How to Be Creative on Demand

0:28This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. Back Support is made with a blend of melatonin and L-theanine for both kiddos and grown-ups. So when your mind won't switch off, you've got something that can help. Erasing thoughts and restless nights won't stand a chance. Find Oli Sleep Solutions for the whole family at Oli.com. That's O-L-L-Y dot com. For far too long, people have sorted themselves into two camps. Those who are creative and those who aren't. Like any trait, self-selected non-creatives have believed they were simply born without the creative gene. But according to best-selling author Joseph Grinney, creativity is actually learnable.

1:09Grinney arrived at this revelation when he found himself in way over his head on a project in Kenya. He'd been tasked with generating self-help strategies to propel Kenya's poorest citizens up the economic ladder. The problem was, Grinney had zero experience doing this. So, like all of us, he hoped and prayed that ideas would come. And they did. The project was a success. But in hindsight, Grinney realized he'd actually been doing much more than merely invoking help from the heavens for solutions. Grinney's great takeaway was that while no one can isolate all of the variables that summon imagination, he had reliably created the conditions that invited it.

1:50Perhaps more importantly, Grinney saw that anyone can make themselves more predictably creative by following the same principles. One of Grinney's ideas for inviting innovation is to frame the problem at hand. Once the problem is clearly articulated, step back and allow the problem to turn in your mind. Like a grain of sand in an oyster, the cognitive irritation stimulates creativity and the unconscious gets to work. Another creativity-conjuring tip is to obey your curiosity. This means following paths that have no obvious purpose other than to satisfy a whim. Maybe it's reading an article that catches your eye or attending a conference session that intrigues you.

2:31It's tempting to let these opportunities pass, but if you do, it could be at your own creative peril. If creativity is just connecting things, as some have said, you'll be more creative if you have more things to connect. But Grinney says you should also do things that don't interest you. This can be difficult advice to follow. No one wants to watch that boring looking video someone sent. But lots of tasks that begin as a chore often end with an insight. Sometimes we call things boring simply because they lie outside the box we're currently in. As for boxes, Grinney recommends that you keep a shoebox or something similar to store your experiences and that you revisit it often.

3:13If you are obeying your curiosity and doing things that don't interest you, that shoebox will be chock full of new ideas before you know it. Grinney also advises that we invite uncomfortable conversations. You'd be surprised by what you can learn from discussions with people you might not normally engage with. Debating politics with someone from an opposing party, questioning a con artist, or exploring the idea of home with a child refugee forces us to grapple with another's perspective and expands our powers of empathy. And Granny's final idea for summoning creativity? When you feel creativity hit, stop whatever else you're doing and focus on it.

3:54We know when inspiration is brewing inside of us. The trick is to respect these moments by jotting down our thoughts as they come. Ignore these moments or try to kick them down the road and they'll be nearly impossible to resummon. Sure, creativity may always be part mystery. But by following Grinny's advice, we can all invite its arrival.

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