Hello!
...and Welcome to this issue of Time to Think - the bi-monthly e-zine for professional women - dedicated to helping you thrive.
The fact that creativity is one of business's "top ten most wanted attributes" means that we are all looking for ways to become more creative.
And there are loads of great tools available to help stimulate creative thinking.
But there are also a number of myths about creativity that can stop you from getting anywhere with creative thinking, great tools or not. Are YOU caught in one of these “creativity traps”?
Read this month's article and find out….
The Creativity Trap
Are YOU caught in it?
The fact that “googling” creativity produces around 63 MILLION related hits suggests that creativity is BIG!!
Even allowing for some duplication, the quantity of information out there is amazing. So how come you and your teams are not all full of boundlessly confident creativity?
You may have already noticed that your creativity sometimes feels blocked by certain things. Or that it's tough sometimes to get motivated to "be creative".
You may be caught in a creativity trap!
Creativity traps are those myths about creativity that stop you from even getting started generating ideas. Or mean that your attempts to do so are half-hearted at best.
Here are my top 3 creativity traps, plus creativity enhancing key beliefs to free you and your imagination.
MYTH No 1 (It's a biggie): “Some people are creative and some aren’t.”
(Generally closely followed by "And I’m not.")
This conclusion is usually reached at school, often in the art room.
But go to any nursery in the country and you’ll find it stuffed full of little kids drawing and painting, cutting and gluing. Plus, inventing games, telling stories, dressing up, imagining they're princesses, or astronauts...
That was YOU once. Before art class. Before you came to believe that because you weren’t a skilled artist, you weren’t “a creative person” either.
STOP PRESS: Artistic talent and creativity are different things.
Not everyone can be an artist. Not everyone can be a writer. But everyone can be creative.
What if…
... Creativity is not a skill. It is an attitude.
"Hmmmm. OK (you ask) so how can I get a creative attitude?"
Read on...
MYTH NO 2: “Creativity involves ‘thinking outside the box’.”
This originally comes from a well-known creative thinking puzzle. It’s about breaking out from your assumptions about what the “rules” might be.
But it’s not only so ubiquitous as to be something of a joke, it’s also SO unhelpful as a concept.
How do you think “outside the box”? What box? Did you even suppose you were in a box, until someone told you to think outside of it?
So instead what happens … You focus on the box – and getting out of it. When in fact… THERE IS NO BOX!
Instead, there is space. A great big nothingness into which your imagination can grow - and twine and blossom. And it’s not an empty nothingness either – it is “vibrant with possibilities”.
In the Zen tradition, it is no-thing-ness. A creative space full of promise and potential – with no specific thing yet manifest.
Can you feel how freeing this is?
What if…
... You are always in
a creative space teeming with potential and vibrant possibility. Where ideas, and solutions, are waiting to be formed.
And creativity involves playing in it.
Read on for the third in my top three creativity traps...
Feel free to share this e-zine with friends & colleagues...who do you know that would benefit from reading this?
Get regular Time to Think...If you’re like many professional women, rushing round getting things done, running a business and a home, sorting out the kids, delivering on deadlines, etc. etc., you’re probably wondering why it’s so hard to think creatively about any of it.
MYTH No 3 “I can be creative with my nose to the grindstone”
Watch any artist, or sculptor, and you’ll see them step back to look at their work, then forward to execute another little stroke of detail. Then back again to consider the overall effect.
Where does creativity happen?
Is it in the execution?
No, it’s in the stepping back and considering.
So long as your head is down and your mind is tied up with day to day details of life and work, there is little opportunity for creative thinking.
Creativity requires time out. Away from constant interruptions. Away from “to-do” lists. Away from the requirement to deliver something.
The world’s most innovative companies recognise this. My clients do too, many regarding our sessions as “stepping back” time when they can do some quality thinking about their lives.
What if…
... Creative thinking time has to be scheduled, planned and protected. Because it’s every bit as important as the ‘getting things done’ time.
How can YOU build in some quality time for creative thinking?
To sum up
So there you have it. Three keys to unlocking your creativity:
- not ability, but attitude
- belief in an abundance of possibilities in which to play
- ring-fenced, quality thinking time
Get those three things in place and you'll be ready to take advantage of some of those 63 million pages of hints and tips on creativity.
Without them, you may as well leave the crayons in the box...
Need to chill out, unwind or re-energise? You've come to the right place...
This issue we have another little visualisation to relax and revive you. Read it through before trying it.
Get comfortable, closing your eyes if you can. Breathe deeply, into your tummy.
Imagine you are standing on a little hill, above the ocean. The waves gently swish onto the beach below you. Become aware of the sea breeze blowing towards you.
In your imagination, spread your arms out, wide and relaxed. You're aware of the breeze blowing through your fingers. The ozone freshness of the sea.
Concentrating on the feeling of the breeze through your fingers, allow any tension, problems or stresses to flow down your arms and off the ends of your fingers. Release them into the breeze where
they can be blown away by the clean wind.
Imagine the wind growing stronger - blowing around your body and carrying away any negativity and tension. You may start to feel invigorated - energised.
Spend as long as you wish enjoying this feeling.
Now the breeze becomes gentle, caressing your face and hands. Breathe deeply of the fresh ocean air.
When you're ready open your eyes and return to your present, bringing as much of that ocean freshness and peace back with you as you wish.
Relax and Revive
In the meantime, I'd love to hear your comments and feedback
on any of the topics raised in this issue - please do get in touch.
warm wishes
Helen