Creativity Information

Quiz -- Are You Creative?


Worried you may not be creative or you may not be creative enough? This quiz will help you find out just how creative you are.

Take a piece of paper and number it from one to seven. For each question, write down the corresponding letter of your answer.

1. When you come across a rose, you immediately:

A. Smell it.
B. Quote every rose poem you can remember.
C. Write your own poem.
D. Sketch the rose.
E. Step on the rose.

2. One of your dreams in life is to:

A. Write a novel.
B. Become a painter.
C. Travel the world.
D. Climb all the famous mountains.
E. Just once, get everything done on your to-do list.

3. Your desk:

A. You have trouble finding as it's buried under everything including the kitchen sink.
B. Resembles a natural disaster.
C. Is a bit of a mess, but you know where everything is.
D. Is basically neat -- you use the stacking method.
E. Is in perfect order -- everything in its place.

4. The person you admire most is:

A. Einstein.
B. Walt Disney.
C. Your mother.
D. Jane Austin.
E. Anyone who can get everything crossed off his or her to-do list.

5. You consider yourself:

A. Extremely creative.
B. Creative.
C. Somewhat creative.
D. A little creative.
E. About as creative as a turnip (come to think about it, turnips may be more creative then you are).

6. You get new ideas:

A. All the time.
B. Several times a week.
C. Several times a month.
D. Once or twice a month.
E. You dimly recall getting a new idea when Clinton was in office. Or maybe it was the first Bush.

7. You dream in:

A. Color.
B. Black and white.
C. Both black and white and color.
D. You can't remember now.
E. Nothing. You don't dream.

Scoring:

Throw out all your answers except for number five -- "You consider yourself:". If you answered:

A. Extremely creative -- Then you're extremely creative.
B. Creative -- Then you're creative.
C. Somewhat creative -- Then you're somewhat creative.
D. A little creative -- Then you're a little creative.
E. About as creative as a turnip -- Then you're about as creative as a turnip.

Okay, this was a bit of a trick. But it's true. How creative you think you are corresponds with how creative you really are.

A couple of studies illustrate this. A big company wanted to increase creativity in its employees. So it hired a group of consultants to come in. The consultants started by thoroughly testing all of the employees. They discovered the only difference between the employees who were creative and those who weren't was this: Creative people believed they were creative and less creative people believed they weren't.

Even more telling was what happened to the group that wasn't creative. The consultants focused on helping them nurture their creativity. At the end, those employees were actually more creative than the ones who had initially considered themselves creative.

And that means you too can become more creative. In fact, how creative you become is entirely in your own hands.

Creativity Exercise -- Assumptions

Ready to become more creative? Here's an exercise.

Write down all the reasons why you're not creative. Go on. Write them all down. Every negative reason you can think of.

Things like:

I've never been creative in my life.

I haven't had a new idea in over a year.

I don't have time to be creative.

Now reverse those negative assumptions and make them positive. Like so:

I am a creative person.

I have lots of new ideas all of time.

I don't need time to be creative because I already am creative.

Do this every day and see what happens. This is a great way to start getting rid of those inner demons that keep all of us from realizing our true potential.

Michele Pariza Wacek owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting, a writing, marketing and creativity agency. She offers two free e-newsletters that help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful at attracting new clients, selling products and services and boosting business. She can be reached at http://www.writingusa.com.


MORE RESOURCES:

Newsweek

A Word From Our Sponsor
Newsweek - 1 hour ago
The first season of "Mad Men" sought to simultaneously celebrate the creativity of advertising and reveal the underside of the American Dream. ...


In praise of Chinese creativity, originality
Shanghai Daily, China - 1 hour ago
By Wan Lixin | 2008-7-26 | NEWSPAPER EDITION "China's Creative Imperative: How Creativity is Transforming Society and Business in China'' gives many ...


Be creative!
Times of India, India - 9 hours ago
Cleaning a floor can be a tremendously creative act. Creativity has nothing to do with any particular work. Creativity has something to do with the quality ...


Creativity necessary antidote for Kaitangata jeweller
Otago Daily Times, New Zealand - 4 hours ago
By Glenn Conway on Sat, 26 Jul 2008 In her darkest hours, after being diagnosed with breast cancer, Michelle Jury got creative, and yesterday took her ...


How Innovative Leaders Inspire their Teams and Drive Creativity
Ballard Communications Management (press release), UK - 10 hours ago
He is the author of 17 books on lateral puzzles and creative leadership. Over 2 million copies of his books have been sold. ...


Youth needs places to channel creativity
MiamiHerald.com, FL - 6 hours ago
My contribution to my community is to create an environment for our youth for their creative juices to flow and learn from the arts and be entertained. ...


Starpulse.com

New York United Film Festival - A Showcase Of Art & Creativity ...
Starpulse.com, CT - 10 hours ago
The New York United Film Festival, bringing art and creativity together to create a united film community, will be held at the prestigious Millennium in the ...


Had I been told about competitive creativity, I wouldn’t be ...
Cumberland News, UK - 17 hours ago
If I’d known as a child there might be mileage in competitive creativity, things could have been very different. Had someone told me county agricultural ...


Creativity needed to find new roadwork revenue
Oakland Press, MI - 10 hours ago
But at least looking at the federal gas tax is a start. Being more creative in finding funds is the key. It's not easy but it's possible.


Not all ID believers are creationists
The Gazette (Montreal), Canada - 13 hours ago
One does not have to reject the main tenets of Darwin's theory to embrace the idea that intelligence and creativity play a part in evolution. ...

Creativity - Google News

home | site map
© 2006