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Enhancing Personal Creativity

The purpose of this book was to explore the topic of creativity: to describe how it works, how it evolves, and how it is applied. But naturally, the interest of the reader is more likely to be in the application rather than the exploration of this topic: How can I be more creative? How can I foster creativity in others?

The making of this book involved the interviewing of many creative individuals - and just as a doctor can prescribe a healthy lifestyle by looking at the habits of the most healthy people, so it seems that this author can prescribe a method to be more creative by looking at the habits of those who already are.

This has been implied throughout the book, and the astute reader has likely come to some conclusions of his own by now - but the author means to be more explicit in providing prescriptive information in this final chapter.

There is the typical declaimer: your mileage may vary. There is no guarantee that imitating the habits of a star athlete will enable a person to become one himself, though the sales of logo apparel seems to suggest many people believe it can. And even if you mimic the habits that seem most germane to their performance (their diet, their training regimen, etc.) there is still no guarantee of success. But until the topic is thoroughly understood, well beyond the basic exploration of the present book, it may be the best one can do.

Acquiring Creative Energy

Creativity is not a neurological phenomenon. Even with the most modern diagnostic equipment, an expert cannot tell the brain of a creative genius from that of an average person. On a physical level, all brains are alike - and they are even largely the same in terms of processing sped and storage capacity. As with two computers of the same model, the creative and average brains are no different in their hardware, but in their software.

Attention and Focus

Perhaps the greatest difference is one of attention and focus. To some degree, attention is affected by external stimuli - the overstimulated brain has no capacity to observe subtle differences or focus attention on anything but broad details. Those who are creative have trained their minds so that they are more observant and more focused - but they also have an environment in which they are able to devote attention to novelty.

Attention is more often a matter of attenuation - two people in equally noisy environments will differ in their ability to give attention to something simply because they are habituated to giving attention to certain things. A person who has a fearful nature devotes more of their attention to potential threats in the external environment. A person who is accustomed to a given environment knows what stimuli can be safely ignored.

In other instances it is a matter of priority. Some people are opportunists, who are constantly vigilant to any stimulus that suggests an immediate reward. Others have more patience and focus on things that provide a greater long-term reward. Naturally, when the mind is habituated to constantly scanning the environment, it is less able to focus on tasks with long-term potential.

Curiosity and Interest

On the other hand, curiosity and interest are also qualities of the creative mind. A person who is inured to their environment gives less attention to things and fails to notice subtle features and differences that may be meaningful. What might inspire a creative person to pursue a discovery would be totally unnoticed by another person who sees the very same thing.

Part of curiosity is the lack of knowledge or attention to rules. Children are capable of being more creative that adults because they do not know the way things ought to be, and are curious about details that adults ignore. Likewise, a person can be more creative about something they do not recognize than another who knows the purpose of a given object. Others are able to set aside preconceptions, to know that a "paper clip" can be used for more than holding together sheets of paper if they ignore its name and consider what it is - a piece of wire that can be adapted to many uses.

Curiosity is therefore smothered by a knowledge of what things are and how they are meant to be employed or interpreted. The knowledge that enables us to make quick decisions based on experience also inhibit us from making creative decisions based on observation and imagination.

A few random times are offered for cultivating curiosity:

1. Try to be surprised by something every day. Take a closer look at the things you see and consider what they might look like to someone who is seeing them for the first time.
2. Try to do something unexpected. Intentionally break from your usual routines by doing things differently. In conversation, blurt out something unusual or ask a question about something obvious to redirect it to a more creative course.
3. Keep a journal of surprises. Write down the things that surprise you and the things you attempt to do differently. Consider how your mind worked upon them and what happened as a result. See if you find a pattern you can apply in other instances.
4. Devote some time to the pursuit of the frivolous. When something sparks your interest, make time to investigate and explore. We very often stick to the functional and practical, and must devote time and effort to being creative.

Creativity, like any habit, begins with forcing yourself to do what is unusual until it becomes habitual. It should not be taken to the extreme of doing things differently just because, as this is a terrible waste of time - very often things become conventional because they are effective and efficient - but to never explore alternatives is to shun creativity and to fail to develop the ability to be creative when needed.

