The No 1 Habit of Highly Creative People.docx

The No 1 Habit of Highly Creative People.docx

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TheNo1HabitofHighlyCreativePeople

TheNo.1HabitofHighlyCreativePeople

“Inordertobeopentocreativity,onemusthavethecapacityforcontructiveuseofsolitude.Onemustovercomethefearofbeingalone.”~RolloMay

Creativityisanebulous,murkytopicthatfascinatesmeendlessly—howdoesitwork?

Whathabitstocreativepeopledothatmakesthemsosuccessfulatcreativity?

I’vereflectedonmyowncreativehabits,butdecidedI’dlookatthehabitsthatothersconsiderimportanttotheircreativity.Ipickedahandfulofcreatives,almostatrandom—therearesomanythatpickingthebestwouldbeimpossible,soIjustpickedsomethatIadmire,whocametomindwhenIthoughtoftheword“creative”.

Thiswasgoingtobealistoftheircreativehabits…butinreviewingtheirlists,andmyownhabits,Ifoundonethatstoodout.Anditstandsoutifyoureviewthehabitsandquotesfromgreatcreativepeopleinhistory.

It’stheMostImportantHabitwhenitcomestocreativity.

AfteryoureadtheNo.1habit,pleasescrolldownandreadtheNo.2habit—theymightseemcontradictorybutinmyexperience,youcan’treallyhityourcreativestrideuntilyoufindawaytobalancebothhabits.

TheNo.1CreativityHabit

Inaword:

solitude.

Creativityflourishesinsolitude.Withquiet,youcanhearyourthoughts,youcanreachdeepwithinyourself,youcanfocus.

Ofcourse,therearelotsofwaystofindthissolitude.Let’slistentoafewofthecreativepeopleItalkedtoorresearched:

FeliciaDay–wonderfulactressperhapsbestknownforherawesomeawesomeworkonDr.Horrible’sSing-alongBlog,BuffytheVampireSlayer,andTheGuild.

Iwasthrilledwhensherepliedtomyemailaskingabouthercreativehabits.Oneofthethingsshesaid:

shemakes“suretobecreativefirstthinginthemorning,beforedoinganythingfortheoutsideworld,reallysetsthedayupforme.ItmakesitfeelthatCREATINGismyjob,notansweringemails.”

AliEdwards–anauthor,designer,andleadingauthorityonscrapbooking.

IwashonoredwitharesponsefromAliaswell.Oneofhertophabitswasn’texactlysolitude,butisrelated:

“Donothing.Ihaveahabitofwelcomingtimeawayfrommycreativework.Formethisisseriouslife-rechargingtimewheremyonlyresponsibilityistojustbeMom&Wife&Me.Doingnothinghasawayofsynthesizingwhatisreallyimportantinmylifeandinmyworkandinspiresmebeyondmeasure.WhenIcomebacktoworkIambetterequippedtoweedoutthenon-essentialstuffandfocusonthethingsImostwanttoexpresscreatively.”

ChaseJarvis–anaward-winningphotographer.

Chasealsokindlyrespondedwithseveralofhiskeycreativityhabits—seemoregreatonesatthebottomofthispost.Buthere’sonethatIloved:

“FindQuiet.Creativitysometimeswashesovermeduringtimesofintensefocusandcrazinessofwork,butmoreoftenIgetwhackedbythecreativestickwhenI’vegottimeinmyschedule.AndsincemyscheduleisacrazyoneandalmostalwaysfillsupifI’mjust“living”,Itendtocarveoutlittleretreatsformyself.Igetsomegoodthinkingandre-chargetimeduringvacations,oronairplanes,buttheretreatsaremorefocusedonthinkingaboutcreativeproblemsthatI’mwantingtosolve.That’swhyIintentionallycarvetimeout.Imakeroomforcreativity.Intentionally.ThebestexampleofwhatImeanbyaretreatisaweekendatmyfamily’scabin.It’sa90minutedrivefrommyhouseonthecoast.Therearefewdistractions.Justarockybeachandacabinfromthe60’swithwoodpanelingandshagcarpet.Igoforwalks,hikes,naps.Iread.IdidgetaninternetsignalputintheretostayconnectedifIneedit.ButthegistisQUIET.Lettherebespaceforcreativitytofillyourbrain.”

MaciejCegłowski–painter,programmer,excellentwriter.

Maciejisoneofmyfavoritebloggers,andrespondedtomyemailwithaclassicallyshortanswerthattome,embodiesabeautifulwaytofindsolitude.

Whathabithelpshiscreativity?

Maciejreplied:

“Runninguphills!

”

LeoBabauta:

OK,Iwasn’tgoingtotalkaboutmyselfinthispost,butIthoughtIshouldsharesomeofmypreviousthoughts.

Thebestartiscreatedinsolitude,forgoodreason:

it’sonlywhenwearealonethatwecanreachintoourselvesandfindtruth,beauty,soul.Someofthemostfamousphilosopherstookdailywalks,anditwasonthesewalksthattheyfoundtheirdeepestthoughts.

Mybestwriting,andinfactthebestofanythingI’vedone,wascreatedinsolitude.

JustafewofthebenefitsI’vefoundfromsolitude:

∙timeforthought

∙inbeingalone,wegettoknowourselves

∙wefaceourdemons,anddealwiththem

∙spacetocreate

∙spacetounwind,andfindpeace

∙timetoreflectonwhatwe’vedone,andlearnfromit

∙isolationfromtheinfluencesofotherhelpsustofindourownvoice

∙quiethelpsustoappreciatethesmallerthingsthatgetlostintheroar

Readmore:

thelostartofsolitude.

