(The “wet paint” photograph is courtesy of jaki good).
Creativity has often been attributed to divine intervention. Some well-known authors have claimed that while writing their novels they felt as if the words they were typing were being dictated to them. As mythology illustrates, the ancient Greeks believed that the muses were the source of all inspiration. Perhaps every creative endeavor does have a divine spark in it, but it’s unnecessary and counterproductive to delay creativity until ideas magically appear in our heads as if descended from up above. There are many ways to actively coax forth the creativity that lies dormant within each of us.
As Jack Foster explains in his book, How to Get Ideas
To be More Creative, Think of Yourself as Being Creative
Many people think that creativity is a natural talent and that it can’t be learned. These same people tend to stifle their creativity by constantly thinking to themselves: “I’m not creative.” You need to stop thinking of creativity as the purview of a few gifted individuals. A lot of what passes for raw creative talent is simply taking the time to look for a better way of doing things, making the effort to come up with several alternatives, and tinkering with different ideas until you find one that works.
Edward de Bono–regarded by many as the leading international authority on the direct teaching of creative thinking –explains that creative thinking is not a talent, but a skill that can be learned and developed through practice. He holds that creative thinking empowers people by strengthening their natural abilities, and that techniques and strategies for facilitating creative performance should be taught in schools. Always think of yourself as a creative person.
Simply Begin
The fabulous SARK, author of “The Bodacious Book of Succulence”, explains to her readers that creativity is available to everyone and that it’s there all the time. While a lot of people wait for inspiration to strike in order to start creating, she explains that it’s really the other way around: begin, move forward, get started, and then inspiration will come to you. When you’re crabby, when all you can think about are other things that need to be done, when you feel that you’re just not “in the mood” to create, when your inner critic tries to dissuade you from even trying, do it anyway.
Laugh, Have Fun, Play
Give yourself permission to be playful and inquisitive, flexible and versatile. Create a playful environment that helps call forth your creativity. Chalkboard paint can be applied to walls; hang up a bulletin board; set up an artist easel; have a large roll of paper available for you to express your imagination. Don’t forget a caddy of tempera paints, crayons, colored pencils, and washable markers.
Laugh as often as you can. Laughing has been shown to help people think more broadly, associate freely, and notice complex relationships. Daniel Goleman explains in his best selling book, “Emotional Intelligence”, that the intellectual benefits of a good laugh are most striking when it comes to solving problems that demand a creative solution. As illustration, Goleman explains that one study found that people who had just watched a video of television bloopers were better at solving a puzzle long used by psychologists to test creative thinking.
Combine Seemingly Disparate Elements
Another definition of creativity is the ability to combine ideas in a unique way, to see relationships between disparate things, or to make useful associations among ideas. You can practice creativity by taking two things that are unconnected and forcing connections between them. Musicians combine different styles—such as pop with Islamic music–and come up with new, compelling sounds. Many business gurus who “discover” a new way of conducting business are simply synthesizing ideas from apparently different fields.
“Creativity, as has been said, consists largely of rearranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know. Hence, to think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.” — George Kneller
Have Lots of Ideas
Thomas Edison applied the concept of an “idea quota” in his life. This is a great motivational tool for attaining a great quantity of creative thinking output. It’s been said that by the time of his death in 1931, he held over one-thousand patents. His “Idea Quota” basically consisted of the following: he had to come up with a minor invention every 10 days and a major invention every 6 months. Consider setting an idea quote for yourself. Force yourself to come up with as many as 300 ideas. Even though it might seem taxing at first, your mind will soon get used to producing ideas on command.
“To have a great idea, have a lot of them.” — Thomas Edison
Ask Yourself Lots of Questions
Creativity requires an inquisitive mind. To generate creative insight you need to ask lots of questions. Constantly ask yourself the following questions:
- What can I do?
- How can I help?
- How can I be of service?
- How can I add value?
- How can I make this world a better place?
- What is the problem?
- Is this the best definition of the problem?
- What preconceptions am I holding?
- What metaphors from nature can I use to illuminate this?
- How can I get more objective information?
- How can I look at it from an unfamiliar perspective?
- What if the law of gravity were suspended?
- What if money weren’t an issue?
- What if . . . ?
- Wouldn’t it be great if. . .?
Always Carry a Notebook
You never know when you might get an idea, or when you might hear or witness something that catches your attention and which later may be the catalyst for the discovery of a new way of tackling a problem you’ve been trying to solve. Therefore, it’s a good idea to always carry a notebook and pen with you so that you can record your observations, write down any interesting thoughts, or simply jot down whatever catches your fancy. You might want to refer to my previous post, “Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci: Copy his Notebook Habit”.
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