Design and creativity are undeniably linked. They are an old married couple. Sometimes it is hard to satisfy the needs of both, but often, they stand for the same principles. There has been much research around creativity: the causes, the catalyst, the benefits, the applications, etc. The conclusion? Creativity as unique as a user’s fingerprint. It is sometimes easily identified, and often subconsciously nourished once the individual, again – subconsciously, links that action to a burst of creativity.
There is, of course, no hard and fast rule. “Eat carrots will help me be creative” or “a 3.47 mile run will make me more creative in the evening” simply does not work. There is no formula. What there is, however, is a basic correlation between some actions and a higher level of thinking. Some actions eliminate the cognitive barriers we face such as “this won’t work”, “I’m not qualified”, “no one will listen”. And it is in this removal of barriers were the magic of creativity lies. Remove the barriers, free the mind, BAM – you’ve created the secret sauce to help fuel creativity.
My secret sauce is music. My favorite Ted speaker is Mr. Robert Gupta. Gupta received his undergraduate degree in Pre-Medical science and later went to pursue a Masters in Music at Yale University. His Ted talk “Music is medicine, music is sanity” [http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/robert_gupta.html] is brilliant. Gupta creates a strong correlation between music and creativity, “This was the very reason why we made music: we take something that exists within all of us at our very fundamental core, our emotions, and through our artistic lens, through our creativity, we’re able to shape those emotions into reality”.
Again – music exists at our fundamental core. It does, doesn’t it?
Consider this. Take a moment to listen to one of my favorite classical pieces (with a modern twist): O Fortuna Carmina [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpx4YqMkrfc&list=UUmKurapML4BF9Bjtj4RbvXw&index=12&feature=plcp]. If you did – you noticed that the musician had the audacity to write “Thumbs up if your heart is still racing!” after the final crescendo in the piece. Brilliant, eh? Most listeners, myself included, would not have noticed the emotional power the song had on us. The musicians note brought us back to consciousness to bring awareness to our beating heart. Hence, the power of music.
“Music changes us” – Robert Gupta. Music changes you, music changes me. Music has a profound influence on my life. It grabs my emotions and pulls me into my subconscious. I lose control of what I feel, the stresses that bog me down, and just take a moment to breathe. Most importantly, it removes the barriers. It removes the fundamental barrier standing between me and my creativity. Does it work every time? Of course not. But understanding that music is my “creative secret sauce” allows me to seek the potential of being creative more often.
This is all good to know. But it real treat lies within the implementation of this. If I know what helps fuel my creative juices – why don’t I listen to music more often? Perhaps it is because of all of the excuses. “I don’t have time right now”, “I forgot my iPod”, etc. The list goes on. To hell with the list!
“If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse”- Anonymous. Is being creative important to me? Is been authentic important to me? Is listening to music to help catalyze the unleashing of my creative potential important to me? If any of the above questions have been answered yes, which in my case all of them have been answered yes, then yes – I will find a way.
This piece has never failed to inspire me – please enjoy: (http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/robert_gupta_and_joshua_roman_duet_on_passacaglia.html)