Creativity Inside the Box

 

I was just in Kenosha this weekend for my buddy’s fortieth birthday. Kenosha, in addition to being the nearest city to those lovable characters of That 70’s Show, is the birthplace of Orson Welles. There I stumbled across this quote of his:
The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.

Wait, what? I thought freedom and "thinking outside the box" were the keys to creativity. Orson, you crazy fat man, what in Grover’s Mill are you talking about?

After giving it some thought, with both sides of my brain firing, this actually makes a lot of sense. Humans aren’t wired to operate without some boundaries that allow us to focus our creative energy appropriately… and, as I’ve grown to realize in my years, total freedom is a myth.

Here are a couple of ideas that can help you unleash your creative potential:

Understand Your Limitations

To be truly free, it is necessary to have some structure – and even more importantly, to understand those limitations. Great music relies on rhythm and meter, great paintings on the size and texture canvas (and frame), great speeches on the knowledge and energy of the audience, etc. To be truly creative is to embrace, not only the restrictions of your media and tools, but your mistakes and weaknesses as well.

Half the time when men think they are talking business, they are wasting time.

                                                                                                -- E. W. Howe

To nurture your rhythm and feel the meter is to provide the lucidity and purpose to engage your problems locked-and-loaded. Many people end up wasting time with sub-par or ineffective work because they simply didn't take the time to understand the limitations of the project or articulate the goal beforehand.

Who are the stakeholders? What is the desired outcome? What steps need to be taken for approval? What tools are available? What are the deadlines? Where will the work appear? Why am I doing this? It is only after these types of questions are answered that you should start to work on the How.

 

You Are What You Eat

The old mantra of CRM implementers and data analysts, "Garbage in, garbage out," is also an important factor for creativity. What you consume is exceedingly important in how effective you are at problem-solving and creating. Of course, I could take a minute to address what you physically consume, as this will certainly make a difference in your production and outcomes... but no. I'm talking about what your mind consumes. As with the food you eat, the first step is to be conscious of what you are taking in.

Here are a few other enemies of creativity that should be avoided at all costs:

• Reruns
• Unnecessary Complexity
• Fear
• Unlucky/unsuccessful people
• Assumptions
• Boredom
• Unattainable expectations

...and a few things we should actively seek out:

• Relevance (what can this seemingly unrelated thing tell me about my problem/project?)
• Published works of the leaders in your industry
• Time-sensitive opportunities
• Information about things you are passionate about
• Recent innovative products or concepts
• The classics

Change Things Up

So, now that you're limiting your 'junk food' and focusing on healthier consumption, it's important to note that, while broccoli is super good for you, if you go and eat nothing but broccoli for a couple weeks, you'll probably end up green-face-first in a ditch on the side of the road. Please note that, for most people, some junk can be okay –even beneficial – in moderation.

Getting stuck creatively is often a product of the pattern of seeking the warm embrace of comfort. Stretch yourself and resist the temptation of seeking the security of your comfort zone. Keeping your mind active and purposefully interrupting your usual patterns can do wonders for stretching your ability to solve problems and grow the pool from which you draw insight. Here are a few things that I urge you to do at least once a week to boost your creativity:

• Start a conversation with a random stranger
• Go to an event outside of your comfort zone (i.e. attend a religious service that you don't subscribe to, see a lecture of someone you don't agree with, go to a club that plays music you don't usually listen to)
• Be a mentor
• Learn a new game
• Take a different route to work
• Brush your teeth with the wrong hand
• Read aloud with exagerrated emotion and/or a silly accent

 

What Do You Think?

 

Another awesome way to get the creative juices flowing is to post a comment below.