What is Creativity? Part II

PART II — THE ANSWER

In mid-January, the answer came to me. With all the information that is out there about creativity, it all really comes down to just two words, six letters total: what if. We access our creativity when we ask the question “what if”. What if I draw this pattern this way? What if I use this color here and that color there? What if I move the sofa to the middle of the room? What if I cook with agave instead of sugar? What if, what if, what if?

When the “what if” concept dawned on me, I flashed back to my memory at Hathor’s Temple in Dendara Egypt. My husband and I were inside her temple. I looked up at one of the ceilings and saw an image of the sun, with rays of light shining down from one section of the sun down onto the image of Hathor face. I remember having the thought “what if I drew the sun and made it so the rays of the sun come out from all around the sun?” I realized that at the moment, it was my first artistic “what if.” (Resulting "Re" mandala is on the left)

I also realized that I am most creative when I explore the “what if” possibilities in every aspect of my life.

THE CHALLENGE

So what stops people (myself included) from following through with the “what ifs?” Here are some of the answers I hear in my head. “It will never work.” “What would the neighbors think.” “It will look awful.” “No one will like it.” “I won’t like it.” “I’ll be laughed it.” “I’ll embarrass myself.” You get the idea. The bottom line is fear, mostly fear of failure and/or disgrace.

My advice? Feel the fear and do it anyway. (It’s also the title of a really great book, I highly recommend it.) Who cares what other people say or think? Chances are most people will either be jealous or in awe of your bravery. Hang out with the people who think you're brave and let go of the jealous ones.

What do scientists do? Experiments. In their line of work they do “what ifs” all time. That’s how they weed out what processes to eliminate and what processes to keep. Most times their experiments lead to new possibilities that would otherwise have alluded them had they ignored the initial “what ifs.”

I strongly encourage you to play with the “what ifs” in all aspects of your life. Think of yourself as the scientist of your life doing experiments. I know it’s cliché but it truly applies: think outside the box…better yet, think way beyond the box.

Start with something small and safe. If the fear flag rears its ugly head, ask the question “what’s the worse that could happen?” Unless the possibility of harm or death to you or someone else is the answer, follow through on the “what if.” If the result is something other than what you wanted, then you can decide to check that off your list of things to try. More than likely, another “what if” will appear which can take you on a whole new path of "what ifs", which would have been lost to you otherwise.

Here’s a rather simplistic example for you. “What if” you really want to try that new laundry detergent that’s being advertised? Take a chance and try it. You may 1) love it, 2) like it, 3) think it’s the same as what you’ve already used, 4) care less about it, or 5) hate it. Regardless of the outcome your efforts are a success: you gained valuable insight into this new product.

For me, I mostly use the “what ifs” with my art. I experiment and play with all types of artistic possibilities. I could just as easily apply it to how I run my business, how I manage my home, cooking, my husband, my dogs, my clutter, etc. The possibilities are endless. Look at your life. Where can you apply the “what if?”

THE CAVEAT

Yesterday (January 31), I was scheduled to give a 15-minute presentation to my networking group about my art business; I chose to speak about creativity. The speaker before me gave an interesting talk on tax fraud. As I listened to her speech and contemplated my own, I heard her describe some of the cases and realized that these individuals had played the “what if” game with the IRS and their taxes (or lack thereof). These individuals are now either in jail or are paying a very high price for their efforts.

I gained a very valuable lesson and made a quick alteration to my presentation. I offer to you a caveat to the “what if” concept, be sure that whatever you apply the “what if” to is legal.

Now go play :-)