Why Are Immigrants More Creative?

Why Are Immigrants More Creative?

When we think of creativity, we imagine a magical flow: ideas pouring out effortlessly, everything clicking into place.

But in reality, creativity is rarely that smooth. It’s more like wrestling with a stubborn thought that refuses to take shape. And research suggests that this struggle isn’t a human flaw - it’s part of what makes creativity happen.

Psychologists have found that creativity grows in tension and friction, not in comfort.

One of the clearest examples comes from Adam Galinsky at Columbia Business School. Over two decades of research, Galinsky and his colleagues discovered that people who live abroad tend to become measurably more creative.

• In one study, participants who had spent extended time in another country performed better on creative problem-solving tests than those who hadn’t.

• In another, fashion designers who had lived overseas produced work that independent judges rated as more original.

• The longer and deeper their engagement with another culture, the stronger their creative spark.

Why is this? Because creativity thrives when the mind has to adjust - when you’re decoding unfamiliar customs, forming relationships across languages, or trying to see the world through someone else’s eyes. Every moment of adaptation forces the brain to connect ideas that wouldn’t normally meet.

It happens whenever we step outside our comfort zone: collaborating with someone from another field, befriending someone who sees the world differently, or taking on a new challenge.

We often chase ease and flow, but growth lives in the horizon.

I’m reminded of this verse from the Quran:

"O mankind! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female and made you peoples and tribes so that you may know one another." (49:13)

The phrase "so that you may know one another" means learning from the diversity of each other.