How to Be Creative

(Editor’s Note: THIS ARTICLE IS WRITTEN IN A POSTER FORMAT AND IS MEANT TO BE READ THAT WAY)

Gather lots of information about your subject matter. Study it

diligently. Work hard. Follow Vincent Van Gogh’s advice: “If one

is master of one thing and understands one thing well,one has at

the same time insight into and understanding of many things.” Look

at your topic from many different perspectives. How would a

mystic approach this idea? How would a rocket scientist look at

this? What would a child do? What would a very old person do?

Meditate. Let your thoughts simmer as you go for a long

walk. Get back to work. Create a hypothesis. Test your hypothesis.

Relax. Inspiration won’t strike if you’re tense. Hang around with

creative people. Go to a café frequented by artists and

eavesdrop on their conversation. Be comfortable with uncertainty

and ambiguity. Create a mind map of your subject matter.

Remember that practice makes perfect. Sit down to create even

when you don’t feel like it. Gather more information. Think

abundantly: there are many ideas out there, numerous

alternatives, several solutions, and endless ways to make things

better. Know that there’s an unlimited supply of ideas. Buy a

goldfish. Watch it swim around in its tank. Ignore people who

try to dissuade you from following through on your idea.

Remember that inspiration requires perspiration. Ask yourself: is

there another way to look at this? What assumptions are you

making? Challenge those assumptions. Read books on creativity.

Apply the techniques taught in those books. Visualize. Listen to

Baroque music. Put in the hours. What are you failing to see that

is staring you right in the face? Read poetry. Be passionate. Sort

through Rorschach ink-blots; what do you see? Break the rules.

(The “Full Spectrum” photograph is courtesy of mdezemery).

Jolts to your routine will lead to new ideas. Simplify: what can you

edit out of your current idea to make it better? Exercise.

Exaggerate. What if you were a thousand times smarter? What if

you were two inches tall? Make the colors brighter. Now see it in

black and white. Take risks. Get over the fear of being wrong.

Believe in magic. Set a time constraint. Learn to juggle.

Remember to feed your goldfish. Laugh until your stomach hurts.

What common elements could you combine in a new way?

Conduct experiments. Take note of what works and what

doesn’t. Make small tweaks and try again. Take time off and put

together a jigsaw puzzle. What if this problem had to be solved

in the next half-hour? Set a quantity quota: what if you had to

come up with twenty different ways of solving this? Discuss

your idea with a friend who is very different from you. Follow

Einstein’s advice: take a nap. What does your intuition tell you?

What does your logic tell you? Are there any analogies you can

draw from nature? Trust yourself. Give yourself permission to

make something really special. Put on the judge’s robe and

criticize your own work. Decide what works and what doesn’t. Keep

molding your idea, adding a little bit here, and taking away a little

bit there. Come up with a unique plan for getting your work out

there. Now take your idea and implement it in the real world.

Watch your idea take its first breath; its first steps . . . Do a

little dance and thank the gods of creativity for their inspiration.

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