Admit That There’s A Problem And That There’s A Solution
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
Most people believe that something exists
between them and the ability to create. This is the byproduct of pop psychology
and self-help approaches that love nothing more than to diagnose your problem
and then tell you how to fix it. The supposed solution may be therapies,
affirmations, positive thinking or heightened emotional zeal. But to be
creative…? “No amount of therapy will enable you to play the
piano,” says Robert Fritz, in his book Creating (1991).
The issue is to admit that there is a solution to a problem. To many people,
that challenge is to recognize and admit that there is a problem in the
first place. This is the result of the vast number of areas where the conscious
mind unconsciously passes through certain tasks without questioning the
validity of either ritual or result. As mentioned earlier, there are distinct
advantages and reasons for doing this. However, if one were to begin with
an informal look at the activity and results in one’s life, and then
ask the question whether or not said results and activities are satisfying,
the door for the question is open.
One of the easiest and most universal examples of this is to reflect on
the beginnings of any serious, intimate romantic relationship in one’s
life, especially when or where it concerns sharing living space. For a brief
(though sometimes longer) period of time, almost every mundane ritual that
has been established in your life is hit with an illumination of perspective.
From how the towels are folded to where the alarm clock is placed (and at
what volume) becomes a question open to explanation and discussion.
If we think back to these early days of relationship building, many instances
of tension and eruptive emotion emerge as we rebel against analyzing each
of our activities. They all seem quite rational and justified…in fact,
“beyond” analysis. The logic, in our rationale, simply speaks
for itself. However, when establishing a mutual routine, we are often unable
to provide a specific rationale that stands any sort of test for being “better”
or “more efficient” than our partner’s way. The annoyances
add up because we do not want to put this kind of scrutiny on mundane activities…at
least not so many and not constantly. Of course, there is always acquiescence,
which in some cases is quite acceptable and valid. A true creative would
seize the impetus of opportunity to truly question themselves and absorb
the self-knowledge contained in the creeping establishment of these simple
habits in our lives. The worst choice is to figuratively rip the list in
half and say, “I’ll give in on the way the dishes are stacked
but not on the way towels are folded.” In this instance, we have neither
taken advantage of uncovering self knowledge or exercised creative capacities
in ourselves. There is also the fact that we are setting precedents for
continual and further separation of ourselves from conscious choices. The
rather unexciting nature of this example contains all the perquisites of
the way in which creativity is ignored and the way in which thinking must
be challenged in order to first perceive and then remedy the problems with
which we seek creative solutions.
In the later section on Einstein, the art of finding the right problem and
asking the right questions is illustrated further. Following, however, is
a short compilation of the further resistances we might find in beginning
to attempt creative thinking in regards to specific problem solving events.
As explained by Robert Grudin in his book The Grace of Great Things: Creativity
and Innovation (1990), we rebel against the “intangible” nature
of instinctive leaps, emotional processing and free form associations. Grudin
offers the following breakdown of this struggle:
1. The task, while simple when viewed abstractly, becomes an emotional challenge
to our sense of control and order of ideas…in a sense, a challenge
to our sense of being in control.
2. This challenge produces a loop of irrational, negative feedback that
plays upon itself. Doubt, indecision, and distraction cause negative feelings
and physiological changes, which in turn cause us to feel bad (emotionally
and physically) and then doubt and evade all the more.
3. The loop created by doubt is augmented by conscious or unconscious comparisons
(with others, with other situations, etc…) in which we begin to compare
ourselves to others negatively.
4. Impulses arise to distractive actions that incorporate the visual (Right
Brain-Mode) centers such as cleaning and organizing the desk or office,
or doodling on a pad, staring out the window or some such thing. This action
is a form of engaging and assuaging the associative thinking components
of the brain while boxing them into a linear, ordered activity.
5. The tasks (of #4) produce a certain catharsis to the emotional anxiety,
and either release us to continue further or stymie further activity by
fooling us into believing that a thing has moved forward or actually been
accomplished when what we have actually done is merely relieve the emotional
pressure involved with trying to engage creative thinking.
This scenario helps to illustrate that there is no amount of “conscious
concentration” through which creativity can be achieved. We can’t
will it or force it. Creativity requires that all functions be engaged without
holds or bars or censorships or definitions in place. It is truly a “mind/body”
experience, drawing upon sensory perceptions as well as the imagery of associative
thought. A key, according to Grudin, is to modulate and focus the thinking
and the environmental experience so that we create the most conducive, least
distractive setting (emotionally and physically).
Improving Focus in a creative environment! To attain better focus, you need to improve your work environment intelligently. Intelligence, better creativity, finding the problem intelligent help can be yours if you’re in trouble or stuck as a writer.