The unlimited…

How come 6, 7 and 8 year olds fail to place limits on their own creative ability.

There is never a shortage of new pictures, stories and musical accomplishments from the young. The side of my fridge and the closet in my spare room are testament to that. So when exactly is it that we start to doubt our creative capability? Do phrases like “It’ll never work…” or “That’s not how we do it around here…” or “We tried that before..” ever stop you from trying something new? Or worse – do you fail to be creative because you’re worried that the end results might not be ‘good’ enough.

I was recently running a Sunday morning Kids Craft’s session at our family’s weekend campground and it struck me that many of these 5-12 year olds were still blissfully unlimited by other people’s constraints on their creativity. Using the same materials, they each somehow managed to make something very different and uniquely their own. Some in particular looked for ways to use the crafts provided in really special and unique ways – not following the ‘rules’ but inventing new ones.

It just led me to ponder and realise:

Whenever I stem my creativity and follow the path someone else ordains, the results tend to be mediocre at best. That is true for trying to compete using the same industry dogmas, trying to replicate someone else’s strategy or trying to follow another’s ‘proven’ methodology.

EVERY child I work with in our kids craft sessions merrily explores, creates, innovates, enjoys and engages in very creative ways to generate an effective result. From kite building to boat making and everything in between, they generate ideas and try out new approaches til they satisfy themselves with the results.

Take a moment today to be inspired by the kids – Any kids – and remove the limits on your own creativity.