Cultivating Flow in Everyday Life

Curiosity alone will not lead to creativity, but superficial interest in various things that does not sustain involvement long enough to be genuinely creative. Moreover, being curious about many things means failing to devote time to any one thing - the jack of all trades is productive at none.

The result of overstimulation is not hyperactivity, but bewilderment, entropy, and inertia. It is necessary to sustain interest by deepening, and sustained attention requires finding not just curiosity, but flow: a deep, trance-like fascination that causes a person to sustain their energy as they delve deeply into an area of curiosity.

A few random tips for sustaining interest:

1. Set daily goals and look forward to their accomplishment. Genuinely happy people do not look for something interesting to do, and certainly do not expect to stumble upon it by chance, but plan to do something meaningful to them.
2. Set specific performance goals and pursue them doggedly. If you do anything well, it becomes enjoyable. The problem is maintaining interest during the frustrating time when your skills are still developing.
3. Seek improvement in the everyday. Consider the simplest routines: brushing your teeth, preparing a meal, doing light housework, and find ways to become more effective and make the experience more enjoyable.
4. Increase the level of challenge. Once you can do something well, it becomes a routine and no longer provides enjoyment. Seek to make it more challenging or accomplish an increasing level of perfection or efficiency.

Habits of Strength

People seem very much at ease while doing the things they do well, and seem to accomplish exceptional outcomes with minimal effort. This is because they have developed "habits of strength." They have learned from experience what does not work well and avoid wasting energy on tasks that do not lead to success, but instead focus their energy on the precise actions that have the greatest effect.

The author trots out the tired example of Einstein's habit of buying several identical outfits so that he didn't have to waste time deciding what to wear each day. It seems eccentric, but if you consider that a person who takes three minutes deciding what to wear each day spends over 1065 minutes - over 18 hours - each year on that trivial task. Better use could have been made of that time.

(EN: An example I recall from another source compared the master carpenter to an apprentice: the master can drive a nail in seconds using a few well-placed strokes whereas the amateur takes several seconds. As a result of proficiency at this simple task, the master can build much more in the same amount of time.)

The author is cautious about the contradiction - on one hand he suggests trying to do things differently, and on the other he suggests developing an efficient and habitual way of working. They seem to contradict one another, but the difference is that you should devote time an energy to important things and conserve time and energy on unimportant things.

And again, some random bits:

• Learn to control your sleep patterns. Some people perform well on very little sleep, others need more sleep to be rested and creative, and no amount is right for everyone. But whether you need more or less, having a sleep routine (set hours) is common to many creative individuals.
• Shape your space. A workshop is organized so that things are arranged efficiently. Minimal effort is involved in retrieving the most often used items, and no time is wasted hunting for things. Reducing distractions is another important factor to consider.
• Find out what you like. Most people simply react to the things they encounter, but if you know what energizes and inspires you, you can plan to have more positive experiences and less negative ones. This is critical to preserving enthusiasm and energy.
• Do what you hate only when there is a benefit to it. Not only does dealing with unpleasant take time away from doing pleasant things, it also sours your mood and attitude, ensuring you are irritated even when you are trying to be productive. Some things cannot be avoided, so even when doing something loathsome, recognize the value of doing it.

Internal Traits

When we consider an individual's personality, we are generally referring to two different things: their habitual behaviors and the internal traits that cause them to behave in a predictable manner. The difference between a habit and a trait is that a habit requires effort - a person is trying to behave in a polite manner - whereas a trait has been internalized - the person behaves politely because it is their natural way of being.

With this in mind, developing a more creative personality means purposefully practicing the habits of a creative person until they become internalized as traits, and are done without effort or deliberation.

In general it is difficult, but not impossible, for adults to change their habits and traits. They generally carry on in their usual mode, comfortable in their routines and feeling that the way they behave is the cause of their success, and are generally happy doing the same things and getting the same results. An adult must either be punished or rewarded for their traits before they will consider changing them.

