Finding and unlocking your creative genius

James Clear is an entrepreneur, photographer and author. He wrote the book Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones and created the Habits Academy, a training platform for people and companies that are interested in building good habits in life and work.

In Clear’s website post titled, “Creativity: How to Unlock Your Hidden Creative Genius,” he pulls together his most essential information about creativity.

DEFINING CREATIVITY

Clear starts by defining what the creative process is. He says it’s “the act of making new connections between old ideas or recognizing relationships between concepts.” Thinking creatively doesn’t mean we have to start with nothing and make something. Instead, we take building blocks that we already have and construct them in an original way.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Although each creative idea should be different from the next, the process by which we get to a creative idea is generally the same. Clear cites James Webb Young, an advertising executive who published A Technique for Producing Ideas, a short guide to being more creative. In it, Young lists five steps in which he believes the creative process occurs.

Step 1: Gather new material

Figure out everything you need to know about this new project; learn that material and how it relates to your tasks; and collect any other general information that you may find fascinating, even if it doesn’t pertain to the project.

Step 2: Thoroughly work over the materials in your mind

Take a look at what you’ve learned from step 1, go over the materials and play around with fitting different ideas and facts together.

Step 3: Step away from the problem

Leave the materials, leave the ideas and forget about the project at hand for a while. Maybe go get some exercise or do something else that energizes and revitalizes you.

Step 4: Let your idea return to you

Possibly when you least expect it, your idea will pop back up in your mind. This time, it may look a bit different, it may have more energy than it did before. Take this in to help shape the idea even further.

Step 5: Shape and develop your idea based on feedback

Take that idea, develop it into something and put it out in the world for a reaction. Yes, you may receive critical feedback, but it will help you shape and hone your idea even more.

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ARE SOME PEOPLE JUST BORN CREATIVE?

Clear continues his post by bringing up a question that a lot of us have probably asked before: Is there such a thing as “naturally creative?”

The answer? Not really, no. According to research from psychology professor Barbara Kerr, only 22% of the variance in creativity is influenced by genetics. So the old “I’m just not that creative” excuse doesn’t work. We all have the ability to be creative, we just have to work at it.

LESSONS FROM FAMOUS CREATORS

Clear provides lessons from three famous creators in his post. They are authors Anthony Trollope, Theodor Seuss Geisel (the man who we know and love as Dr. Seuss) and Markus Zusak.

Anthony Trollope: This author, who created 47 novels, 18 works of non-fiction, 12 short stories, two plays and various articles and letters, had a structured system for getting his work done. He wrote in 15-minute increments for three hours per day. This allowed him to have little wins or tiny milestones, giving him more momentum to keep going. Oftentimes, large projects like novels can feel daunting and unattainable. By setting up his writing time in small increments, he was able to feel accomplished for every quarter of an hour he worked.

Dr. Seuss: Ever wonder how the famous Green Eggs and Ham children’s book came to be? It’s actually the result of a bet between the founder of Random House, Bennett Cerf and Theodor Seuss Geisel. Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn’t write an entertaining and successful children’s book using only 50 words. We know how this story ends … Geisel wins the bet and so much more. What can we learn from this story? Constraints can often lead to creative ideas. When we limit our options, it makes us think in new and inventive ways. We also cover this topic as one of the 7 Tips for Inspiring Divergent and Creative Thinking.

Markus Zusak: Known for his popular novel “The Book Thief,” Zusak is a prime example of the masterpiece someone can create when they revise … and revise again … and again … and again. Zusak took three years to write his novel, which went on to be a best-seller and a major motion picture. He said he probably revised it around 150 to 200 times, playing with different narrators and various tenses until it finally felt right. We can have hundreds of tricks to unlock creativity, but Zusak’s case shows that nothing can replace hard work. As Clear says later on in his post, “Inspiration only reveals itself after perspiration.”

HOW TO BE CREATIVE IN 5 STEPS

Clear lays out five steps in his post to help each and every one of us to be creative.

Step 1: Give yourself permission to create junk

Not everything we make is going to be creative genius, and we just need to learn to accept that. It may take a lot of fails before we get a win, so let yourself fail and don’t be afraid to create something that may end up being awful.

Step 2: Create on a schedule

Practice makes perfect, so make sure to practice constantly. The only way we get better at our craft is by using it over and over again. One of the best ways to make sure you’re constantly practicing your craft is to put a schedule in place and follow it, even when you really don’t feel like creating.

Step 3: Finish something

Works of art are not supposed to sit incomplete for years. Make goals to actually finish the work you start, even if it’s not going to turn into a best-selling novel or a top song hit, at least your finishing what you started.

Step 4: Stop judging your own work

It’s easy to get stuck in a cyclical pattern of judging your creations to the point where those judgements stifle your future work. But don’t let your own criticisms inhibit you from moving forward. We’re always going to be hard on ourselves, we’re always going to think we can do better, and we will, as long as we keep working.

Step 5: Hold yourself accountable

Don’t create in a vacuum. Share your work with others. Yes, this opens you up to critique, but it also holds you accountable and will inspire you to care even more.

For suggestions on creativity books, articles and more, visit Clear’s web post.