AMES, Iowa -- "I'm just not creative" can be a pretty common lament among workers -- managers and staff alike. People seem to accept that they either have the gift of creativity, or they don't.
But one leading researcher on the subject doesn't believe it.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who will speak at 8 p.m. Sept. 8 in the Memorial Union's Sun Room at Iowa State University, says not only is everyone capable of being creative, but people should strive to be creative -- both for the sake of their careers and for the fulfillment of their lives.
"Creativity is a central source of meaning to our lives," says Csikszentmihalyi, the author of several books on the subject, including "Creativity: Flow and Psychology of Discovery and Invention."
He also will talk about the process of being creative and how people can develop creative characteristics.
According to Csikszentmihalyi, the Davidson professor of psychology at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif., creativity is a way to reach our goals, and a way to have a good life.
He has devoted much of his life to ". . . make an effort to understand the process by which men and women come up with new ideas and new things."
Csikszentmihalyi's presentation is entitled "Where is Creativity?" and is part of a series of lectures on creativity on campus, sponsored by ISU's Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities.