Creativity and Passion Change Everything

Creativity and passion change everything, if you asked the late Mr Kenneth Robinson. He was a British author, speaker, and international advisor on education in the arts to the government. You could, in fact, meet a painter, who is not creative. According to Mr Robinson, you can actually meet a creative mathematician. The point is that creativity is not tied to a specific profession, it’s tied to the individual itself.

When you think of the term creativity you probably associate the word with musicians, painters, photographers, and other professions where practical approaches and methods are a must. If you met a person within similar occupations you’d most likely think that this person must be creative to the bone. In fact, that might not be entirely accurate.

Read further to read more about how creativity and passion can change everything for you.

A mindmap is not a too bad idea to explore your passions in life. Photo by Fausto Bottini

Creativity and Passion Go Hand in Hand

In a presentation for Microsoft employees, Mr Robinson speaks about how creativity and passion can change everything in your life. He emphasizes that anything, in reality, can be creative. It’s not a particular activity. Creativity can be drawn to anything.

Students exploring their creativity and passion. Photo by Fausto Bottini

If you think about that for a second, you’ll probably notice that it, as a matter of fact, is true. Creativity is all about how you think and in which manner you solve problems. A topic we touched slightly upon in the Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 of “Which Type(s) of Intelligences Do you Possess?”.

For many years, Mr Robinson had for many years been an advocate against the educational systems in the UK and in the US, which in many cases prevent people from thinking and being creative. He claimed that the educational systems are based upon old systems that make people think way too linear.

Life is not linear. That’s why Mr Robinson was not in favor of the idea of teaching kids subjects they’re obviously not interested in. To the creativity and passion speaker, the systems are way too rigid and do not encourage people to think outside the box. That’s what saddened Mr Robinson and what became something that he wanted to verbalize.

“We have to change the way we think in order to be creative and like that figure out what we’re truly passionate about. Some people just get things that others don’t. That’s something we need to encourage.”

Mr Robinson

Curious to know more about how creativity and passion change everything?

How Our Surroundings Affect Us

In that connection, Mr Robinson also emphasized how much our surroundings actually affect us, our dreams, and our passions. He pointed out that farmers know something important.

In general, you can’t make a plant grow. However, you can create the proper conditions for the plant in order for it to grow itself. That’s what farmers do. That’s what we all should do to ourselves. And as Mr Robinson suggested, what educational systems should take into account too.

If you create the right conditions for individuals, they will react to it. At the same time, if you put people in a bad place they will also respond to it. People flourish differently. People and systems just need to provide others with conditions to do so.

The same goes with companies and organizations; they’re not mechanisms, they’re organisms. A company is alive. An organization is alive. You’ll need to support life and provide it with what it needs if you want it to flourish as much as possible.

Mr Robinson moved from the UK to California, in the US aged 50 with his wife and two kids. Once, he visited Death Valley, and there was something about the place that fascinated him.

Make sure you surround yourself with the right people. Photo by Fausto Bottini

Death Valley was another example of how conditions and surroundings determine the outcome of a place. Just as with the plant:

“They say Death Valley is dead. Because nothing grows there. In 2016, there was a heavy rainstorm that turned Death Valley into an oasis of flowers. Death Valley is not dead, it’s just dormant. The place does not provide the seeds in the ground to grow, but if the right conditions were in place, life would follow.”

Mr Robinson

That is what Mr Robinson meant by saying that surroundings truly matter.

You Do You

Once, Mr Robinson met a fireman. He asked him if that was something he had always wanted to be. Yes, since elementary school it has been his biggest dream. The dream followed him through high school as well. Although, this guy had a teacher, who tried to convince him that it was a bad idea and that he ought to go to college instead. Several years later that fireman actually saved his teacher and his wife in a car wreck, and saved them from dying:

“I’m sure that the teacher changed his perspective from that day on.”

Mr Robinson

The thing is that diversity should be encouraged some more. Hence, more of us would figure out what we’re passionate about and would actually dare to go after it as well. A passion is not only something you’re good at, it’s got to be something that you love as well, Mr Robinson said. You won’t think that your occupation is work if it’s something you love to do. Remember that as a graduate looking for a job. However, you need to combine your creativity and passion together in order to find out what you love to do.

Some people reflect while engaging in other activities. Photo by Fausto Bottini

But what can you actually do to find your true passion? It’s not that we recommend you not to apply for university because it ruins your chances of combining your creativity and passion. Neither it’s for you to feel bad about being a university student.

Make Your Surroundings Good For You

The point is that you should become aware of how your surroundings actually affect you and what you truly desire. If you feel like you’re in a toxic environment that does not encourage or support what you love to do, change it. Otherwise, you’ll turn out as the dormant version of Death Valley. No water, nor flowers, and no potential to grow.

Use your own creativity to find your passion and let the passion change everything. If what you do doesn’t make you happy you’re responsible for changing it. Broaden your ideas, explore your opportunities, and take the plunge. Passivity is not workable.

That is why Excelerate was founded in the first place as well. To increase students’ possibilities to work with something they’re passionate about – through thesis collaborations with a company. Thus, thesis and passion can be combined. Because we believe in passionate students as passionate academics are the future.