about our usual topics: work, the weather and our husbands!

Sarah’s husband (let’s call him Tim) is a writer. Tim was in the process of finishing up grad school and in order to graduate he had to write a novel. However, he was struggling to decide what to write about because he had soooooo many ideas for stories that he wanted to develop.

As we were having this discussion I started thinking, “When was the last time I wrote a story for the fun of it?” “I wonder what it feels like to have so many creative ideas in your head that it’s hard to choose just one,” “Am I even capable of coming up with one creative idea that I could turn into a story?”

At this same point in time I had recently seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The only reason I went to this movie is because my husband wanted to see it. My taste in movies/t.v. is more romantic comedy and Real Housewives then fantasy and Star Wars.

Anyway, it was his turn to choose the movie because I had picked too many duds in a row.

To my surprise, when we left the theatre I was the one gushing about this film and recommending it to my family and friends.

Why did I like it so much?

Well, I couldn’t get over how imaginative it was.

From the beautiful scenery to the amazing characters, I was totally blown away.

How does someone come up with something like this?

Where do these ideas come from?

How do you access that kind of fantastic creativity that, for me, seemed to disappear with the onset of adulthood.

I feel like this is a case of USE IT OR LOSE IT.

I haven’t written a creative story in well over a decade and now I feel like it’s super hard to come up with a fun, imaginative idea.

I’ve been wondering, where did my creativity go?

Did 10 years of post secondary education kill my creativity?

After a decade of reading nothing but text books, taking tests, where there is a RIGHT and a WRONG answer, and writing research based papers….have I lost my imagination?

This scared me.

As a kid I loved writing stories. English was my favourite subject in school. I could come up with a million different ideas to write about and once I got going I could write forever. Hell, I even did my own illustrations.

In high school I didn’t do as much creative reading and writing but I was still exercising my creative muscles! My friends and I would come up with ridiculous, mildly perverse, SNL-inspired sketches and film ourselves making, what we thought were, hilarious videos.

This was B.Y. (Before YouTube).

This was before smartphones.

We pulled out our parents clunky camcorders, wrote a script, found costumes and set decorations and did all of our own makeup.

Fast forward a few years and I’m in university. Even though my first degree was in Communications and required a lot of writing it was all in essay form.

There was a rubric and you were being graded on specifics. There was a right and wrong answer for the most part. There wasn’t a lot of opportunity to just write about something fun or inspiring.

As I write this now I think, “well dummy, if you wanted to write stories you probably should have become an English major.”

I guess my point is this, unless you actively seek out creative or artistic programs in post secondary or have creative hobbies, it’s easy to lose your creative mojo.

If you take a similar route as I did and you end up in post-secondary in programs that aren’t artistic or creative then I think it’s easy to lose some of that imaginative flow.

I’m going to take this time now to blame my lack of imagination on my post secondary education. I think school killed my creativity.

I spent 10 years, no, make that 22 years of my life (if you include grades 1-12), trying to get the right answer. This is what is encouraged by the education system. Getting the ONE, “RIGHT” answer.

Between going to school and working I didn’t have a ton of free time to pursue my hobbies. Honestly, I don’t think I read a book for enjoyment for 6 or 7 years. It was all text books, all the time.

Within the education system students are taught how to think inside the box. We are taught that success is getting the right answer. Success is achieved by memorizing facts and retaining them long enough to regurgitate them on a multiple choice test.

This is what is rewarded.

This is not real life. Real life rewards the creative, innovative thinkers. Real life rewards the application of knowledge in interesting and unique ways.

You know what is required to succeed in the real world…

FAILURE!!!!

Read more about How to Succeed in the Real World HERE and How to Overcome Your Fear of Failure HERE

 

The people who are brave enough to take chances, put themselves out there and fail are usually the ones that, eventually, find great success.

Yet, failure is not celebrated in school.

As I was thinking about all of this I found this TED talk by a man named Sir Ken Robinson, a British author and speaker on the topic of education and the arts.

I highly recommend you check it out. It’s short, funny and very interesting.

