Being creative isn’t always about what’s right in front of you. More often than not, being creative means learning to harness both your common sense and your subconscious thinking to work more effectively in creating ideas and solutions.
How Common Sense Gets in The Way
Many years ago, I attended a creative workshop called “Beyond Common Sense” run by Geoff Nightingale who worked extensively with Burson-Marsteller in the 1980s.
The point of his preso was to show that creativity is rarely about what you already know. In fact, most of our creative thought comes to a stand-still because our common sense gets in the way.
First, let’s start with his definition of common sense.
One’s sound understanding and judgment, but not based on specialized education; this truth is shared by (or ‘common to’) nearly all people.
Second, he drew a circle on a flipchat to represent all of the information in the universe, then dividing it into three groups:
- What You Know You Know in blue
- What You Know You Don’t Know in red
- What You Don’t Know You Don’t Know in green
(Confused yet?)
A. What You Know You Know
The first thing I learnt in adult training is the student must know they know something. If they don’t know they know it, they can’t repeat it, and therefore cannot improve.
Geoff took this learning a step further, saying that our common sense manages for us what we know. It tells us how to use it, how to apply it to problems or opportunities, or how to put it into practice through ideas and implementation. In other words, if an idea isn’t immediately practical, our common sense will diminish the idea’s value.
B. What You Know You Don’t Know
It’s easier to provide an example to define this piece. Personally, I know I know very little about opera, polo or meteorology. Even without this knowledge, my common sense manages my behaviour. Depending upon how I interested I am in a particular subject, to learn more I might read about it, study it, practice it, take classes or lessons, or apprentice from someone who does know.
In other words, it’s easy to tap into what I don’t know. Curiosity will play a key role here.
C. What You Won’t Know You Don’t Know
The third and final area is what Geoff called the most important area for creative thinking. This is an area that’s a new world to us. It’s a new domain of information that’s unavailable from our present point of view. It’s in this area of unknowns where we have an enormous, untapped wealth of knowledge, resource, ability and power.
The overall point is our creativity is limited by our current knowledge and point of view (sections A and B). To tap into our greater creativity, we need to tap into section C.
Geoff said two steps will begin the journey:
- Be actively curious, and
- Take every opportunity to discover new knowledge through open questions.
I remember saying to myself: That’s a lovely thought. But how? How do I dig into that hidden part of my mind? Through meditation? Psychotherapy? Hallucinogenic drugs? Hypnosis?
10 Suggestions to Harness The Subconscious
Over the years I keep adding to my list of suggestions to harness my subconscious.
1. Give your subconscious a problem to solve.
Your mind likes a problem. It works best when you give your subconscious a specific issue to obsess over. Even better, write down the problem, memorize it, and keep it handy.
2. Change the problem by re-framing it.
Every problem can be written out in different ways. To re-frame a problem, try to re-write the sentence ten different ways. Paraphrase as much as you like. Try different words. Use synonyms to alter the perspective. Look to any of the new statements to see if it changes how you look or perceive the problem. (Not just problems, you can try this perspective-changing to objectives, goals, opportunities or ideal outcomes.) If you need more examples of re-framing, here are some additional examples.
3. Distract yourself.
Sometimes it’s best not to think about your problem. Where #1 above is passive (give your brain an idea then go do something else) , #3 is deliberate if not physical. Take a walk. Work out. Swim. Play tennis. Cook an elaborate meal. The key is to do something “complex” (not a rote activity). Even better, do something that involves your hands.
Did you know that using your hands increases your brain power by as much as 40%?
4. Study the problem before bedtime.
What we watch, listen to, or do a few hours before bedtime influences our dreams. You can force this by reading about the topic, the problem or opportunity before you go to sleep. But if you do …
5. Pay attention to your dreams.
Dreams disappear within 15-30 seconds after we wake up, so you need to immediately consider what you remember about your dreams. Always keep the proverbial pen and paper at hand (either real or digital) so you can record your thoughts when they come to you.
6. Learn to meditate.
Meditation is focusing the mind by quieting it. Doing so harnesses the brain’s potential. There are many ways to meditate so you need to choose the way that’s best suited to your lifestyle and practice it frequently.
7. Use visual stimulus.
Your brain thinks visually, not in letters, words or sentences. Use post cards, pictures from magazines and Google Image search, or random visual stimulus (like a walk around the block, or a different path to work) to inspire your creativity.
8. Write.
Julia Cameron writes in The Artist’s Way (a brilliant book, by the way) about stream of consciousness writing. Literally, every day at the same time, sit down and just write. Do not edit. Do not censure what you write. Do not pretend the writing will turn into a bestseller. Most of what you write will stink. But do not stop: just write. By allowing your subconscious to speak to you through your open-minded writing, you very possibly will be amazed at what comes out of your head. I’ve sworn by this approach for years.
9. Use your network.
If you have a hard time tapping into your own subconscious, go talk to others. Different people bring different perspectives which – if you remain open – can point you toward new alternatives.
10. Listen to your intuition.
Your intuition is directly connected to your subconscious and your inner voice. Your first response is the one most important and natural to you, so think hard about why you want to behave or decide differently than your gut reaction. Do you need to listen to your first response?
What other methods have you used to tap into your subconscious/unconscious thinking? Please add your comments and thoughts below.
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