Photo Courtesy of Angelo Pantazis of Unsplash

I have a low latent inhibition level.

It sounds a lot sexier than what it actually means. But I’m happy to have learned that I have it, so no need to send me a get well card. And thank the Lord there is NO cure for it.

The July/August issue of Discover magazine from 2016 included an article on creativity — what personality traits move a person to be more naturally creative. It also had tips to help spark your creativity if you feel you don’t come by it naturally.

The meaning of the low latent lingo deals with the thalamus area of the brain. Those who by nature are creative tend to have low levels of a specific type of dopamine receptor. That causes us to filter out LESS information than other people do. We tend NOT to disregard what might seem irrelevant, and that aspect enables us to make unusual connections.

I enjoy being tagged a creative; I also believe that most everyone can be more creative.

So how do we end up feeling that we are not creative? I believe that we learn to be uncreative in school. After years of standardized testing, this instruction has been drummed into our brains:  Select the ONE RIGHT ANSWER to the following questions.

When you see that over and over again, your brain decides that there is just one right answer to any question or problem that we encounter in life or in work.

I have attended problem solving meetings where no one is willing to speak up. Finally, when someone is brave enough to offer her response, the rest of the group jumps on it. Yes! Yes! Finally, someone has thought of the ONE RIGHT ANSWER!

The problem, of course, is that the first answer isn’t always the right answer. We must not stop. Keep thinking until we have many possibilities.

I knew I had done a good job of instilling this ethic in my children when my daughter came home from her first day of kindergarten.

“Guess what we had to do today, Mommy….we each had to name something that our bodies have two of. Most everybody else said eyes and ears, but not me. Guess what I said?!”

Yes, it was with a little trepidation that I admitted I could not possibly guess. It was obvious she was bursting at the seams to tell me.

She proudly answered, “Hips and nostrils.”

True story. (And yes, I obtained her permission to share this.)

So the next time you find yourself saying, “I’m just not creative,” I’d like you to remember that five-year-old who did not stop at the first right answer of eyes and ears. Put some hips and nostrils into your thinking, and you may surprise yourself.