Anyway, he believes that we are “educating people out of their creativity.”

He says that children have a capacity for creativity because kids take chances, they aren’t afraid of being wrong.

AND, if you aren’t prepared to be wrong, he says, you will never come up with anything original.

He also makes a brilliant point about the hierarchy of education. He says, no matter where you go around the world this hierarchy is the same, math is on the top and the arts are on the bottom.

The reason for this, industrialization. We have prioritized the skills that WERE necessary to produce good workers for the industrialized nation.

Two take aways here….

1. Times are a changin’. What was necessary for industrialization is no longer what is best for the future of society

2. Do you really want to be groomed to be a “good worker.” Robinson says we have prioritized the skills required for the production of “good workers.” You need to ask yourself, do you want to learn to be a good worker? Or, do you want to learn the skills that will allow you to find your own success, to be an entrepreneur, a creator, an innovator?

If you want to be a good worker, that’s fine. But, if you want to break away from the crowd then you have to do something different and, in order to do this we need to feel confident making mistakes. The education system should encourage innovation and creative thinking.

In the past, and still today, it’s the people that excel in the maths and sciences that tend to succeed in the traditional education system.

I will admit, I am one of these people. I have to study REALLLLLY hard but I have always gotten good grades. I, unfortunately, am very good at thinking INSIDE THE BOX.

For those who are natural artists, dancers, creatives and OUT OF THE BOX thinkers it can be more difficult to find your groove in school.

I love this quote by Albert Einstein,

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by it’s ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. ~Albert Einstein Click To Tweet

So, if you don’t excel in the traditional school setting it’s not because you are stupid. You just need to find the proper setting that will support your kind of genius!

Does Post-Secondary Education Kill Creativity?

Yes. I think it can.

BUT, it’s possible to get it back.

How to Reawaken Your Creative Mojo

1. Start writing/singing/painting.

What creative activity did you used to participate in when you were a kid or teenager? Really think about it.

My foray into blogging was a direct response to feeling like I had lost my creativity. When I was younger and people would ask me, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” My answer was usually, “A journalist.” I knew I wanted to write in some capacity. Going back even further my mom always jokes that I was born with a pen in my hand. Even as a little kid I was always making lists and jotting down ideas.

2. Experience new things.

Get our of your comfort zone. Visit a new country, city, or, if you’re on a tight budget, check out a new restaurant or go on a new hike. Take a new class. Meet a new friend. You never know what you will fall in love with or where you will find some potentially life changing opportunity or inspiration.

I’ve always struggled a bit with this one. As a fairly introverted person I don’t really like putting myself out there and I don’t love change. But, the older I get the less I care about what others think and the more open I am to trying new things and meeting new people.

3. Recognize that university/college is not the only/“right” way.

I don’t regret my formal education, I love to learn and I feel like I did get a lot of useful-ish skills out of school. However, university is not the best option for everyone and it is not the only option.

Make sure you consider things like trade school and art school before making your final decision. Not only are these options usually cheaper but they also prepare you for the job you want with very practical skills.

Also remember, you don’t need to do any kind of post secondary to be successful. You can learn from the school of life. Find a mentor, take some free online courses, start your own business. Just go for it!

If you want to see some of the options that are out there for after high school take a look at this article.

4. Give yourself some time.

It is hard to be creative when you are constantly on the go. It’s important to set aside some time in your schedule to actually sit and think about ideas or to actually do something creative. If creativity is something you value then make sure you prioritize it in your schedule.

5. Read.

I love to read. Reading gives you the opportunity to learn about anything and everything from the comfort of the library or your very own room. Reading also helps you to become a better writer.

6. Get online.

The internet is an amazing thing. We are lucky to live in a time where we have access to a limitless amount of information. Yes, this can be completely overwhelming at times but, if used correctly you literally have a portal that can take you anywhere, answer any question and totally spark your creativity.

I want to hear from you!

What are your thoughts? Do you think school kills creativity?

How do you keep your creative juices flowing?

References:

Cover Photo by Florian Klauer on Unsplash