There is an unspoken fear amongst artists that relates to the continuity of creativity. For some of us, creativity comes and goes at it’s own will. For others, it is an unending work-in-progress that requires patience, open-mindedness and responsibility. Though not every moment in our creative journeys produce the special ideas, I believe that creativity is something that can be nourished to a slowly expansive rate.
Creativity and learning go hand in hand. One way to keep your creativity growing is to realize and accept that as human beings, we can and will not know absolutely everything. Creativity is closely related to uncertainty. Acknowledging or accepting a certain level of uncertainty can provide our creativity with intuitive range and flexibility. To grow with creativity is to learn more about all that surrounds us; while being still, with knowing that there is, yet more to learn.
Think less, relax more and observe your intelligence. This may come across as a paradox since we are used to the image of a scientist or a mathematician as hard and relentless thinkers. However, according to Guy Claxton, author of Hare Brain Tortoise Mind, “We meet with cleverness, focus and deliberation those challenges that can only properly be handled with patience, intuition and relaxation. In order to rehabilitate the slow ways of knowing, we need to adopt a different view of the mind as a whole; one which embraces sources of knowledge that are less articulate, less conscious and less predictable. The crucial step in this recovery...is a revised understanding of the human mind, and a willingness to move into and to enjoy, the life of the mind...When the mind slows and relaxes, other ways of knowing automatically reappear” (Claxton 1997, 13-14). In a world of speed, this can sound like blasphemy – but it is not.
Having a challenging day with your creative juices? Perhaps you should consider taking a day or two off (if or when you can). Sleep. Go for a swim. Do something out of the routine. Try to learn something new from outside your box. With proper effort and patience, you may very well be surprised at the outcome.
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Reference List
Claxton, Guy. Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less
The Ecco Press, 1997
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