Ch. 5 Cultivating Creativity

Rather than waiting to be inspired, we can be proactively creative by taking upoon 7 charateristics of creative thinking: receptivity, curiosity, having a wide range of interests, attentiveness, seeking connections, conviction and complexity. People who think creatively are receptive to new ideas in order to solve a problems and learn from listening to others.They also ask lots of questions and research topics they are curios about to make a better design based on what they find. It is also important to have a wide range of interests rather than to only focus on one area of interest. Paying attention to minor details helps to develop and understanding of available possibilities. Creative thinkers make connections between 2 seemingly opposite things. New ideas are often created from old ideas. It is important to acknowledge the past and then ask how could it be improved? To become a great creativ ethinker, one must combine rational thinking with intuitive thinking. By combining these two, balance is created between energy and rest, savvy and innocence, responsibility and playfulness, risk-taking with safe-keeping etc... Goal setting is an important because it makes a sense of purpose and pushes creativity to new heights. Good goals are challenging but attainable, are compatible and work together, things that are self directed and in your control, specific and clearly defined, and temporary. Time management is a big factor in completing goals. Choose the goal, prioritize your time and make a habit of working in the most efficient way possible. Do not wait to be instructed to do so, but take the initiative.
A creative person's mind is full of dichotomy. Creative people give long hours to hard work, but then understand what it is to fully relax. Creative people are responsible but playful and silly. When I read this section in chapter 5 it was like I was reading a book on me. I have the characteristics of a creative person but stil have trouble at times thinking creatively. My theory concerning this problem is based on another excerpt from chapter 5 "When in doubt, crank it out". Normally I try to get all my ideas and research perfect before beginning a project and having the perfect plan. However, i hsve found that if I wait until I have the perfect plan, I never start and i become increasingly dissappointed with my ideas. Fear is the biggest setback. Fear that the idea I planned in my mind is not going to be executed as precisely and flawlessly when I create my art. I am a great goal setter most of the time. Sometimes I create goals that are not possible for me, like giving myself too much to do in avery short amount of time. These are the 2 things that hinder my creative process the most and it is interesting how the book addresses these topics in a very systematic fashion.