“The Element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. When people arrive at the Element, they feel most themselves, most inspired, and achieve at their highest levels,” writes Sir Ken Robinson. Past work in creativity development, innovation and human resources have led him to this thesis.
In The Element, Robinson pursues the idea that following one’s passion and finding one’s “tribe” (mentors and peers who are in their element) brings each of us to a place of wholeness and creativity.
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Enjoy a laugh or two with Robinson on YouTube: Creativity and Literacy
Robinson says, “My definition of creativity is ‘the process of having original ideas that have value.’ Imagination can be entirely internal. You could be imaginative all day long without anyone noticing. But you would never say that someone was creative if that person never did anything. To be creative you actually have to do something. It involves putting your imagination to work to make something new, to come up with new solutions to problems, even to think of new problems or questions. You can think of creativity as applied imagination.”
I think the argument can be made that the happiest people are those who find and live in their element.
This should be the objective of all schools: to prepare an environment in which faculty and students can live and work in their element every day. The electric charge given off by such schools would shock our economy out of the doldrums.
When are you in your element? What do you really love to do and be?
