What is Creativity and why do we need it?

Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.

Edward de Bono

I've recently been re-reading a book that I enjoyed last year called A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink

In this book, Daniel Pink talks about how the skills you need for top jobs are different now, compared to previous generations.
Here's what I've taken from this book:
Traditionally, you needed to study hard at school, get good grades in exams and tests and the best jobs were considered those that you needed to be academically good to get into - like doctors, lawyers, accountants etc.  Essentially 'left brain' jobs - those that use the logical and ordered left side of your brain.
However, Daniel Pink mentions the 3 factors that he believes have changed this: Abundance, Asia and Automation.
Abundance -  Just a trip to the shops shows you abundance - when you want to buy something - you are faced with a massive array of choices of style, size, price and brand for what you are looking for.  How do you choose?  It is no longer the best product we necessarily buy - but more likely to be the best marketed product! - the importance is no longer on the object -but how it is promoted and sold - how creative the company marketers are! Information is something else that is abundant - particularly on the internet - you can find the answer to anything. How many times have you self diagnosed 'illnesses' by Googling your symptoms rather than going to the doctor?  The abundance of free information available at the touch of a button is also reducing the need for some professions.
Asia - a huge amount of technical computer, and many other jobs are now outsourced from for example the USA, Australia or the UK to for example India, because living costs and so wages are lower for the same level of skilled worker. As a result there are fewer jobs like this available in more westernised countries.
Automation - this speaks for itself. Computers and machines can do  so much for us now that many jobs don't need actual people to do them.
What is happening now is that it's not the people who do well at  studying and learning facts, figures, academic subjects etc who are headed for the top jobs; it is those who are good at being creative. It is those who can offer something different, new and innovative that are headed for success now.  Those who use actively their 'right-brains'!

“Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” 

― Rumi, Essential Rumi

So if creativity is the key to success in this day and age - all of us creative, crafty souls are a step ahead in the game!  
If I am 
'Creating my way to Success'
Then I am going about aiming for my goal the right way! I knew it!

So what is creativity? Wikipedia defines it as:
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby something new is created which has some kind of subjective value (such as a joke, a literary work, a painting or musical composition, a solution, an invention etc.). It is also the impetus and motivational force behind any given act of creation, and it is generally perceived to be associated with intelligence and cognition.

Creativity then, is something to be nurtured. Ideas are the starting point of creativity - mix that with some inspiration, risk-taking, brain storming and you're on your way!   There are thousands of creative blogs out there, then there's sites like Pinterest, which for me at the moment is my favourite go to place for inspiration. The endless linky parties we all join in and host provide a breeding ground for creativity - with everyone sharing their own ideas and innovations.  Even when you follow someone else's ideas and tutorials, you inevitably put your own spin on in by choosing your own colours, designs, fabrics or adding or removing features.
If Creativity is the skill of the future - then it is to be nurtured and grown as much as possible.  Our kids should be encouraged to flex their creative muscles to help prepare them for the future, as much as, if not more than their school studies and textbooks will help them.
I have decided to make more of a conscious effort to explore creativity, and how we can encourage and develop it in ourselves and others even more.

“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people”

Leo Burnett

When I see a great upcycle idea - I'm always so impressed that someone could look at something in a totally different way to that which it was intended.  Like someone who can look at a chair, and not just see a chair, but see the shape, construction and other possibilities - turning it into a shelf, or a storage rack. I think a large part of creativity is the ability to look at things in a different way - to think outside square so to speak. Are you good at doing this? I always feel that there must be something I could sew to solve a problem - do you feel the same way about your craft?

An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.

Edwin Land

“You can't use up creativity. 

The more you use, the more you

 have.” 

Maya Angelou