4/25/07

Whack Yourself: Creativity Part Duex


In beginning my next essay on Creativity, I wanted to talk about some ways we can increase it in ourselves. Whether it’s nature or nurture, whether you have one talent you are unburying, or several already multiplying, or even if you say you have no Creativity, you can find ways to strengthen what you have or search for what you aren’t sure you have.
Maybe it’s just the word itself that people have trouble with. Wikipedia says that Creativity “is a mental process involving the generation of new ideas or consepts, or new associations between existing ideas or concepts.” Let’s not think of the “C” word for a moment, let’s not think specifically of "Creativity", and see if we can get past the word. Can you come up with an original thought? Can you use something for a use other than what it was intended for? Can you whistle? Then you have Creative Thought. And you can excercise it like a muscle and make it stronger.
There are all sorts of things around on the web to boost your creativity. 10 Steps for Boosting Creativity, Creativity Tools, Creativity at Work, Creativity Basics, Obstacles to Creativity, Creativity for LIfe, and a crafty Newsletter I get, just to name a few. (And by the way, everything out there I found said that you do have Creativity inside you!) There are also some great games and toys to stretch your creativity, but that's a 'thing' for another day.
I was searching around for some links for my favorite Creative tool, the Creative Whack Pack, or as I like to call it, the Whacky Pack. This is a deck of cards based on a book, each with an idea on it to help jump start your creative battery. I purchased my deck back in the '80s and have enjoyed using them ever since. There are several ways to use the cards, I like to shuffle and draw one at random and see what ideas pop up from it. The cards work great for already Creative sorts, as well as in business.
As I was searching for links, I discovered that the creator of the cards (and writer of the book they were based on), Roger von Oech has started his own blog! Because I was trying to finish up this post, I only glanced around, but reading every single post on this blog is my next task! He has written several posts based on some of the cards, expanding on the ideas. Loosen Up. Set a Deadline. Discover Your Own Creative Style. So even if you don't have your own cards, you can check out some great Creativity Stimulators that can help you in what ever you do. There's even a page that every time you hit refresh, you see a new card. WHACK! Check out some of them!
So now what do you see?

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