reflection
Today I would like to skip the challenge and take a few minutes to reflect on what it means to build a habit in the context of creativity.
Creativity is a skill. To be more accurate, it is an ability built on top of deeper core skills: observation and imagination. What is the relation between skills and habits? Why do I keep calling creativity “Habit Zero”? And how this discussion can help us be more creative?
Well, skills and abilities are embedded within us. Some skills are more common and some are rare. Creativity and the core skills on which it is built are far from being rare. We are all born with the ability to see the world differently, imagine, and create. Just like almost everyone is born with the ability to walk and run — not from day one, but not long after that.
But sooner or later this ability regresses, just like our physical fitness will degrade if we won’t get up and exercise.
And this is exactly where building a habit comes into the picture. A pianist must make a habit of practicing. The results an athlete achieves are derived from his nutrition and exercising habits. And guess what: being creative, although we were all born with this capability, is directly affected by our creative habits.
Exploration, seeing challenges as games, seeing things differently, playing with whatever comes your way, imagining, changing reality in your mind — these are all habits we can and should develop. No one can be creative without at least some of these habits.
For the past six weeks we were working on developing these habits. Whether you are happy with your creative Insights, or some of them, or none, is less important. What is important is that you are practicing — that you are showing up. What is important is that you are developing your Habit Zero.
The journey continues tomorrow… Be there! 🙂