4 Ways to Find Your Inner Child and Discover A Whole New World

by Signe Whitson, LSW on January 30th, 2011 | No Comments »

What do children and successful business leaders have in common? Studies show that the most successful managers and leaders are those who have found a way to maintain their child-like creativity and use it effectively for problem-solving and innovation. A study done by George Land shows that humans are naturally creative beings who learn to be un-creative as they conform to the rules and practices of work and society. How can you re-vitalize your own inner artist and serve as a role model for your children?

Tips to Discovering Your Inner Child

Here are a few tips to create a family-wide , creative reawakening:

Get Up and Dance! Dancing is a great form of creativity that appeals to most age groups. The unwrapping of the Just Dance 2 for Wii game this holiday season inspired my 83-year old father-in-law to dance to Walk Like an Egyptian, alongside his giggling 7 and 5-year old granddaughters who shook their booties to Ke$ha’s Tik Tok. Talk about a scene I thought I’d never witness! It was truly a highlight of the holiday and certainly one that brought the whole family together. Even in non-holiday mode, most people love to move to music whether it is ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop or even just an exercise class. For dancers of all ages, movement is a creative outlet—as well as great exercise! Get out those tutus and have fun!
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Turn Up the Music! What’s dance without music? Music may be the most universal of creative outlets. Across all ages and cultures, it is a constant that is enjoyed and expressed in varied ways. From learning to play an instrument to composing original music, along with singing, or even just listening to tunes on an iPod, music makes the world go ‘round for people all over the globe.
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Create Your Own Work of Art. There’s high art and low art and just about everything in between. For children, coloring, painting and drawing are among the most commonly available art forms, but beading, play-dough, and paper crafts are just as meaningful expressions of creative style. Adults who enjoy scrapbooking, sewing and/or even designing baby clothes, jewelry-making, and floral arranging are also engaging in creative visual artwork and exercising their creative muscles through these fun pastimes.
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Stock Up! Creativity takes countless other forms—writing being the one of my choice! What other shapes does your creativity take? To nurture and increase the creativity in your household, why not invest in a few basic supplies for your home so that anytime the mood strikes, you are free to create. Stock up your cupboards and art cabinets with these staples:

Colored construction paper
Markers, crayons, colored pencils
Washable paints
Glue
Scissors
Beads & string
Crafty embellishments like glitter, sequins, crafts sticks, fuzzy pom poms, pipe cleaners, cotton balls, etc.
Fabric paint and old shirts, canvas bags, etc for decorating
Silk flowers and headbands to embellish - Create hair accessories or even baby headbands to share and show off.
Journals (for writing, art, composing music, etc)
Musical instruments (homemade ones will do just fine!)
CD’s, MP3 players, headphones
Camera (photography holds all kinds of potential for creativity)

Much of creativity is about letting go, stepping outside of the box, and allowing your imagination to soar. So, get out the smock, let go of the rules, and create with abandon alongside of your kids! Let them re-teach you how to dance like no one is watching!

By Signe Whitson, LSW. Her advice comes from years of experience working with families and their communication problems. Her blog - The Passive Aggressive Diaries - shares the many humorous and common ways in which people express themselves passive aggressively. For a more formal guide, she co-authored the book "The Angry Smile: The Psychology of Passive Aggressive Behavior in Families, Schools and Workplaces". My Baby Clothes partnered with Signe to give back to the parenting community.