Being creative means being open to new ideas. Otherwise, we’d be stuck doing the exact same thing each and every time. To be creative, you need to look at something and think to yourself, “maybe this isn’t the only way to do this”. Notice I didn’t write “maybe this isn’t the best way to do this”. Instead, I wrote only, which leads me to my point.
Stop looking for The Best Creative Ideas.
When many people think of creatives they think of people in search of making something better to the point of approaching best. And in a lot of cases this is true. Many an invention and business began with, “There has to be a better way to do this.” So many people are inspired by the hardships either they or people they know face.
It might stem from a large gap in the way products are made that brings about the industrial revolution. Or it might just be an ill-fitting blanket that leads to the creation of the Snuggie. Whatever the case, the search for better and best has brought great change in the world.
However, if you’re only looking to do better or best, you stifle your chances of creating anything new. If you’re only focused on the ways that something can become better, then by definition, you’re tossing out any idea that doesn’t fit the bill. In a time-crunched brainstorming session, this makes perfect sense, because you need to stay focused. But in a day-to-day context, the time limit is only in our heads.
I know that this may seem counterintuitive, but stay with me for a moment. We can do good work under pressure, but just like changing your scenery, you also need to change your constraints if you want to take full advantage of your creative potential. We’ve been taught that progress is only made when we focus on achieving the task at hand, and nothing else.
But in the wise words of Yoda, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”
Open your mind to the fact that other ways of doing things that may not be better (and may be worse) is not necessarily a bad thing. It will give you a whole new perspective. It’s only by thinking of the world as malleable and that your immediate actions don’t need to lead directly to your desired outcome that you will be able to start capturing your own creativity.
Such an important post, Ryan. So many times I can get stuck in doing things the same way I’ve always done them because that’s what I know, but when I take the time to test things out I can sometimes end up finding the better way along the way.
Good thoughts, Ryan. I had an additional thought regarding what you said here: “If you’re only focused on the ways that something can become better, then by definition, you’re tossing out any idea that doesn’t fit the bill.” I think the key is that we don’t really know that a certain new approach will make a thing better, we can only ever hypothesize that it will (i.e., guess ). Will winning the lottery make things “better”? The obvious answer is “You bet!” But the more complicated, real-world answer is, “I don’t know. Maybe not. Might make it worse.”
It’s so important during the creative process to allow all ideas to stand without making value judgments about “better” or “best.” Particularly within a team setting, what someone says just off the cuff – or maybe even to be silly – sparks in someone else (or that same person after further discussion) the idea that winds up turning into the “money shot.” It’s happened to me countless times. Even my own book, which is now a huge part of my life and career, started mostly in jest – just a bunch of kids saying, “You should totally write a book about all the stuff you tell us and call it I Wish I Had A Pocket-Sized Erik ! We’d totally buy it!” They were being kids, just spouting off to be funny (and appreciative, in their way). But out of that “ridiculous idea” came something that I know is changing lives, including my own.
Ryan,
I think this is a really great point you made her about integration of other perspectives. Integrating other perspectives can help us learn and gain knowledge that we don’t have because of our assumptions. I can see how this expands ideas and new ways of thinking.