#39 - Can you be creative when you are 50?

Pawel Pietruszewski
Jul 17, 2024
3 min read

When I was a kid starting my career, my biggest dream was to become an expert. This almost magical creature who knows everything and whom everybody listens to like the Good Lord himself. Time flies, and as I built expertise, gained insights, and developed expert intuition, I started to feel almost like that Good Lord. But this is where, according to research and personal experience, things can go south.

The Double-Edged Sword of Expertise

Expert intuition can be trusted in the fields, which are characterised by an environment that is sufficiently regular to be predictable, and which provides opportunities to learn these regularities through prolonged practice. In the fast changing environment this is a creativity killer. Intuition does not listen to new developments, it is based on the past experience and makes people with deep expertise, much less creative compared to those who are still asking questions and do not have long memory to make quick decision without asking. Fresh questions sound often stupid (especially to experts) but open new roads and directions. People without long expertise are not bound to the standard ways of viewing things and have freshness and independence of thought.

Age-Related Creativity Myths

It's a common belief that after 50, you're not creative, your useful life is reaching an end, and you may as well prepare for retirement. But is this really the case?

Contrary to popular belief, creativity doesn't necessarily diminish with age. Instead, what often declines is the willingness to engage with new ideas and challenge established norms. This reluctance can stem from the comfort of expertise or the fear of appearing incompetent in unfamiliar territory.

The Power of Switching Disciplines

Barbara Oakley in her excellent book: Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential, claims that apart from youngsters there is a second group of creative and innovative people - those who were older and switched disciplines or careers. They bring long years of expertise from one area to another, creating fresh innovations by applying methods they know but are new to this field. They may start to look at things with fresh eyes and you bring seemingly unrelated priori knowledge to the table, which may be surprisingly valuable.

Switching disciplines can be uncomfortable. You may feel unappreciated, incompetent, lost - after all, you were almost a Good Lord in your previous field. But that feeling of incompetence can make you an innovation and creativity machine again.

The "π" Approach to Career Building

Another interesting strategy to avoid the traps of expertise is "π" approach to career building, promoted by career counselling authorities in Singapore. In this approach a person builds two areas of deep knowledge, balanced by some level of expertise in other areas. According to them it build resilience and flexibility in the face of rapid changes. I think that it can help you to build ability to stay creative and innovative for much longer.

Beyond Age: The Universality of Expertise Traps

I focus on 50 plus group but even young professionals can fall into the trap of over-reliance on their initial learning and experiences. In a world that rewards quick decision-making and confidence, young experts might also ignore new developments and fresh perspectives, relying too heavily on what they have learned early in their careers. This overconfidence can stifle creativity and limit the potential for innovative thinking, regardless of age.

Considerations for Sustaining Creativity

When was the last time you challenged a deeply held belief or assumption in your field?
Have you sought feedback from colleagues or mentors outside your primary area of expertise?
Have you thought about a career change?
Do you have a second area of deep expertise? If not, what could that be?
What steps can you take to cultivate a mindset of curiosity and continuous learning?