The Enemy of Creativity

Pablo Picasso said; "the chief enemy of creativity is "good" sense." I believe that any burst of creativity comes without trying to think. It comes with great abandon, taking risks, experimenting and being courageous. It's in the letting go that we can capture a moment of focused brilliance. We should resist trying to edit or being our own critic at the same time as we are plunging headlong into our creation. It stifles the process of discovery. Creativity is being vulnerable as we expose ourselves to the unknown. Above all, dare to create.

Read creativity post by Seth Godin

Comments

[ashok]

The thing about creativity is that it is different, ironically enough, depending on what one wants to do. Sure, there are similarities between being a good jazz musician and a poet and someone doing internet marketing.

But the differences - esp. when we're talking about arts that might be done for their own sake, versus something far more practical, designed to have mass appeal - can change the whole discussion.

Now you've commented on Picasso's quote in such a way as to reconcile it with Godin's thought - that doubt stymies the execution. I think that's a smart idea, but I'd rather emphasize the difference. In an artsier realm, the originality matters more than the execution to a degree. If a choral piece isn't going too well, but everyone knows music and can tell something new is happening, they're still going to be surprised, maybe even in awe, to a degree.

The rest of the world runs on a "this had better get done, creation should facilitate production" sort of mantra. The difference is between having a knowing audience, versus an audience that might need to be educated. Godin is ultimately right about creativity. Those of us who are creative have to get stuff done, because there is no underestimating how passive everyone else is, and where gaps in knowledge about products/services (and, for my field, our heritage) lie.

The upshot is that an enormous burden is placed on the creative, and it is an unfair burden, as one has to come up with the idea, execute it, and then sell it. We in the capitalist world have a "can do" spirit and don't realize that yeah, those challenges can be overcome, but wow, it requires some serious luck.

[Clary Lopez]

This is so true. I've noticed that every time I try to edit my writing as I go along I lose my inspiration, the flow is interrupted and I get stuck. Thanks for the reminder.