You Can’t Put Creativity in a Box

You Can’t Put Creativity in a Box

Back in 2007, when we took the big leap and started our own company, we made a promise. Settling on the name Cronin Creative (we do have a thing for alliteration), we vowed to explore and employ all the different facets of our creativity. At the time, we were thinking of things like design, writing, and music. But over the years of running a small business, dealing with realities like accounting, cash flow, and staffing challenges, we’ve found that creativity isn’t limited to the arts.

We’ve also discovered that creativity isn’t limited to “creatives,” our fellow designers, writers, musicians, and practitioners of the fine arts. With an eclectic roster of clients, we’ve witnessed first-hand the high level of creativity among those not traditionally tagged with the “C” word. There is a creative spark in all of us. It’s part of being human; one of the really cool parts.

In “The Artist’s Way,” her landmark book, author Julia Cameron explores creativity from all sides, and finds that, in the end, it’s as natural as breathing.

“Creativity is the natural order of life,” Cameron says. “No matter what your age or your life path, whether making art is your career or your hobby or your dream, it is not too late or too egotistical or too selfish or too silly to work on your creativity.”

We’re all familiar with the oft-repeated advice to “think outside the box,” but there are really no containers around us. By thinking of ourselves as “inside” some box, as not inherently creative, we limit our contribution and leave it to others to do the heavy creative lifting.

In their book, “Creative Confidence,” authors Tom and David Kelley lay out some interesting and useful ways to unlock the creativity that lives in all of us. 

“Creativity is much broader and more universal than what people typically consider the “artistic” fields,” the Kelleys say. “Creativity comes into play wherever you have the opportunity to generate new ideas, solutions, or approaches.”

And who among us doesn’t need to generate new ideas or new approaches to the challenges we face, no matter what our profession.

Creativity is everywhere and in everyone. Try fitting that into a box.