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| Self Improvement: Creativity Articles from EzineArticles.com
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It's amazing where good ideas come from. They might come while you are singing in the shower or walking your dog, they might come at 3 in the morning or while you are driving your car, but the rest of the ideas can come from brainstorming. There are a lot of books about brainstorming, mind mapping and how to be a generally better thinker.
Michael Jackson - gone and yet eternalized by what he did best- singing, dancing, entertaining. He was masterful in his realm, breaking new ground in the industry as a child star, an African-American and stellar performer. His self-expression was strong, defined and uniquely his own while in his element. Notice, however, how many troubles he had outside his field of specialization, just like others such as Princess Diana.
In the spirit of Dr. Schweitzer's Reverence for Life, I continue to search for pivotal ways to make a difference. My approach is through what I call 'Creative Living', where I make choices and live a lifestyle that captures the essence of creativity- routinely looking to break from routines (notice the structure in my free-flow?), being open to new perspectives, pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone and always seeking connections to come up with new ideas or solutions in order to add value.
Linking the idea of intentional focus with being creative seems counter-intuitive; almost moronic! It's actually FUN! Where F stands for Focus, U stands for Unleash, and N stands for Narrow. Read more here.
Living in Creative Flow requires a certain amount of movement, and movement implies change, even if it is just a shift in placement of the same things. And yet most people will balk at the notion of change. We value both, creative flow and constancy, so how can we reconcile the two? Let's probe a little.
When we are out in the world doing our thing, living creatively to our highest and best use of our talents and skills, we create ripples amongst the people and places we touch. This then can spread to impact people they touch, and beyond them in ways we'll never know. And when your efforts merge with mine, or someone else's, the possibility of amplification of effort exists.
What did the Wizard of Oz have that Dorothy, the Tinman, the Lion and the Scarecrow didn't? In simple terms, he knew they already possessed whatever they thought they lacked. It took them going on a journey of experiential discovery to gain the feedback, self-awareness and eventual self-confidence they each needed.
In your best Alfie singing voice, go for it- "What's it all about....?" Who is to say? Who is to know, really?
It behooves us as professionals to deliberately find and then design out potential risks and limitations. Sometimes these can only be done by experts who are fully aware of the full story- at face value and considering implications beyond the obvious. In our Creative Situation Room, armed with creativity tools exercised within a creative mindset, we can hunt for the pitfalls, ask the hard questions and force the issue among well-informed colleagues before we enter the real-world marketplace.
Chaos breeds creativity? Well, yes, although that's only part of the story, and popularized by the notion of the absent minded professor. This possibility is a characteristic of the brain based on it being an asymmetric self-organizing patterning system. To illustrate what I mean, let me tell you a story I read today in a financial newsletter.
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