Punishment can be heard in the biographies of recovering drug addicts, who believed that they were well in control and their habits were not doing them any harm until they had a particularly grim incident that made them realize they needed to change their ways. Punishment is never pleasant, and generally occurs only when there is a need to cease a behavior that is causing a problem - the result is restoration, not growth.

Reward, on the other hand, can be heard in the stories of highly successful people, who recognized that changing their habits would cause them to gain something more than they already had. Reward is always welcome, though there's generally some doubt as to whether the reward is worth the effort. But when a person is motivated by reward, the result is always personal growth.

In general, no-one is entirely happy. There is always something, however small, that causes dissatisfaction in life. It is in this dissatisfaction that we find opportunity to discover meaningful rewards, and seek to gain the means to pursue them. Many great inventions came from dissatisfaction - having to devote time to an unpleasant task inspires the creation of a way to do it with less effort, or being unable to obtain something that is desired inspires the discovery of a way to obtain it.

And on to the random tips:

• Develop what you lack. We are in general aware of the skills we do not have that would be useful, or personality traits that we would benefit from acquiring. Rather than seeing these things as obstacles that cannot be overcome, seek ways to overcome them.
• Consider your opposites. Aristotle suggested that every virtue is a balance between two extremes: a man who is too brave is foolhardy, one who is not brave enough is a coward, and both will suffer for their excess. So list your virtues, and consider whether you have achieved the right balance.
• Open what's closed and close what's opened. Where you are certain of something, consider how you might proceed if you were not. Where you are not sure of something, consider how you might proceed if you were certain.
• Seek to understand complexity. We are very often paralyzed by our inability to understand. Everything that is complex is actually a collection of many smaller things that are quite simple. So when paralyzed by a complicated problem, break it down and focus on its parts.

Applying Creative Energy

Little has been said about how to use creativity once it's been generated, largely because it seems to find its own outlet. If the motivation, habits, and traits are in place, most of the job is done.

Problem Finding

Creative people are open-minded and analytical. They don't assume that they understand everything, and are highly doubtful of anyone who claims that they do. They question the obvious, and by so doing they become aware of problems before most people perceive them.

He then returns to the Renaissance, which was not really an era in which creativity spontaneously occurred but one in which creativity was unfettered. When the church lost its power to suppress creativity, it exploded.

The same is true of creative thought inside of modern organizations: it is very often suppressed and discouraged. Now more than ever, when people speak of their "creative outlet" is exists in activities that are done in their own time, using their own resources, requiring no formal permission or endorsement.

So in order to exercise creativity, it is often necessary to find opportunities in private life, out of the control of employers and even members of the acknowledge profession. For most individuals, the workplace is more of an obstacle than a facilitator. So instead of attempting to innovate at work, seek to be creative in the solution to problems in daily life and in the community.

It's also worthwhile to consider routine practices from a number of perspectives: what may be working fine for some people (or even one person) may be dysfunctional and onerous for everyone else. Creative people are not satisfied with the status quo, and do not generally leap upon the first idea that comes to mind: they look at the situation from various angles and gather information for quite a long time.

Neither do creative people accept existing routines as the best possible solution. They consider what is being done as the product of the restrictions that were in place when the process was defined, and question whether those restrictions are still valid, or ever were. This often involves leaving things alone and observing and thinking for quite some time before taking action.

Finally, creative people take action. The "idea man" who chases thoughts like butterflies, constantly being distracted by a new thought, ultimately does not create anything because he does not devote the time and energy on evaluating whether any of his ideas are good enough to act on - and even if he feels strongly about an idea, he fails to act, hence fails to create.

Divergent Thinking

Not all thinking is directed at solving a problem: sometimes we are asked to evaluate other peoples' ideas, to formulate a response to events that does not have a defined goal, or to simply "come up with some ideas" without a well-articulated purpose.

The lack of a goal against which to evaluate an idea is an obstacle to clear thinking. In general, an idea is spawned by an objective and considered in terms of its likelihood to achieve that objective. So to think without guidance often requires an individual to consider what objectives might be pursued, and then formulate ideas accordingly.

