Can everyone be creative? And can one increase their creativity? I believe so. And if you doubt it, this article should convince you otherwise.
Caveat: All views are entirely mine, and I wrote this from a subjective point of view.
So, what is Creativity?
Everyone has different definitions of what creativity means to them. Some believe it has artistic undertones; some ascribe it to ingenuity; others can’t define it. Here is my definition of creativity.
Creativity is problem-solving with Relevance and Novelty.
Relevance → degree at which the problem is solved
Novelty → uniqueness and originality in use
The playwright, marketer, stockbroker, and barber all show creativity in their way. Writing a stage play or helping a client choose the right stocks to invest in are problems requiring creativity; the applause or spread at the end would result from relevance (writing part of or the whole script) and novelty (new or old stock prediction strategies) used.
Now we have seen how creativity solves a problem, any problem. The next step would be to know how to spot these problems.
Identifying Problems
There are many ways to identify problems, but my preferred method is the 5 Whys. This method works because it determines the root cause and not the apparent need. Let’s apply the 5 Whys method to the problem of starting a business.
Problem → Why? → Problem → Why? → Problem → Why? → Problem → Why? → Problem → Why? ⇒ Root Cause
I want to start a business → Why? → Greater control of my time → Why? → More flexibility → Why? → Being able to work from home → Why? → Spend more time with family → Why? ⇒ Supporting family is the most important to me.
After identifying the problems comes the minor issue of solving the problem creatively.
Creative Decision-making
Peter Senge said that humans are generally not good at planning ahead. Here is a quick test if you doubt it. How many seconds does it take you to start tinkering with your shower head if water doesn’t come out when you turn it on? 3 seconds? That’s how far ahead you can plan, hence the need to be decisive.
Intuition vs Logic
People make decisions by leaning on either intuition or logic. People who make decisions based on intuition follow their gut feeling, while logical people rely on facts and risk. Rational decisions often give expected results, but those emotional decisions come with extra satisfaction and rewards when they work out well. So which comes up short when you weigh them, expected results or uncertain elation?
Going with one alone may be risky; going with neither is risky. Logic and intuition must both agree for the best decision to be made.
Decision-making Tips
You may get stuck between two options. Here are some tips to know when trying to decide on a course of action:
- If the decision is close, the choice is irrelevant. You might as well go with either option.
- Flip a coin. Your most preferred option would be evident when the coin is midair; it is the option your mind tilts towards when both options are in the balance. Absolute candour is necessary for this to happen.
- Take the simplest solution [Occam’s Razor]
- Delegate the decision. Delegation eliminates the innate fear of being responsible for our choices (and the consequences). Humans are better followers than leaders.
- Consider implementation. All ideas sound great until execution knocks. The option that can be implemented faster and cheaper should be the chosen option.
My Creativity Bag of Tricks
There is a creativity hack for every situation, whether ideating a marketing strategy, writing a short screenplay, or a retort to an argument. Here are some tricks I use:
- Create a problem to solve. There is no hero without a villain and conflict, so you can always solve what you create—most times.
- Set restrictions. People get more creative when there are limitations to what they can do.
- Get stupid; you know too much. Many great ideas started as stupid suggestions.
- Want the box, don’t think outside it. The people who created the box know more than you do, and there is a reason they made it. It also helps you (reread the second point).
- Can the critics, both external and internal. External critics are people who tell you that you can’t achieve a goal; internal critics are the voices in your head telling you that you won’t achieve the goal.
- Sleep on it
- Explain your process to others. You understand your idea better when you can present it to people in a (un)structured manner.
- Use the What-if? and Yes-and? Method. What-if helps you think laterally from an original idea, and Yes-and (the improv method) enables you to think of iterations on an existing idea.
- Doodle. When your hands are busy, your brain is allowed more freedom to operate independently and think where it usually wouldn’t.
The Middle — Creativity Through Restriction
The Middle is a creativity exercise which shows that:
- Everyone is creative. I even dare say artistically.
- Restrictions boost creativity
How to play it: you are shown a story containing an opening and closing sentence. Here is the story.
A man woke up in the middle of a busy highway. He couldn’t remember how he got there. He is holding a flaming sword in one hand and Hypo toilet cleaner in the other.
(The Middle)
Dazed, he picked up the chicken, apologised to the young woman and rode away on the camel.
Your task is to join the opening paragraph to the closing paragraph by using not more than three short sentences. The final read must be coherent at the very least.
The beauty of this exercise is that people who consider themselves creative or not would have unique and exciting stories. And it shows how restriction helps the creative process. The story would not be as fun if there were no anchors.
Creativity comes down to the ability to solve a problem. If you have ever solved a problem in your life, any problem at all, you have shown creativity. And I would like to believe that everyone has solved at least one problem in their life.
