The ability to ask questions is one of the triggering mechanisms of development (including creative) and a key skill in the educational process. Questions awaken the imagination, help overcome creative blocks, and work with helpful criticism. Some, however, have the opposite effect: they can shake creative confidence or force them to move in the wrong direction. Below are five questions that lead nowhere; they can be called creativity destroyers. The authors of the study urge: if you suddenly find yourself asking such questions, stop immediately.
Am I creative?
This is the first and most common "wrong question". David Burkus, author of The Muse Won't Come, says one of the most enduring myths is the notion that some people are born with creativity and others without. In fact, the writer says, it would be more correct to think of creativity as "a gift available to everyone." Suffice it to recall that in childhood most people show a high level of inventiveness and imagination, and as they grow up, everything disappears somewhere. Burkus suggests that external factors may be to blame: uncreative work and education, lack of self-confidence.
Scientific research confirms this - the gene for creativity does not exist. Scientists say creativity is not an innate talent, but rather a “mindset” that can be learned. We all have the opportunity to look at something, evaluate - a problem, an object, a situation, a topic - and put forward our own idea and interpretation.
Where can I get an original idea?
This question is often accompanied by another one: hasn't everything been invented before us? Fresh ideas are supposed to be created from scratch. But original ideas are often inspired and made up of things that already exist in the world. They seem to be waiting to be noticed, and then rethought in a new format. Look at the iPhone: Apple has combined the elements of a Blackberry cell phone, camera, and iPod into one original combo.
American neurologist and neuropsychologist Oliver Sachs (author of the famous book "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat") explains that our brains are designed to create new connections and combinations. Therefore, there is nothing shameful in borrowing details from other creations, if you "combine it with your own experience, thoughts, feelings" and "express in a new way, in your own," Oliver Sachs is sure.
And there is nothing more paralyzing than trying to come up with a "great idea" out of nothing. It is important to remember that everywhere there is raw material that can be studied, "played" with it, even if it is not immediately clear how exactly it can be modified.
Where to find time to create?
What makes this question counterproductive is the word “find”. In fact, the task is not to find extra time, but to allocate it correctly. For deep creative work, long time blocks are needed: to have time to get involved in the process, to accelerate and even create something.
Venture investor and co-founder of a startup incubator
Y Combinator (where reddit, Airbnb, Dropbox came from) Paul Graham believes that the problem lies in the wrong way of organizing the working day: most intuitively live according to the "organizer's schedule", when the day is divided into small half and hour blocks. This method is suitable for those whose job it is to conduct meetings and discussions. But in order to create (and not spend a lot of time every time immersing yourself in the task), you need a "creator's schedule", consisting of a couple of hours-long intervals. So instead of asking "how to find the time," it's better to ask the question "how can I move from a manager's schedule to a creator's schedule?"
And the second aspect that threatens the process: lack of focus. To do creative work, you need to stay focused for a long period and at the same time understand why you are doing this work and where it is leading. In my time
In an interview with DesignBoom magazine, Zaha Hadid gave advice to a younger generation of architects: “You have to fully focus and work hard, but not [aimlessly]. The tasks may change, but they must be [set]. [To] know what exactly you are trying to understand."
How do you come up with a brilliant idea?
Often, young professionals set incredibly high standards in advance: if they work, it will certainly be in order to earn a million or change the world, no less. Ambition is great, but in the beginning it’s better to focus on just doing the job and doing it well.
Even experienced creators are not always able to predict which idea will work and what results to expect from the effort. Some people get occasional success, others are helped by productivity (the case when quantity turns into quality). Frank Gehry, who is called one of the most creative and daring architects in the world, says in a TED interview that he starts every new project with uncertainty and does not know at all where he will end up. Gehry treats any new job with trepidation and believes that risk is one aspect of real work. “[When] I start a project, I'm not sure where I'm going - and if I knew, I just wouldn't do it. When I can predict or plan for it, I don’t do it. I refuse it,”says Frank Gehry.
If you are trying to figure out whether it is worth continuing to work on a project, ask yourself: if I knew from the beginning that I would not gain fame or money, would I do it?
Where to begin?
Canadian designer Bruce Mau (with Rem Koolhaas Mau published the book "S, M, L, XL" on the results of 20 years of work of the OMA bureau), who is engaged in educational activities, once said that the most common complaint from students is “I don't know, where to begin". In response, Mau often quotes composer John Cage, author of the famous play 4'33, "Start anywhere."
The advice applies to both the work of a composer and the work of an architect: don't get hung up on finding the perfect starting point, but rather start with what you have now. Even if it is an unformed idea, a sketch, a rough draft. Initial research is important, but it often disguises itself as banal procrastination, behind which lies the fear of inevitable collision with a blank page, blank canvas or white computer screen.
Experts advise paying more attention to the process than to the result: what you are currently generating is likely to be revised or even end up in the trash can, but the experience gained will remain with you. And while the brain is working in the background, good options can come in unexpected situations. “I look at other works in order to unleash my consciousness sometimes. Start the engine. It is necessary to add gasoline, oil and so on. Very often, over a cup of coffee, I open a magazine and start flipping through it, - says Sergey Skuratov about his work experience. - And suddenly I see some thing and even completely unrelated to this thing, and a mechanism starts up for me, and I start drawing my own house from the very point at which I stopped. Suddenly an epiphany. There is some kind of incomprehensible associative connection."
