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Insights on the Creative Process
Creative Minds
A Regular Column by Anthony D. Fredericks
Insights on the Creative Process
We all aspire to be creative individuals. Unfortunately, the concept of creativity is something often shrouded in secrecy, wrapped in myths, and subject to much misunderstanding. In this article, I’ll address some of the most pressing questions about creativity and why it can be a natural and normal part of your everyday activities.
- What is one of the biggest misconceptions about creativity?
One of the most persistent illusions about creativity is that it strikes when least expected (the Eureka! myth). Like a bolt of lightning, creative thoughts come “out of the blue” and we have an immediate answer to a most perplexing challenge. Truth be told, real creativity requires regular and daily practice.
- What is the biggest barrier to a creative life?
When it comes to matters creative, we frequently compare ourselves to creative giants – those individuals who are celebrated for their creative discoveries, inventions, or contributions: Georgia O’Keefe, John Steinbeck, Steven Spielberg, Elton John, Jane Goodall, and Misty Copeland are all creative icons. As a result, we tell ourselves that we’ll never achieve their creative greatness. The unfortunate consequence of this thinking is that we significantly diminish our individual creative potential.
- How can I be more creative?
There is compelling psychological evidence that we each select one of two mindsets to govern our lives. The first, the fixed mindset, is an internal belief that our talents and abilities are fixed and unchanging – unchangeable and unmovable. Those of us with a growth mindset, however, believe that our abilities can be improved with effort and practice. We work to improve ourselves – not prove ourselves – striving to overcome any handicaps or shortcomings and pushing ourselves into new areas ripe for exploration and discovery. As you might imagine, embracing the growth mindset leads to more creativity.
- Are there some easy ways to boost my creativity?
Yes, here are four easy-to-implement strategies:
- Daydream. According to recent psychological research, the time we spend engaged in meaningful daydreaming and the time we spend in thinking about fantastical alternative worlds frequently leads to new inspiration and renewed creativity.
- Walk. Researchers at Stanford University have conclusively proven that people are more creative during and after a walk than they are sitting down. Their study proved that the more we incorporate walking into our daily activities, the more creative ideas we are able to generate.
- Nature. A stroll through a meadow, a bicycle trip through a local park, or a venture to a lake, are all valuable experiences that enhance personal creativity. You’ll begin to see how nature has solved some unique and distinct “challenges” (e.g. the design of a spider web, the splay of roots at the base of a tree). Nature’s creativity stands as an example of how “challenges” are met in several unique ways.
- Play. The overriding consensus from the research is that play – even in our adult years – is a balm to our creative spirit. It underscores the processes important in looking at the world with a different eye – examining possibilities – not because they are right or wrong, but just because they are possibilities. As a result, we loosen up our thinking to tackle myriad challenges.
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Dr. Anthony D. Fredericks is an award-winning author of more than 170 books, including From Fizzle to Sizzle: The Hidden Forces Crushing Your Creativity and How You Can Overcome Them. He also pens a regular blog for Psychology Today.com (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/ contributors/anthony-d-fredericks-edd)
Were You Born Creative? Or Not?
Creative Minds
A Regular Column by Anthony D. Fredericks
Were You Born Creative? Or Not?
How often have you heard the following statements? Alternatively, and more specifically, how often have you said these statements yourself?: “I couldn’t draw a straight line if my life depended on it.” “If you’re looking for a creative person, you might as well look somewhere else.” “Me? Creative? No way, José.”
There is a persuasive tendency of people to downplay their creative talents or place limits on their creative output. Many people believe they aren’t creative simply because they weren’t born with a creative gene. Believing we don’t have creative attributes becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. As a result, our creative confidence dwindles, erodes, and is washed away. We often fall into the all too common perception that we were either born creative or not.
As you might expect, that’s a myth!
Truth be told, the “I’m creative” and “I’m just not creative” groups are imaginary – we’re not one or the other. As shared throughout the pages of From Fizzle to Sizzle: The Hidden Forces Crushing Your Creativity and How You Can Overcome Them, we are all creative individuals as children, it’s just that that creativity has been steam-rolled into submission as we get older and begin to deal with the realities of everyday living.
Psychologists Kaufman and Gregoire describe the similarities between those often self-designated as “Creative” and those who self-select the “I’m not creative” moniker. In fact, as you review their list of characteristics (below) you will note that many of these beliefs and personality dynamics are also those that have been an inherent part of your own life. It could well be said, that the characteristics of “Creatives” are the same characteristics that are part and parcel of your past as well as your present. As From Fizzle to Sizzle presents, however, some of those features have been systematically crushed, pummeled, mashed, and trampled as we have grown up, gone to school, and gotten a job.
Here are ten attributes of creative types. Note how many of these attributes apply to you now or were once an element of your younger years:
- I played imaginative games as a child.
- I have, or have had, a passion for something important in my life.
- I’ve been known to daydream about things unrelated to my work.
- I enjoy doing things on my own or by myself.
- I sometimes “just know” something is right; I’ve been intuitive at times.
- I’m open to learning new things and having new experiences.
- I’ve meditated or engaged in mindfulness activities.
- I’m sensitive to the needs and feelings of others.
- I’ve been able to turn adversities into advantages.
- I sometimes think about things others do not.
I suspect you have experienced more than one or two attributes from that list. Thus, it seems reasonable to assume that almost all of us, at one time or another in our lives, have engaged in common practices and shared performances emblematic of creative thinking. That is to say, no matter your perceived station in life, you have the components of creative thinking already “in your system.” In short, you are more similar to those arbitrarily classified as “Creative People” than you are different.
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Dr. Anthony D. Fredericks is an award-winning author of more than 170 books, including From Fizzle to Sizzle: The Hidden Forces Crushing Your Creativity and How You Can Overcome Them as well as five other Blue River Press titles (e.g. Ace Your Teacher Resume). He also pens a regular blog for Psychology Today.com (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/ contributors/anthony-d-fredericks-edd)