The Positive Impact of Reading on Creativity and Innovation

By Ronteé Marshall

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more

places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss

Today at twenty-three years old, I believe that somewhere deep inside of us is a desire

to be more independent, to be free and to do as we please. This sense of individuality has been

with us since childhood. We all have the urge to go where we want to go and do what we want

to do with no restraints. We each have the desire to be our own person and to take care of

those things which matter to us and to protect the opinions that we hold. We each have

dreams, goals, and fantasies of what we believe our lives should look like, but more often than

not, reality throws us a curveball, and we find ourselves battling with what we want versus

what life gives to us. As a result, we, unfortunately, find our childhood dreams fading away

behind the brutal scars of disappointments, embarrassment, and failures. We throw off the

wide-eyed joy that came with playing freely as a child and replace it with the notion that “we all

have to grow up someday.” But what if I told you we don’t have to grow up?

The beloved cartoon character Peter Pan once said, “stay adventuring and never grow

up!” And I believe this is achievable by us through the act of reading because reading is an

adventure!

If we would just open our eyes, we would realise how reading swiftly takes us from one

place to another. We would see how it moves us from reality to anywhere in the fictional world

that we choose to be and more often than not, we learn many life-changing lessons along the

way too!

Walt Disney’s adaption of Peter Pan into film truly captures the inspiring message of

childlike freedom that couples with meaningful play and adventure. The film teaches us to

remain intact with our childhood boldness and encourages us to keep on dreaming and keep on

believing. Author Jorge Enrique Ponce quotes in his novel Grounded: The Untold Story of Peter

Pan and Captain Hook, “don’t be afraid to grow up, Peter. It’s only a trap if you forget how to

fly.” But isn’t this just like most of us? We grow up and forget how to be risk-takers and forget

what it feels like to do something new! We disown the excitement that came with conducting

experiments as a child and choose to live a boring, mundane life. However, the antidote to all of

this is reading. Allowing the mind to be nurtured by literature rekindles the flame of adventure

in our lives because as stories are told and biographies unfold, inspiration reveals itself to us

and stimulates our growth and our imagination! The ability to imagine is an especially

important thing because this part of the psyche influences our creativity significantly. And as we

know, the ability to create goes hand in hand with our uniqueness which then flows down into

our innovative ideas that we want the world to recognise and benefit from.

Dr. Seuss quotes, “think and wonder. Wonder and think,” and I couldn’t agree with him

more. Creativity blossoms when you ponder upon real life and by extension, what it lacks, and

reading is a gateway to receiving such information. Our children can benefit greatly from a

livelihood of reading that will add to their analytical skills about the world. We are responsible

for the mind with which we create our environment and a mind that takes it’s nurturing from

literature is of greater use to society. With this vital foundation already set, you would find that

when children reach the adult stage, they would still be deep thinkers and wanderers, learning

how the world works and how their dreams and ideas can help to provide a new and better

way of improving society.

Reading is a powerful action that cultivates entrepreneurial minds because the more

you read, the more you learn about all things. Business, art, technology, and current affairs all

become more real to us as we develop a personal opinion and understanding about them. This

ability to think critically and objectively about such matters then influences the way we

communicate with people in the world. Reading then is beneficial because it gives us better

leadership skills and it strengthens our ability to communicate effectively through our speech

and our writing abilities, which then becomes an asset in the innovative world.

Be intentional about not allowing yourself or your children fall into the trap of thinking

that reading is boring! The important factor to keep in mind is that the literature you choose to

read should be enjoyable, inspiring, and actionable for you. And when you’re done, take a

moment to reflect. What did you learn? Where did you go? And how can I take this new

information to better myself and the ones around me?

Reading is an adventure people! And never forget, the more that you learn, the more

places you’ll go!