Yesterday’s Traditions, Tomorrow’s Innovations
By Rachel Ofo
Creativity
You’ve gotta think outside the box. Many of us have heard some form of this phrase at one point or another in our lives, and if we asked a random person what their understanding of it is, we would get the general idea that we have to be creative to get results.
Creativity is the ability to generate original ideas, solutions, or expressions by thinking beyond conventional boundaries. It involves imagination, curiosity, and the courage to explore new perspectives. Whether in art, science, business, or daily life, creativity transforms the ordinary into something meaningful. It thrives on problem-solving, adaptability, and diverse influences. The Harvard Business School highlights various benefits of creativity, including increased productivity (1). Overall, it’s a great skill to have for success, regardless of the industry or situation we might find ourselves in.
Have you ever had to think on your feet to string together a combination of broken Thai and mime to get your point across? Have you ever had to come up with a distracting activity to keep a child from a public meltdown? Have you ever fashioned something adequately absorbent out of a bunch of receipts because you left the house believing your child was fully potty-trained? Well, all these took a whole lot of creativity—creative skills we learned as children and polished as we matured.
So it’s important to build a creative foundation in our children, not just for future careers or parenthood, but for the now. Creativity can help our children with processing emotions, understanding control, and just learning how to be themselves (2). Creativity appears more valuable when the benefits are laid out.
However, some may feel that a skill like creativity is a bit different from something like product management, which can be taught. Some believe you either have it or you don’t. Some may even lament never having painted a beautiful picture or written a heartfelt poem. But creativity isn’t just about making something “beautiful”—it’s about seeing the world differently and reshaping it in unexpected ways. Basically, creativity is a blend of inspiration, experimentation, and the willingness to take risks in pursuit of something unique and impactful.
Creativity is just as important in a science lab as it is in an art class. Both rely on having an open mind to create something of value, whether aesthetically or functionally. In other words, creativity works hand in hand with innovation.
Innovation
Innovation is the process of turning creative ideas into practical, valuable solutions. It involves execution—applying creativity to develop new products, services, or processes that create real-world impact. So yes, that receipt-diaper would be considered innovative. Every time we act on what we ideate, that’s innovation, even if it appears small or is just a one-time occurrence. And that action requires the push of a creatively developed mind.
In short, creativity is the spark, while innovation is the fire. You can be creative without being innovative, but innovation requires creativity to drive meaningful change. Creativity is about ideas; innovation is about action and implementation. Both of these can be taught and passed down.
Tradition
Tradition is the passing down of customs, beliefs, and practices from one generation to the next, shaping cultural identity and social cohesion. We’ve seen families with generations and generations of musicians. Or families where the scientists go as far back as the invention of the first lightbulb. Was this just creativity and innovation? Of course not. There had to be a bit of tradition.
Tradition provides a sense of continuity, connecting people to their history, which can be expressed through storytelling and daily habits, reinforcing shared values. While traditions offer stability and belonging, they also evolve over time, adapting to new societal influences. I can say with (a bit of) confidence that most traditions have undergone some sort of transformation over time. Whether within families or nations, traditions influence how people communicate, learn, and navigate life’s milestones, serving as a bridge between the past, present, and future.
The past
Some can remember their youth, late nights outdoors, riding bikes around, and chasing after the ice cream man. We spent hours making up new games and reinventing old ones. Our parents helped by throwing us a few extra bucks, or a few extra hours. But the choice to do what we wanted as kids was ours. We had relative freedom to think and create. Yes, the world looked a bit different then, but kids are kids, regardless of where or when you see them. Yes, we want to hold on to those memories and pass down our favorite games, but circumstances may not always allow for that. I would love for my daughter to experience the joy of playing outside until 2am with 20 other kids, but I’ve accepted that just as our community has changed, ideas I’d hoped to pass down will adjust as well.
The present
Today our children live in a more digitally inclined world than we did. So what if we give in and buy the tablet or give them a few extra minutes of TV time? The goal is to foster creativity by sharing what we had in the past with what we have now. We simply let our children be themselves, growing in the present, but with a sprinkle of the past. We can still encourage their creativity with things we might not have had, like coding robots.
Thirty years ago, STEAM wasn’t even a phrase, but now there are toys created specifically to help them grow creatively and innovatively. Thirty years ago, creativity might have looked like crayons, yoyos, and lots of glitter. Now, our children can still enjoy these things in different, sometimes less messy, ways. And for some items that have stood the test of time—I’m talking to you, Rubik's Cube—we incorporate them with the newer items. I find open-ended toys, that is, toys that can be used in multiple ways, are longer-standing.
We recently took my daughter to a toy store, and she ran straight for the slinky, which brought a wave of nostalgia and pride. However, she still asked for her tablet later that day. Our kids can enjoy the things we did, without severing their connection to the modern world. My daughter has played with Play-Doh but has also enjoyed kinetic sand. We combine the old with the new.
Takeaway for the future
Ultimately, the end goal is the same now as it was in the past. We want creative and free thinkers. We want movers and shakers. We want kids who believe they can change the world. Although the methods may vary, the ideas and motivations are the same. As much as we want to hold on to the past, we don’t want it to hinder our children’s growth. So just give them the bowl of marbles, step back, and watch the creative juices, and glass balls, flow—even if it’s in front of a big-screen LED smartTV, which can be used to share your favorite childhood shows with your kids. Creativity and innovation are not restrictive, so don’t let traditions restrain them. Tradition can be innovative and creative; innovation and creativity can turn into tradition.
References
- Boyles, M. (2022) The Importance of Creativity in Business, Harvard Business School Online. online.hbs.edu/blog/post/importance-of-creativity-in-business
- The Whole Child (n.d.) Creativity and Play: Fostering Creativity (n.d), PBS. pbs.org/wholechild/providers/play.html
About the Author
Rachel Ofo moved from the US to Bangkok in 2016 and spent six and a half years there. She has a daughter, whom she loves dragging around on various adventures like hikes and fishing trips. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and trying new restaurants. She also enjoys being out in nature.