In our desire to be original and innovative we may be holding back our true creativity by trying too hard.

Seriousness, dedication, hard work, tremendous effort, and earnestness may be less important than we think in the creative realm.

Carl Jung suggested that “The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.”

The longshoreman and philosopher Eric shared this view and commented, for example, that the stimulus for many inventions was more likely play, in many cases, than purposeful goal-directed activity towards solving a particular problem.

Hoffer cited the example of the wheel, writing that its creation, initially, was probably as part of a toy, rather than a deliberate effort to create a locomotion or transportation device.

So, perhaps we can become more creative if we would lighten up a bit and simply act more playfully and try to have some fun with our materials and concepts.

— Dennis Mellersh