Поддржете го креативното расположение: 5 незаменливи услови

1. Make creativity a chore

It’s always easy to find something better than writing. More than once I’ve looked out the window after long hours of work and wondered why I didn’t go camping with friends, or go to a movie in the morning, or sit down to read an interesting book. Why do I force myself to write when I could do just about any fun thing I want to do?

But if most successful writers have one defining trait, it’s that they all write regularly. It doesn’t matter — at midnight, at dawn or after dinner of two martinis. They have a routine. “A goal without a plan is just a dream,” said Antoine de Saint-Exupery. A routine is a plan. Self-giving plan. It helps to destroy any obstacle that prevents you from creating, whether it is a psychological barrier or a seductive invitation to a party.

But that’s not all. When you write at certain times of the day and in a setting meant only for reflection, you reap the creative benefits. Regularity is an invitation to the mind to enter the doors of the imagination and concentrate fully on the composition.

Stop! Aren’t artists supposed to be free, undisciplined beings, inclined to follow the whims of inspiration rather than strict schedules? Doesn’t routine destroy and stifle creativity? Quite the opposite. It gives the imagination a safe and familiar place to roam, dance, tumble and jump off cliffs.

Задачата: make the necessary changes to the daily routine so that you can do creative work regularly.

Think about the last time you changed your regime? How did this affect creativity: positively or negatively? What can you do to help your daily responsibilities help your creativity?

2. Become a beginner

Beginners often feel inept and clumsy. We want everything to work out easily, gracefully, so that there are no obstacles in the way. The paradox is that sometimes it’s more fun to be someone who doesn’t know anything.

One evening, when my son was learning to walk, I watched him try. We used to think that falling causes despair, but Jules did not wrinkle his forehead and start crying, slapping on his bottom over and over again. He stood up, swaying from side to side, and worked to maintain his balance, as if putting the pieces of a puzzle together. After observing him, I wrote down the lessons I learned from his practice.

1. He didn’t care if anyone was watching him.
2. He approached each attempt with the spirit of an explorer.
3. He didn’t care about failure.
4. He enjoyed every new step.
5. He did not copy someone else’s walk, but sought to find his own way.

He was immersed in the state of «shoshin» or «beginner’s mind.» This is a concept from Zen Buddhism, emphasizing the benefits of being open, observant, and curious with every attempt. “There are many possibilities in the beginner’s mind, and the expert has very few,” said Zen master Shunryu Suzuki. The idea is that a beginner is not limited by the narrow framework called “achievements”. His mind is free from bias, expectation, judgment and prejudice.

Вежба: return to the beginning.

Think back to the beginning: the first guitar lesson, the first poem, the first time you went to another country, even your first crush. Think about what opportunities you saw, how you watched what was happening, what experiments you conducted, even without realizing it.

3. Accept Limitations

If I could choose, I wouldn’t go shopping or even fill up the car. I would live in a relaxed way, waking up in the morning and spending the whole day writing. Only then could I truly fulfill my potential and write the novel of my dreams.

In fact, my creative life is limited and chaotic. I work hard all day, return home, where I have housework and parenting duties. I suffer from what I myself call «the angst of scarcity»: not enough time, not enough money.

But to be honest, I began to realize how lucky I was with these restrictions. Now I see hidden benefits in them. Our imagination does not necessarily thrive in complete freedom, where it rather becomes a sluggish and aimless waste. It thrives under pressure when limits are set. Restrictions help turn off perfectionism, so you get to work and start writing because you have to.

Вежба: Explore the creative power of limitations.

Set a timer for 15 or 30 minutes and force yourself to get to work whenever you get the chance. This strategy is similar to the Pomodoro Technique, a time management method in which work is divided into intervals with short breaks. Bursts of concentration followed by regular breaks can increase mental flexibility.

4. Let yourself get bored

Many important phenomena have died out in the last couple of centuries, but perhaps one of the most underestimated losses is the lack of real boredom in our lives. Think about it: when was the last time you felt empty and allowed your mind to enjoy it without reaching for your phone or remote control?

If you’re like me, you’re so accustomed to online entertainment that you’re ready to come up with any excuse to escape the deep thinking required for creativity in search of something—anything—on the internet. As if the Net could write the next scene for you.

Moreover, MRI studies have revealed similar changes in the brains of Internet addicts and drug addicts. The brain is busy as never before, but shallow reflections. Absorbed by our devices, we do not pay attention to spiritual urges.

But boredom is a friend of the creator, because the brain resists such moments of inactivity and looks for stimuli. Before the era of global interconnectedness, boredom was an opportunity for observation, a magical moment of dreams. It was a time when one could come up with a new story while milking a cow or lighting a fire.

Вежба: respect boredom.

The next time you get bored, think carefully before you take out your smartphone, turn on the TV, or open a magazine. Surrender to boredom, revere it as a sacred creative moment, and embark on a journey with your mind.

5. Make the internal editor work

All have an internal editor. Usually this is a domineering, demanding comrade who appears and reports that you are doing everything wrong. He is vile and arrogant and does not give constructive advice. He quotes the prose of his favorite authors and shows how they work, but only to humiliate you. In fact, this is the personification of all your writer’s fears and complexes.

The internal editor understands that without his guidance and commitment to excellence, the garbage you call the first draft will remain garbage. He understands your desire to gracefully tie all the threads of the story, to find the perfect harmony of the sentence, the exact expression, and this is what motivates him. The problem is how to find the level of perfectionism that encourages you to be better rather than destroying you.

Try to determine the nature of the internal editor. Does it motivate you to get better for the sake of self-improvement (“How can I get better?”) or out of fear of what others will think?

The internal editor must understand that one of the ingredients of creativity is chasing crazy ideas through the hills and valleys of the imagination. Sometimes adjustments, corrections, and polishing—or cutting, flogging, and burning—have to be put off.

The internal editor needs to know that it’s often worth doing something bad just for the sake of doing it. He needs to focus on improving your story for the sake of the story itself, not because of the judgmental looks of other people.

Вежба: good and bad internal editor.

Make a list of five examples of how a good internal editor helps you, and five examples of how a bad internal editor gets in the way. Use this list to call on your good internal editor to help you when you need it, and to chase away the bad one if it’s holding you back.

Source: Grant Faulkner’s Start Writing. 52 tips for developing creativity” (Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2018).