August 3, 2006
We’re All Creative 3: Three Year Olds Are the Masters
ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 10:28 am
Creative Curiosity
It’s true. It’s hard to get highly creative folks thinking inside the proverbial box. Curiosity gets us looking at the box inside, outside, and from every direction. Creativity motivates us. Curiosity nurtures and energizes us. “What ifs†drive our vocabulary. Put those qualities together and you have Jean Luc Picards going forth where no one has gone before and enjoying every minute immensely.
It had to be a caveperson’s creativity that got us fire. The wheel is surely an example of human creative thinking. Yet, the best example of creativity is any three-year old.
The Creative Instinct Called Learning
Want to be more creative? Hang out with a three year old. Their whole existence is filled with the creative instinct called learning and free from the inhibitions of self-consciousness. Imagine if you took on some of these three year old strategies for learning creatively.
- Three year olds test drive everything to get information. They pick things up. Turn them in every direction to look at them. They try out most things with all of their senses. Okay, so skip the part about sticking them in your mouth.
- Three years olds ask “Why?” and don’t stop until the answer satisfies them.
- Three year olds are most effective at creative problem solving. They’re determined at achieving their goals. Three year olds creatively work out who to go to for what they want and which buttons to push. They literally run circles around an adult. The end run through a shoppping mall is also a three-year-old specialty. Three year olds know and use many more options than most adults do.
- They’ll try anything once, because they don’t know the rules. A tantrum at work isn’t advisable, but you’ll note that they can be quite creative and charming at managing grownups.
- Three year olds don’t care if you think it’s not art. They have unabashed confidence in their ideas and their work. It’s easier to be creative when you don’t fear failing.
By now you see where I’m going with this. Three year olds don’t put roadblocks in the way of their creativity the way we do as grownups.
You can’t convince me that everyone wasn’t creative once. I’ve spent too much time with too many three year olds.
There isn’t a problem, a relationship, a meal, or a passtime that doesn’t get better when we add just a touch of ourselves to it. That little tweak is the creative spark, the detail that other folks notice first. It’s the unique difference that makes a brand stand out to customers.
What would happen if you looked at your work with the curiosity of a three year old?
–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you think Liz can help with a problem you’re having with your business, your brand or your blog, check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.
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Joe said
Jean Luc Picard…
Joe said
Sorry, He’s from France.
ME Strauss said
Yeah, that does look right now that I see it. Thanks Joe!
Joe said
Hey Liz,
Do you like majic tricks?
Here’s one for you.
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/games/magic-gopher-central.swf
I think it is cool. I haven’t figured out how it works yet, and probably won’t.
Let me know if you do.
ME Strauss said
Thanks Joe,
I’ll take a look at it. I doubt I’ll figure it out though I hate taking what little magic there is out of the world.
DavidC said
Liz
As the father of a 3 year old (OK, just turned 4) I can relate to these completely. I heard somewhere that the average 3 year old asks 300 questions every single day, and while I haven’t gone out to get one of those clicker counters I think it’s pretty close.
One thing I’ve noticed is that, when it comes to any kind of creation the 3 year old manages to put together, you always find yourself encouraging the child, no matter what you really think of the creation. You fawn over the picture, saying how great it is, even if you have no clue as to what it is actually supposed to represent.
Eventually (and increasingly), as we grow older our creations are exposed to other opinions, some not quite so positive. I think it’s during this transition that we start changing the opinions of our own creative abilities. Those that receive harsh, undue criticism may start to think of themselves as not being creative, as a kind of self-preservation.
I think that ties back into your discussion the other day on how to deal with creative people. Harsh, raw, unfocused criticism is a creativity killer. I’m not saying you need to treat creative people like children, but you need to be sensitive to the fact that you can crush creative output if you’re not thoughtful in your response to creations. This goes for child or adult.
ME Strauss said
David,
What a great addition to this post. Thank you. You’re so right about the fact that we often beat the creativity out of people by not leaving any room for it. It’s okay to not understand it, even to say “I don’t think I love it.” There’s no need to get personal.
Great to have your insights. Thank you.
Bill Baren Blog » Blog Archive » The Three-Year-Old CEO said
[...] Lis Strauss reminds us of the importance of creativity and curiosity in our business. We can get closer to our essential zone of genius by being more like a three-year-old. [...]
Bill Baren said
Thanks for reminding us of the importance of creativity and curiosity in our business. We can get closer to our essential zone of genius by being more like three-year-olds.
Find your Zone of Genius by being a Three-Year-Old CEO:
* Try everything – learn from experiencing it
* Always ask yourself and your team “WHY?â€
* Know what you want and simply try all the options to see if you can get there
* Forget the rules
ME Strauss said
Hi Bill!
Welcome! It’s so fun to have a comment on this post so close to my heart and my favorite topic to talk about.
I love the list you laid out here. Every point is an opportunity to find a way to wonder and experiment — innovate on the usual tune that we play.
We can always go back to the rules when we need them.