CHAT BACK: Look close and you'll miss it

So often we get caught up trying to find a solution that we fail to see all the possibilities around us. In an attempt to find an outcome we narrow our focus, limit our vision and miss the golden opportunities. Creativity is about possibilities, not adequate solutions.

I’m a big fan of creativity being a process BUT if that process is too rigid and is a ‘cookie cutter approach’ then it will only restrict and constrain your creativity. So the creative process must encourage courageous thinking, possibility hunting, and not just bang out ideas.

It’s being an explorer. Take Samuel Wallis for instance. In 1766 he was commissioned to search for a large continent, believed to be south of South America, it didn’t exist of course. But what if he ignored everything else around him and only focused on that? He would have missed Tahiti. Shame really! His journey and discoveries were then stepping-stones to Cook’s expeditions.

Sometimes what we think is there, simply isn’t, and sometimes we find things that are greater.

Kids are great at this because children are great explorers. They explore their environment, their world, and their minds constantly. They are great at pushing the limits.

As kids we all wanted to know how tall our Lego tower would go before collapsing, how many different household surfaces we could draw on and we made up endless imaginary games and had an insatiable appetite to try and learn new things. It’s how we learnt and how we grew.

But as adults we tend not to explore as much. We know what is right and wrong, we know what works and what doesn’t, we make assumptions and we tend to take the safe and familiar path of ideas and possibilities.

So when it comes to being creative we need to start exploring again. We need to stop seeing the answer right in front of us and look for the unknown answer. We need to step out onto the proverbial ledge and see what is beyond. We need to test new waters and try new things. We need to let the answer find us. Otherwise we get stuck, and nothing new happens. I know you know that, but it’s with a reminder sometimes.

As a great Zen master once said, ‘to find the answer we must forget the problem’.