Creativity is Overrated

Most “creatives” are dissatisfied people. They view the world through a critical lens, detecting problems where others see none. Recognizing flaws is their talent, but it often overshadows beauty. They are cynical of the moment, reserving hope only for a hypothetical future—a future of their own making. But even when that imagined future becomes reality, they can’t stop their forward gaze. They never find their pot of gold, only another problem to solve.

Without creatives, we might be stuck in medieval times, stone ages, or extinct. Creativity is essential for evolution. It’s what drives us to experiment, and sometimes, those experiments work out brilliantly. Those willing to adapt, survive. Natural selection favors the innovative, humans being beneficiary of this. Creativity isn't a rare gift but a universal trait coursing through our collective DNA.

We are all “creatives” to some degree, and society encourages this creative impulse. The more problems we identify, the more solutions we generate, the stronger society becomes. But society operates in binary terms—it knows no limits to its expansion, indifferent to individual well-being.  It optimizes for power, not welfare, and we are well oiled cogs in this incessant machine.

Creativity is fundamental to our nature, but its absolute glorification is toxic to our genuine prosperity. We are almost never satisfied with what we have or who we are. We are encouraged to sacrifice joy in the service of “progress”—chasing improvement at the cost of contentment.

We should celebrate joy the way we celebrate creativity. Isn’t that the variable we want to solve for? We should question progress, opting sometimes for the way things already are. Society needs creative people, but creative people need to be happy.

Creativity is overrated. Let’s focus on joy.