Thinking Outside of the Box

Hi Everyone,

I can't believe that we've already hit February. It's actually crazy how fast this school year has been going by. And there has barely been a winter yet! This is definitely not what I'm used to, being from Northern Ontario, but I am not complaining. It's nice to see some green grass at this time of year!

Sheridan College's main motto is "Get Creative". So today I wanted to talk about something we had a long discussion about in our Advertising Planning Management class last week. What's the first word you think about when advertising comes to mind? Persuading? Marketing? Commercial? Advertisement? These are all definitely related to advertising, however the concept of creativity is what this industry is all about. Creativity is defined as:

"the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination"

My favourite part of this definition is "to create meaningful new ideas". Creative thinking is exactly that, where someone is thinking outside the box and is open to finding something unexpected or "meaningful". What I find to be interesting is that we all limit this definition of creativity to the arts. In a society that is for the most part based on conformity, it is often hard to go out of our comfort zone when it comes to thinking.

In our lecture, we were asked to share all words that came to mind when we thought of creativity, just like I did above. Words like artist, musician, dancer, teacher, writer, colourful and flexible all came to mind. What our teacher, Peggy, pointed out to us was that none of us actually associated creativity with ourselves. Being creative doesn't always have to mean being an amazing drawer or knowing how to play an instrument, but rather to be able to think in innovative ways and problem solve. Creativity is something that everyone possesses in their own way, and we should all call ourselves creative. Some of the words that came out in regards to limitations on our inner creativity were; self doubt, standardized tests, science, formality, stereotypes, school, and sadly more. What this means is that the way a lot of us postgrads think is based on how we were raised throughout our education. "No talking in class", "Stop fidgeting", or the classic "Raise your hand before speaking". Additionally, in university, having sometimes over 100 hundred people in 1 lecture, we were constricted when it came to expressing our creative ideas. We were more than likely afraid to raise our hand in fear of being wrong or embarrassed. Measuring intelligence in today's society is done through tests and rules as to how we express our knowledge. Even if we are told to be creative, we are to do so within certain guidelines. This is how we may lose our insight in regards to realizing our own creative potential. College is great for expressing yourself, engaging in classrooms and being given the opportunity to think outside the box. But that is a whole other topic that I will talk to you about!

After the word association exercise, Peggy asked us to take some time out of our week to just let ourselves be creative. She wanted us to dedicate 1 full hour without technology to doing something that we do not often do. Whether it be reading, taking a walk, or meditation, she wanted us to travel to that state of mind where we are not limited to anything. Now, this seemed kind of impossible to me as I thought of what I could do, but then once I actually did it, it was really nice. I got an adult
colouring book for Christmas, so I decided to colour for 30 minutes. I also received a new novel called "Wake Up Happy" written by Michael Strahan (another celebrity crush), and spent the other 30 minutes reading that. I was surprised how relaxed I was by the end of the hour, and didn't realize how long it had actually been. It thought me how much technology really can limit our creativity and imagination. Inspiration comes from a variety of different places outside the digital realm. Sometimes we have to stop thinking in a way that constantly looks for patterns or ways to be "right". The reality is that most of the time, and especially in advertising, there is a combination of answers for problems, and these are the kind of problems that require creative, or "out of the box" thinking.

So, my advice to you is to do exactly what our teacher asked of us, at least once a week. Not only will it prepare you for the industry you are about to dive into, but it will also make you feel open to new experiences, relaxed and in tune with your own imagination. Don't be afraid to be creative!
I hope you enjoyed reading :)

Until next week future post grads!

Ashleigh