« Right Brain Workouts

Peter Pan

By Peter Lloyd

Everything about creativity has to do with changing, moving forward, getting better—out with the old, in with the new. And yet, we consider the most childlike among us the most creative, namely, those who choose not to grow but to maintain the mental and emotional liberty of childhood.

When we describe someone as “grown up,” we mean they have reached a stage at which they have stopped growing or completed the maturing process. The term carries a finality about it, but a false finality. Humans never stop growing. Nor should they.

cartoonCreative adults maintain and exercise their childlike openness to new ideas. They practice open-eyed curiosity and keep their kid-like willingness to play with ideas, challenge assumptions, and defy authority. They bristle at anything between them and what they passionately want to create or accomplish.

As far back as Roman times, the poet Ovid wrote of puer aeternus, the eternal boy. The eternal girl, puella aeterna, seems to have appeared later in Jungian psychology.

More recently J. M. Barrie gave us Peter Pan and Wendy. Songwriters followed with Disney’s “I Won’t Grow Up” for his animated Peter Pan, “We Won’t Grow Up” by John Williams for the movie Hook, and “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” from Tom Waits just for the fun of it.

I could send you to the Waits video, but here’s a more poignant offering from Jordan Brickhart.

Like Peter Pan some people avoid growing up in the full sense and develop a Peter Pan complex or syndrome, which expresses itself in an irresponsible lifestyle. Creative giants like Beethoven and Mozart have gained notoriety for such childish behavior.

The most notable recent Peter Pan award would have to go, of course, to Michael Jackson. “I am Peter Pan in my heart,” he has been quoted as proclaiming. But his actions speak louder, of course. He created and dwelled in his 2,700-acre Neverland Ranch, named after J. M. Barrie’s fantasy island.

Who dares argue that Jackson did not reach dizzying creative heights? The positive result—the King of Pop changed the course and complexion of music, spread joy that will resonate through the ages, and responsibly provided livelihoods for thousands of people.

Like most discussions concerning creativity, this one must conclude in irony. Creative people grow up more completely, in a way, than others. Their kid-like curiosity brings us our greatest insights. We grow from their childlike play. Their refusal to do things they way they have always been done gives us, ultimately, the invention, innovation, and art that raises the richness of our lives.

See also:
Peter Lloyd is co-author with Marco Marsan of Think Naked: Childlike Brilliance in the Rough Adult World.

Right Brain Workouts Explained
Next Workout »
Newsletter Sign Up

Join 40,000+ subscribers who receive our Open Innovation Newsletter every other week.

Subscribe