Lessons From My Daughter - Creativity

A while back, I was teaching our two year old daughter to count. When I held up one finger, she said "one." When I held up two fingers, she said "rabbit." When I held up three fingers, she said" W." Prior to taking a creativity course last year, I would have immediately said, "Wrong, this is 'two' and this is 'three'." Instead, I said, "Yes, that's also right," and we continued to learn the numbers.

Of course, to survive in the this world, she will need to recognize what is "two" and "three" because they are the "right" answers. (After all, who would understand rabbit million dollars:-) However, being creative and innovative will also be important skills for her future. The thought caused me to reflect that there are times to be right, and there are times to be creative. I definitely want the engineering calcuations for the structural strength of my house to be "right," - i.e. use "two" instead of "rabbit." However, if I am trying to invent something, perhaps "rabbit" is the better answer than "two."

Past childhood, right answers become the norm and the expectation. My daughter reminded me that creativity comes from seeing the same thing everyone sees but in a different way. Having the skill for creativity is important. Creativity can lead to new ideas and new ideas can lead to invention.

Counting now has new meaning for me. From now on, it's "one, rabbit, W ...."

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Photo Credit: morgueFile.com, Nanette Bartet
This is not financial or parenting advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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