Being creative means being honest with yourself.

Creativity and intelligence are considered innate abilities in rigid and–why not?–outdated mental models. Nowadays, finally, this idea has fallen apart and it is known that everyone can develop creative capacity and intelligence, as long as there is an attitude. An open state is required for the connection between internal and external flows. Constant cycles of learning and unlearning, flexibility.

What can be a great stimulus to creativity and the development of the ability to rethink? Constant feedback and reflections, for example, make us aware of what has been done, what has been learned and what can be improved. Each recognition gives more solidity to the experience and, therefore, more material available for the creative process and for the search for innovative and “out of the box” solutions.

It is when you recognize what you have learned through reflections that it opens up the possibility of unlearning fixed convictions and ideas to generate a more flexible and open worldview. This way of being in life, with willingness and openness to the different, to the new and to continuous learning, increases the frequency of creative moments.

Creativity is a competency of existence. Being creative is a process–not a static state of “having” or “not having”. All human beings are creative beings, capable of expressing themselves naturally.

How the creative process works

To achieve effective meanings for something, it is necessary to analyze the possibilities from different perspectives. Creativity and solutions are possible thanks to the associative cortex. It collects as much information as possible and transforms it into new associations. In moments of insight, cognitive filters momentarily relax, allowing ideas and solutions to become conscious without judgment. Furthermore, the effect of dopamine maintains the state of alertness and pleasure–which leads us to seek that feeling again. Therefore, the more creative you are, the more creativity is stimulated, thus generating a feedback process.

Therefore, learning, unlearning, thinking, rethinking, having new experiences, studying and concentrating on solving problems are initiatives that contribute to the creative process, as they stimulate the associative areas of the central nervous system. Self-motivation is the ideal fuel to maintain creative feedback loops.

Self-motivation is about enthusiasm and will! If knowledge is power, knowing what we don't know is wisdom, which can only be achieved through experience and the ability to know how to rethink.

Innovation x uniqueness

Taboos are often the major limiting factors in the ability to see broadly and openly. One of the taboos that limit creative processes is associated with the invention of something unprecedented or unique. Creativity actually emerges from associations of what has already been learned or what is known. When you need to find a solution or create something, for example, you access everything you've tried. In this way, the more experience and knowledge you have, the more possibilities you will have to access creative solutions.

Therefore, to be creative and use all the skills and learnings, it is necessary to develop a flexible mind, capable of reconsidering a previous idea. And for that, another important attitude is needed: the humility that will allow, when confronting a complex problem or situation, not to quickly seek what is already known, but rather to be open enough to the unknown.

In his book Thinking Again , Grant presents two interesting cycles in this regard:

The Rethinking Cycle

The Overconfidence Cycle

These cycles demonstrate that, before any cognitive skill or stored information, an attitude is needed to stimulate creativity, intelligence and mental flexibility. This enhances the ability to learn through constant cycles: “learn and unlearn”, “think and rethink”, “create and recreate”.

Or would creativity be a flow?

Csikszentmihalyi, a scholar of topics such as flow and creativity, suggests that being in flow is a balance between the skills already acquired and the challenge to overcome. Flow is an experience of complete absorption, with the feeling of completeness: when a person becomes one with the act. This often occurs when an individual actively performs something that motivates them and therefore connects with the motivation.

From the definition proposed by the author, it is clear that the ability to enter into flow also depends on a personal interest in overcoming a challenge and the willingness to learn.

Source: adapted from Csikszentmihalyi, 1997

The chart developed by Csikszentmihalyi shows how we reach the flow–an essential state to maintain and increase our creative capacity.

Therefore, creativity emerges when we leave the usual path–which demands a certain amount of effort, since the nervous system will always find the easiest solution because it is the one that demands less energy. On the other hand, this effort releases neurotransmitters that generate a feeling of pleasure and energy, as creative moments involve a complex mechanism in the neural network, much larger than what is necessary for methodical and known thinking.

Stimulating creativity in the midst of information overload

e are in a very stimulating historic moment, which demands a state of internal attention to remain intact in one's own values and identity, and at the same time connected to a world of endless information. To illustrate, in 2011 the volume of daily information was five times greater than 25 years earlier. Beginning in 1950, it took about 50 years for knowledge in medicine to double. In 1980, medical knowledge doubled every seven years. In 2010, it took half that time. As Grant says, the rapid pace of change means we need to question our beliefs more readily than ever before.

Despite the resistance to rethinking and reconsidering some aspects of life, in other aspects it seems to happen naturally. It is the case of buying “the latest thing”, updating the wardrobe according to the fashion trend or even renovating the house. Here’s something interesting to reflect on: in what aspect of my life is it difficult to reconsider convictions and thoughts so that new ideas and possibilities can refresh my mind?

Being open-minded indeed requires looking for reasons why we might be wrong and revising our views based on what we've learned. It's being able to unlearn. “Be aware of the self-regard of being brilliant, because the brighter you are, the harder it can be to see your own limitations. Being good at thinking and knowing can make you worse at rethinking,” says Grant.

That said, how about practicing stimuli for creativity? Here are some to consider:

• Do something new often;

• Experience as much as possible;

• Be motivated to learn and unlearn;

• Be involved with different contexts;

• Accept the confusion of learning and immerse yourself in it;

• Be open to making mistakes;

• Be open to getting it right, even when everyone thinks you're wrong;

• Finding the balance between what is familiar and what is new and challenging;

• Go beyond the limit and see what works;

  Explore the possibilities.

How about thinking differently?

According to Grant, one of the reasons for non-creativity and the difficulty of thinking differently is cognitive laziness. “we often prefer the ease of hanging on to old views over the difficulty of grappling with new ones,” he says.

This issue is directly connected to the ability to question ourselves, as the world would be even more unpredictable. It will require admitting that the facts may have changed, that what was once right may now be wrong. Admitting all of this threatens the identity of being, as it makes it seem like we are losing a part of ourselves. In order to feel socially secure, it is normal for our agreement to be focused on opinions that make us feel good, rather than ideas that make us think a lot.

That's human complexity. Everything that involves our existence is directly linked to our identity. If, on the one hand, the body tends to save energy by sticking to what is known to be “easier”, on the other hand, it is the effort that generates more pleasure, stimulation and enthusiasm. It is up to each one to choose the path to follow and thus exercise their will.

REFERENCES

CATMULL, Ed. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration. Random House. New York. 2014

CSEKSZENTMIHALY, Mihaly. Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life. Basic Books. 1997.

CSEKSZENTMIHALY, Mihaly. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Haperperenial. 2014.

DWEK, Carol. Mindset, a nova psicologia do sucesso. Editora Objetiva. 2018

GRANT, Adam. Thinking Again - the power of knowing what you don’t know. Viking. New York. 2021