This is your brain on creativity!

Did you know that creativity can be addictive? That's because creativity itself involves the dopamine system in the brain--the reward system. When you are creative, your brain pumps out dopamine.  That's the same stuff that "rewards" you when you jog regularly, or (unfortunately) eat those addictive sweets.

My personal bet is that persistently creative people are those who got hooked on the creativity rush early in their lives.  Maybe they drew a tree with purple leaves, for example, and instead of being corrected ("No, leaves are green, sweetie") someone said, "This child is a genius! S/he drew a tree with purple leaves!"  The praise reinforced the enjoyment of inventing purple leaves for the tree, and a creator was born.

I am living proof that we can train ourselves to get hooked on creativity.  I am naturally kind of in the middle: I enjoy being creative, but I also have poor frustration tolerance; I tend to rush toward answers to frustrating questions.  Over the years I've learned to take a deep breath, clear my mind, force a smile, and shift gears from pushing for an answer to inventing a new solution.

The key for me is how wonderful it feels to let my brain do creative things. Do you remember what it felt like when you figured out how to ride a bicycle for the first time?  That's the high I'm talking about.  That's your brain on creativity.