Creativity Information


Quiz -- Are You Creative?


Worried you may not be creative or you may not be creative enough? This quiz will help you find out just how creative you are.

Take a piece of paper and number it from one to seven. For each question, write down the corresponding letter of your answer.

1. When you come across a rose, you immediately:

A. Smell it.
B. Quote every rose poem you can remember.
C. Write your own poem.
D. Sketch the rose.
E. Step on the rose.

2. One of your dreams in life is to:

A. Write a novel.
B. Become a painter.
C. Travel the world.
D. Climb all the famous mountains.
E. Just once, get everything done on your to-do list.

3. Your desk:

A. You have trouble finding as it's buried under everything including the kitchen sink.
B. Resembles a natural disaster.
C. Is a bit of a mess, but you know where everything is.
D. Is basically neat -- you use the stacking method.
E. Is in perfect order -- everything in its place.

4. The person you admire most is:

A. Einstein.
B. Walt Disney.
C. Your mother.
D. Jane Austin.
E. Anyone who can get everything crossed off his or her to-do list.

5. You consider yourself:

A. Extremely creative.
B. Creative.
C. Somewhat creative.
D. A little creative.
E. About as creative as a turnip (come to think about it, turnips may be more creative then you are).

6. You get new ideas:

A. All the time.
B. Several times a week.
C. Several times a month.
D. Once or twice a month.
E. You dimly recall getting a new idea when Clinton was in office. Or maybe it was the first Bush.

7. You dream in:

A. Color.
B. Black and white.
C. Both black and white and color.
D. You can't remember now.
E. Nothing. You don't dream.

Scoring:

Throw out all your answers except for number five -- "You consider yourself:". If you answered:

A. Extremely creative -- Then you're extremely creative.
B. Creative -- Then you're creative.
C. Somewhat creative -- Then you're somewhat creative.
D. A little creative -- Then you're a little creative.
E. About as creative as a turnip -- Then you're about as creative as a turnip.

Okay, this was a bit of a trick. But it's true. How creative you think you are corresponds with how creative you really are.

A couple of studies illustrate this. A big company wanted to increase creativity in its employees. So it hired a group of consultants to come in. The consultants started by thoroughly testing all of the employees. They discovered the only difference between the employees who were creative and those who weren't was this: Creative people believed they were creative and less creative people believed they weren't.

Even more telling was what happened to the group that wasn't creative. The consultants focused on helping them nurture their creativity. At the end, those employees were actually more creative than the ones who had initially considered themselves creative.

And that means you too can become more creative. In fact, how creative you become is entirely in your own hands.

Creativity Exercise -- Assumptions

Ready to become more creative? Here's an exercise.

Write down all the reasons why you're not creative. Go on. Write them all down. Every negative reason you can think of.

Things like:

I've never been creative in my life.

I haven't had a new idea in over a year.

I don't have time to be creative.

Now reverse those negative assumptions and make them positive. Like so:

I am a creative person.

I have lots of new ideas all of time.

I don't need time to be creative because I already am creative.

Do this every day and see what happens. This is a great way to start getting rid of those inner demons that keep all of us from realizing our true potential.

Michele Pariza Wacek owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting, a writing, marketing and creativity agency. She offers two free e-newsletters that help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful at attracting new clients, selling products and services and boosting business. She can be reached at http://www.writingusa.com.


MORE RESOURCES:

Financial Times

Creativity trumps cute factor in Super Bowl ads
The Detroit News
Perhaps this is why the ads that left the biggest impressions — good and bad — are those that showed sparks of creativity and pathos. This is why Chevy deserves a gold star for its apocalyptic ad. In the spot, a man and his dog are shown in a truck ...
Creativity Top 5: Super Bowl XLVI EditionCreativity
KAMERA OBSCURE: This year's best/worst Super Bowl commercialsBall State Daily News
The Worst Super Bowl Tech AdsGizmodo
Midwest Sports Fans -Bleacher Report
all 1,447 news articles »


Creative options for extra money
Baruch College The Ticker
17, 2011 New York Times article, "College students replace poverty with creativity," Jennifer Conlin argues that even in this economic downturn, college students are able to save up and afford school in different creative ways. She highlights a student ...

and more »


The Nelson Mail

Creativity floats Krewe's boat
Monroe News Star
Krewe of Janus prepares floats last week for Mardi Gras parade at the Krewe Den. / Margaret Croft/The News-Star Above: The detail on a float for the upcoming Mardi Gras parade Saturday in Monroe. Right: Another member of the Krewe paints a sign for a ...
Library to hear late night Mardi Gras frock talkGay News Network (press release) (blog)
DID YOU GEAUX? HarborWalk kicks off the Mardi Gras season in styleDestin Log

all 16 news articles »


Citrus bumper crop bears creativity: It's time to peel, slice, squeeze and ...
Sacramento Bee
Or you can get really creative and use different kinds of teas. Chamomile adds an herbal note. If you can find a really nice jasmine tea, that adds a spectacular floral fragrance. This weekend, I finished a big meal with a salad of blood, Cara Cara and ...

and more »


Time for more creativity, collaboration
Iowa City Press Citizen
The situation gets somewhat better as the outside temperature rises, but even when the teenagers are on their very best behavior, the transfer period at the mall highlights a perceived lack of creative problem-solving skills among city and school ...

and more »


Growing Roster of MIPCube Speakers
MarketWatch (press release)
6, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- MIPCube, the two-day high-level networking and live learning experience for the business and creative architects driving the future of TV, is proud to announce an exceptional and growing line-up of speakers and ...

and more »


Pre-engineering program encourages creativity
Winfield Daily Courier Online
Through engaging, hands-on curriculum, the courses encourage development of problem-solving skills, critical thinking and creative and innovative reasoning. Through industry and university partnerships students get cutting edge technology and exciting ...

and more »


Southwestern spring theatre schedule celebrates creativity
Winfield Daily Courier Online
The lineup, including a classic drama, a heartfelt musical and improvisational comedy, celebrates and examines creativity, its nature and importance. The first production will be a staged reading of Henrick Ibsen's classic work “Hedda Gabler,” directed ...

and more »


Hayes: Reflections on being caretakers of creativity
Midland Daily News
I honestly believe this is a most significant structure, not only as a functional building but also as a catalyst to generate new facts and new feelings in the creative lives of all who use it." The 2011/12 season marks the 40th anniversary of MCFTA ...

and more »


IBNLive.com

Innovation and creativity move to the heart of the curriculum
IBNLive.com
Top schools have devoted considerable resources to entrepreneurship, from electives and specialist courses to in-house incubation centres to help groom the creative leaders of the future. While some business leaders question whether entrepreneurship ...

and more »

Google News

home articlestore.biz | site map
© 2007