TheGreatsonSolitude

Ofcourse,manyothercreativepeoplehavebelievedinthehabitofsolitude.I’vecollectedasmallbutinfluentialsamplehere.Therearemanymoreexamples.

WolfgangAmadeusMozart–prolificandinfluentialcomposeroftheClassicalera.Hecomposedover600works,manyacknowledgedaspinnaclesofsymphonic,concertante,chamber,piano,operatic,andchoralmusic.Heisamongthemostenduringlypopularofclassicalcomposers.

Mozart:

“WhenIam,asitwere,completelymyself,entirelyalone,andofgoodcheer–say,travelinginacarriageorwalkingafteragoodmealorduringthenightwhenIcannotsleep–itisonsuchoccasionsthatmyideasflowbestandmostabundantly.”

AlbertEinstein–theoreticalphysicist,philosopherandauthorwhoiswidelyregardedasoneofthemostinfluentialandbestknownscientistsandintellectualsofalltime.Heisoftenregardedasthefatherofmodernphysics.

Einstein:

“Ontheotherhand,althoughIhavearegularworkschedule,ItaketimetogoforlongwalksonthebeachsothatIcanlistentowhatisgoingoninsidemyhead.Ifmyworkisn’tgoingwell,IliedowninthemiddleofaworkdayandgazeattheceilingwhileIlistenandvisualizewhatgoesoninmyimagination.”

FranzKafka–oneofthemostinfluentialwritersofthe20thcentury.Novelistandwriterofshortstorieswhoseworkscametoberegardedasoneofthemajorachievementsof20thcenturyliterature.

Kafka:

“Youneednotleaveyourroom.Remainsittingatyourtableandlisten.Youneednotevenlisten,simplywait,justlearntobecomequiet,andstill,andsolitary.Theworldwillfreelyofferitselftoyoutobeunmasked.Ithasnochoice;itwillrollinecstasyatyourfeet.”

NikolaTesla–inventor,oneofthemostimportantcontributorstothebirthofcommercialelectricity,bestknownforhismanyrevolutionarydevelopmentsinthefieldofelectromagnetism.

Tesla:

“Themindissharperandkeenerinseclusionanduninterruptedsolitude.Originalitythrivesinseclusionfreeofoutsideinfluencesbeatinguponustocripplethecreativemind.Bealone—thatisthesecretofinvention:

bealone,thatiswhenideasareborn.”

JosephHaydn:

Alife-longresidentofAustria,HaydnspentmuchofhiscareerasacourtmusicianforthewealthyHungarianaristocraticEsterházyfamilyontheirremoteestate.Isolatedfromothercomposersandtrendsinmusicuntilthelaterpartofhislonglife,hewas,asheputit,“forcedtobecomeoriginal”

JohannWolfgangvonGoethe–Germanwriterandpolymath.Goethe’sworksspanthefieldsofpoetry,drama,literature,theology,philosophy,andscience.

Hismagnumopus,laudedasoneofthepeaksofworldliterature,isthetwo-partdramaFaust.

Goethe:

“Onecanbeinstructedinsociety,oneisinspiredonlyinsolitude.”

PabloPicasso–Spanishpainterbestknownforco-foundingtheCubistmovementandforthewidevarietyofstylesembodiedinhiswork.Hisrevolutionaryartisticaccomplishmentsbroughthimuniversalrenownandimmensefortunesthroughouthislife,makinghimoneofthebest-knownfiguresintwentiethcenturyart.

Picasso:

“Withoutgreatsolitudenoseriousworkispossible.”

CarlSandburg–Americanwriterandeditor,bestknownforhispoetry.

HewonthreePulitzerPrizes,twoforhispoetryandanotherforabiographyofAbrahamLincoln.H.L.MenckencalledCarlSandburg“indubitablyanAmericanineverypulse-beat.”

Sandburg:

“OneofthegreatestnecessitiesinAmericaistodiscovercreativesolitude.”

ThomasMann–Germannovelist,shortstorywriter,socialcritic,philanthropist,essayist,and1929NobelPrizelaureate,knownforhisseriesofhighlysymbolicandironicepicnovelsandnovellas,notedfortheirinsightintothepsychologyoftheartistandtheintellectual.

Mann:

“Solitudegivesbirthtotheoriginalinus,tobeautyunfamiliarandperilous—topoetry.”

TheNo.2CreativeHabit

Whileitmightseemcontradictory,theNo.2habitwhenitcomestonurturingcreativity:

participation.Thiscancomeinmanyforms,butitrequiresconnectingwithothers,beinginspiredbyothers,readingothers,collaboratingwithothers.

Buthowcanyouhavebothsolitudeandparticipation?

Theyobviouslyhavetocomeatdifferenttimes.Findingthebalanceiskey,ofcourse,butittakesaconsciouseffort:

thistimeisforsolitude,andthistimeisforparticipation.

Whyaretheybothimportant?

Weneedinspirationfromwithout,butweneedcreationfromwithin.

AcoupleofthepeopleIinterviewedhadhabitsthatrelatetothis:

ChaseJarvis:

“DevourPopularCulture.Consumingtheworksofothersinspiresme.Andit’snotjustmuseumsandthe“establishment”.Idevourmagazines,books,streetart,performances,music,etc.Allthingsthatmakemethinkcritically（