Creative Exercises for the Quarantined Brain — Part 3

Dr. Brené Brown, researcher, speaker, seeker and author extraordinaire, has the following to say about creativity:
“Here's what I've learned about creativity from the world of wholehearted living and loving:

1. “I’m not very creative” doesn’t work. There’s no such thing as creative people and non-creative people. There are only people who use their creativity and people who don’t. Unused creativity isn't benign. It lives within us until it’s expressed, neglected to death, or suffocated by resentment and fear.

2. The only unique contribution that we will ever make in this world will be born of our creativity.

3. If we want to make meaning, we need to make art. Cook, write, draw, doodle, paint, scrapbook, take pictures, collage, knit, rebuild an engine, sculpt, dance, decorate, act, sing – it doesn’t matter. As long as we’re creating, we’re cultivating meaning.”



1. Use The “Dr. Seuss Technique”

While a creative block usually comes because we simply can’t come up with any new ideas, it can also come from having too many.

The blank page is scary, not only because of what’s not there but because of all the potential it holds.

So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed with the work, follow the Dr. Seuss technique.

Before writing Green Eggs and Ham, his beloved children’s book that has sold 200 million copies around the world, Theo Geisel (Dr. Seuss’s real name), had accepted a bet from his publisher, Bennett Cerf. There was only $50 on the line, but Cerf said Geisel couldn’t write an entertaining children’s book using only 50 different words.

We all know what happened. But why?

There are a few reasons the constraint actually made Seuss more creative:

    •    It forced him to use novel solutions. If you’re a photographer and don’t have a lighting setup, you think up new ways to get the shot you want.
    •    He wasn’t distracted by options. When your options are limited, you don’t fall victim to choice paralysis and can focus on getting things done.
    •    It made him think practically. When your canvas or toolkit changes, you have to rethink what you can actually do. This changes the conversation from “What should I do?” to “What can I do with what I have?”



2. Try "Translating"

Ideas are greatly stimulated by the process of transformation. Converting things from one form or medium into another can guide thoughts in totally new and exciting directions. One idea leads to another—and then you’re off on the ideas trail.

The Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky translated classical music into abstract paintings, selecting different colors to signify the varying emotions the music provoked. He also invented a machine that translated musical sounds into instructions for paintings.

Project:

- "Translate" the following words into an image or into a physical manifestation of typography—

LAZY

HAPPY

LOUD

SOFT.

"You're horrible at 4,5,6,7 things! SEVEN-- AH HA HA!"

3. Your Self-Critic Won’t Leave You Alone? Set Tiny Goals With Strict Deadlines

There’s a nagging voice we hear when we hit a creative block.
Enemy Thy Name is SELF CRITIC.
Enemy Thy Name is CENSOR.
Enemy Thy Name is... VAMPIRE.

You know the Voice. It might be the voice of your doesn't-get-it-Grandma or your middle school art teacher (me! My 8th grade Art teacher was a major worst-kind-of-teacher jerk), or your always prettier and better than you sister. It might be the voice of The Count from Sesame Street. Look I dunno your life. What I do know is that the messages are always the same:  

This isn’t good enough. 
You’re terrible. 
No one’s going to like this. 
Why are you even doing this?  
No matter what you ever do, you will never be good enough.

The jerk-face, bold-faced-lying Self-Critic is a foe we have all faced. (Some genius people even wrote a whole song in a musical about it and may I humbly suggest "Die, Vampire, Die" become your personal ANTHEM) But look I get it: at times the Vampire Voice can get so loud that it drowns out our ability to do anything at all. You get stuck, and you need a few cloves of garlic to free your sorry self.

Here's a basic tool you can use to shut it up (or at least quiet it enough to get back to work).

After finishing his first novel in 1847, author Anthony Trollope would go on to publish 47 novels, 18 pieces of nonfiction, 12 short stories, and two plays in his lifetime. Good for you, Trollope. How did you do it?
Trollope’s secret to never being blocked? Simple: Stick to a strict schedule.

Specifically, he would write 250 words every 15 minutes, using his watch to keep him honest.
Not only did Trollope’s schedule silence his self-doubt (the Vampire couldn't get a Transylvanian word in edgewise! No time!), but it actually built creative momentum. The faster you complete a creative task, the more you put yourself in a mindset of productivity, and nothing has ever been accomplished without productivity. Ideas don't get published. Ideas don't get produced or hung on walls. Physical, real things do.

Exercise:

- Collect a pen and paper, or your favorite typing device.
- Turn off distractions (especially temporarily disconnect the internet) 
- Set a timer for 15 minutes
- Write about a cause you believe in, passionately. The more it fires you up the better.
- Do not stop for any reason--spelling, grammar, better ideas, the cat being adorable/annoying.

You'll be astonished at what happens when you hyper-focus your attention on a simple task for a set period of time. Facebook and the cat will be there on the other end of the exercise. I promise.