{"id":1389,"date":"2018-10-19T00:00:47","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T00:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhanderson.biz\/?p=1389"},"modified":"2019-01-03T00:16:29","modified_gmt":"2019-01-03T00:16:29","slug":"how-to-be-creative-while-standing-on-your-head","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jhanderson.biz\/index.php\/2018\/10\/19\/how-to-be-creative-while-standing-on-your-head\/","title":{"rendered":"How to be creative while standing on your head"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The composer Igor Stravinsky, when he got stuck in the middle of creating one his innovative modernist compositions, would take a break to stand on his head. (This story, along with many other accounts of the work routines of creative individuals, can be found in the book Daily Rituals<\/a><\/em> by Mason Currey). It\u2019s the perfect illustration of a core principle of creativity: find ways to change your perspective.<\/p>\n

Think about the ways we usually make decisions: we walk down the same corridors to the same meeting rooms, talk to the same people with the same expertise, and scratch our heads in the same ways. Is it any surprise that these conventional behaviors lead to conventional solutions?<\/p>\n

When you deliberately redirect your habitual behavior, new pathways of thinking open up. Instead of walking down the same corridor to a meeting, take the elevator to the top of your building and back down again on your way there. Hold your meetings outside, or in the janitor\u2019s closet. Invite people who know nothing about the issue you\u2019re wrestling with into your meetings. Scratch your elbow instead of your head.<\/p>\n

While these actions may seem a little eccentric, it\u2019s actually saner than behavior that illustrates the classic definition of insanity: \u201cDoing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, so good. But there\u2019s a bit more to this story: you have to change your perspective consistently<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Choreographer Twyla Tharp\u2019s excellent book The Creative Habit<\/a><\/em> mines this territory with considerable insight. There is no question that dancers, musicians, writers and other creative people have to build a fierce discipline in order to do creative work (again, the Daily Rituals<\/em> book is full of examples).<\/p>\n

Consistency is a key\u2026but so is the ability to keep changing perspective. If you start standing on your head today, within a few days head-standing will become a routine and (setting aside any other health benefits) will have lost its ability to inject you with creative juice. The tricky thing about the creative habit is that it needs to be exercised regularly\u2014yet always in new and innovative ways. Finding this balance between consistent work and consistent renewal is one of the keys to creative work of any kind.<\/p>\n

Try It:<\/em> Take a close look at your daily and weekly routines. Identify one or two consistent disciplines you engage in, at work or beyond: maybe a workout routine, or a course of study, or a regular time with family friends. How can you inject a regular shift of perspective into that activity? How can you blend consistency with a continual sense of curiosity and newness?<\/p>\n

Image:\u00a0https:\/\/pixabay.com\/en\/figure-man-standing-on-your-head-1703627\/<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0CC0 Creative Commons<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The composer Igor Stravinsky, when he got stuck in the middle of creating one his innovative modernist compositions, would take a break to stand on his head. (This story, along with many other accounts of the work routines of creative individuals, can be found in the book Daily Rituals by Mason Currey). It\u2019s the perfect […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-creativity","category-tips-for-your-at-work"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jhanderson.biz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jhanderson.biz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jhanderson.biz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jhanderson.biz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jhanderson.biz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1389"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/jhanderson.biz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1525,"href":"https:\/\/jhanderson.biz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1389\/revisions\/1525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jhanderson.biz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jhanderson.biz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jhanderson.biz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jhanderson.biz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}