Special to the HERALD What is your definition of creativity? Psychologists traditionally have defined creativity as the purposeful generation and implementation of a novel idea. Creativity has typically been considered a gift of a select minority, however, psychologists have now revealed its seeds are in mental processes that we all possess – decision making, language, and memory - and that we can all boost our creative potential. I recently read an article, “Your Fertile Brain at Work” by Evangelia G. Chrysikiou, in Scientific American Mind on The Mad Science of Creativity special edition magazine that inspired this week’s column. The first stage in creative thought is idea generation. Psyc
Just a few short years ago I was missing, ignoring, an important part of my life’s callings and nudges, and not happily fitting in the corporate job and lifestyle I had created. I need ed a change in attitude and action. I wanted to love as many moments of my life as possible. Something had to change and it started with attitude. A little over two years ago I took big action by leaving my well paid corporate role to be a soloprenuer with passion. Have Something at Stake What do you have a stake? This is your why. It needs to be big; survival, self-esteem, money, or reputation, to continually motivate you to make your idea successful. For me it was all of these things. I only had six months o
Sometimes a new idea is needed, especially if something isn’t working as is or you feel like there is a “better” way. And sometimes it’s challenging to see differently or we don’t even realize we have blinders on for new possibilities. This is when a different perspective or spark is needed to help make a shift. These are a few of my favorite ways to spark new ideas from Roger von Oech’s Creative Whack Pack®. Simplify What can you remove, edit, delete, or let go of from a current project or idea? Editor: I like your book except for the ending. Author: What’s wrong with the ending? Editor: It should be closer to the beginning. Don’t Force It What might you be forcing? What if you eased off a
By Kerry Lee Special to the Herald Are work and living spaces set up for optimal creativity? I recently met Creativity Architect Donald Rattner, AIA, whose specialty is applying scientific research to the design of buildings and spaces for the purpose of optimizing occupant creativity. He says creativity can be built. He’s got over fifty criteria for creativity tactics and shared these important five: You have to have a space. The space needs to be delineated and have a separate boundary from other types of space in the building or room. This creates a Pavlovian response for the brain; when you enter your brain knows it is creative time. A space that opens up in some way, horizontally or ve
By Kerry Lee Special to the Herald The power of intention combined with creativity. I’ve spoken of it before in this column, and oh, how fortunate was I to once again witness it recently! I participated in Wisdom 2.0, an experiential event focused on exploring the intersection of wisdom and technology held in San Francisco, and participated in a collaborative intentional creativity art project called “The Witness Tree”, with a large, beautiful, Shiloh Sophia McCloud-Klimt-esque tree painted in gold on a large as life black canvas with white stars of the cosmos and twinkle lights running through the trunk. Attendees at the event were invited to engage in Intentional Creativity with the inqui