Brainstorming is a formal process of coming up with as many ideas as possible, which is a much better practice than jumping on the first idea that comes to mind. The best idea might be the second, third, or fifteenth thing that bubbles up - and if the thinking process is stopped at the first plausible idea, the better ideas will not be discovered.

In some instances, brainstorming is a formal event: a group of people are called into a room to spend an afternoon or a couple of hours kicking ideas around. In other instances, it is the practice of ideas that pop up at random moments in everyday life. Whichever the case, the point is to gather a large number of ideas to evaluate before taking action.

One particular problem in brainstorming is coming up with a variety of versions of the same idea rather than coming up with a variety of different ideas. This generally happens when the creative process is faced with restrictions that prevent open thinking - and to cure this, simply question the restrictions. Rather than agreeing to participate in a session that comes up with creative ideas for selling canned soda, ask whether canned soda is the best solution to the problem.

Another suggestion is to embrace the bizarre: some of the most creative ideas are highly unconventional, and people are reluctant even to express them for fear of ridicule or rejection. Make sure that brainstorming has a high level of tolerance for unusual ideas, even those that seem stupid or silly - because it is only because we are tied to conventional thinking that these ideas seem unusable.

The Domain of Personal Life

A person who makes a brilliant contribution to a particular domain is defined as a member of the field. That is, a person who works as a shop clerk and comes up with a brilliant idea about chemistry is thereafter considered to be a brilliant chemist, regardless of whether they were formally educated or certified in the domain. Many of the most brilliant ideas come from outsiders.

And ultimately, an idea is only considered brilliant if it is applicable in some way to the lives of ordinary people. The arts and sciences often attempt to hold themselves on a pedestal, above the common rabble and the disinteresting business of day-to-day living - but unless they have an impact on the daily lives of others, ideas are not creative.

As such, there is nothing at all wrong with attempting to be creative in personal life. In fact, perhaps the best way to impact the lives of millions is to focus on their lives, not the abstract world of theory. To improve upon the way in which people accomplish a very mundane task may require some highly sophisticated thinking.

It's also mentioned that the ivory-tower attitude of the field often discourages people from participating: they feel that the world of science or art is "not for me" because the field is largely self-serving and hostile to newcomers. But a good idea sells itself: the field of music will not recognize an outsider as a brilliant composer, but if someone writes a tune that becomes popular, acclaim from the field will follow.

(EN: That's a good point, but the author is a little too critical of the field for excluding talent. There are many people who lack talent and want to be acknowledged and revered, even if they are objectively mediocre and have accomplished nothing. Taking the example of the field of music, there are thousands of wannabes who feel they are unrecognized geniuses - but who have done nothing to earn their stripes. So it seems only natural that the field does not invest time in considering whether a person may be creative until they have proven themselves in action.)

Going back to the notion that brilliant ideas often come from outsiders to a field, the author encourages readers to experiment in areas in which they may feel that they lack competence. Some people don't demonstrate their talent until later in life, and until a person applies himself earnestly to the pursuit of a goal, he will not discover his own hidden talents.

To be prescriptive: a person should experiment shallowly in a wide range of domains as a way of testing the water, but eventually find one or more domains in which they can specialize. Interest is more important than talent in this regard, because an interested person can develop their talent. No amount of talent will make something interesting to a person.

Of course, addiction and diffusion are corresponding problems. Addiction means devoting too much time to a domain in which there are little rewards, and diffusion means being involved in too many things to accomplish anything meaningful. Ultimately, development and production are metrics to attend: if you are not developing skill, you are to diffuse. If you are not producing anything, you may have an addiction.

And finally, not everyone manages to become capital-c Creative and contribute world-changing ideas. That level of success does not come fast, and does not come to many. But failure to set the world on fire should not be a discouragement: creativity is personally rewarding, even if one's accomplishments are never recognized. The sense of growth and discovery adds richness to live, and so creativity is well worth pursuing as an end in itself.