We know how important creativity is for self-expression, personal fulfillment, and bringing joy and fun into your life. But there’s an even broader value: Honing your creative abilities prepares you to take on any challenge in life or work.
The world is changing too quickly to train for every situation you may face–you need ways to keep learning and responding creatively to challenges that none of us can predict. This is why having a strong creative process helps you quickly learn about an unfamiliar situation, test a few early ideas, get feedback and guidance, and ultimately proceed with more confidence.
Where I work at the Stanford d.school, we teach a broad set of creative skills that come from the world of design, and train thousands of people each year how to think and work this way. Our students have designed treatments and resources to help children born with clubfoot avert a lifetime of stigma and disability, launched flourishing creative hubs in the heart of countries undergoing political repression, found new ways to unite journalists and technologists, started businesses that created jobs and economic value, and brought humanity and efficiency to the heart of government bureaucracy. They’ve tackled the esoteric (redesigning how lawyers conduct research), the environmental (solar lighting to give more than a hundred million people around the world an affordable alternative to carbon-polluting kerosene lamps), and the economic (storytelling and media services that help locally owned businesses thrive across the United States).
Please select this link to read the complete blog post from Maria Shriver.