Understanding Creativity

When you picture having a creative moment, what do you see?

'I picture myself doing some random task & out of nowhere.... I get a Light Bulb moment.'

Well, that is where you are misguided, my friend.

Most of us view creativity that way.

We picture it as sort of 'just happening.'

And when you have that mindset, you become lazy with creativity.

'Are you saying that's not how to view it?'

Correct.

'Then how should I view it?'

View creativity as a process, not an act.

You have the potential to become more creative the older that you get.

You just need to be aware of what to look out for.

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Creativity isn't predominately about idea generation.

It is more about idea connection.

And effective connections lead to idea generation.

What does this mean?

A few years ago, Kobe Bryant was getting torched by Allen Iverson on the basketball court.

Whenever they would have a match up in a game, Allen Iverson would always play excellent.

This frustrated Kobe.

Kobe wanted to find ways to lock down Allen Iverson by stepping up his defense.

Most normal people would have studied the top defenders in the NBA.

Well, Kobe isn't normal.

He studied how sharks hunt seals.

For the average person, this idea would have seemed ridiculous.

But for Kobe, it made all the sense in the world.

After weeks of studying the sharks, he found connections that didn't exist before.

He found how he could take the primal act of animals hunting and relay it over to defending a basketball player.

'Did it work??'

Let's just say for their next game, Allen Iverson didn't have a fun time.

The moral of the narrative is that creativity isn't about having this random 'Aha moment.'

It is more about connecting different ideas & generating something new.

When you adopt this mindset, you change your life forever.

Rather than overlooking small things....

You start learning from them.

And your brain works in generating connections.

The more you are able to generate connections, the more you adopt a growth mindset.

The mindset of a victor.

I shit on the IQ exam a lot on real life for the notion that intelligence is 'fixed.'

Nah, it's not.

The neuroflexibility in your brain will have you learning for another 10 lifetimes.

You just need to show the proper work ethic.

But don't just learn.

Learn to connect.

See what others are blind to.

View the picture while others see dots.

Creativity turns your mind from a galaxy into a universe.

So level up your curiosity & you'll find your brain growing with you.

Till tomorrow

Trilston 💲