Creativity Is So Often Overlooked

I just finished reading a series on Brad Isaac's blog about tapping the superconscious. It got me thinking. My background is in electronics and I picked up computers/info-tech along the way. I'm a mostly self-taught geek but I am working on my IT degree at the University of Phoenix. I have always considered myself an analytical thinker and have always seen that quality as admirable when it comes to my career and hobbies. I always tend to overlook creativity as a trait of artists and writers. There have been times when a problem required a creative approach but they seemed to be few and far between.

But thinking about it, can it be true that analytical thinkers have no need for creativity? I would say no; I've been in many situations where a creative answer would have made for a better solution. I just finished 15 weeks of programming classes and one thing I learned is that you can't approach programming (especially Object Oriented Programming) from rote. You can't just memorize concepts and slap them together into a functional program. Procedural programming could be done that way, but the more creative you are, the easier of a time you'll have with the field. One of my classmates added a line to her signature about programming being a blend of engineering and art. I find that to be true.

I've found my analytical thinking and lack of creativity to cause problems in other areas of my life, especially in my marriage. It seems that every gift giving occasion I am at a loss of what to get for my wife. There are times when I can't think of what to do when I have time to play with my two boys because I lack creativity. I have had problems with my school assignments because I tried to take an analytical approach rather than a creative approach to a problem. I am teaching senior high Sunday School in church this quarter, and I've found my lack of creativity to be a hinderance to putting together a good lesson for the teens.

I think I will take Brad Isaac's advice and spend some time nurturing my creative side. There is plenty of room for a computer geek to be creative.