The 10 Keys to a Creative Mindset

Set yourself up for success in all your endeavors!

According to The American Heritage Dictionary, Mindset is “a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations.”

Psychologists have known for many years that mindsets have a huge impact on our moods, our perceptual abilities, and our general level of happiness. And mindset is probably the most important influence on your creative ability.

1. Start with a Growth Mindset

Professor Carol Dweck and her colleagues at Stanford University have demonstrated that people with a “Growth mindset” i.e. -- those who believe that abilities like creativity, for example, can be developed and improved throughout life -- will tend to outperform those with what she calls a “Fixed mindset” i.e. -- those who believe that fundamental abilities like creativity are predetermined and unchangeable and that talent alone is the key to success. Dweck’s research shows that in the long run, the growth mindset trumps talent, and the fixed mindset limits the fulfillment of talent.

So, adopt a growth mindset and focus on how you can continuously develop your creative powers.?

2. Invite Surprise & Wonder

Our habitual patterns of thought lead to expectations that are by definition habitual and not creative. One of the simple keys to a creative mindset is to open your mind to the possibility of surprise and invite the unexpected.

3. Embrace Playfulness, Humor, & Laughter

Playfulness is a characteristic of the most creative people in all walks of life. Matt Groening, the creator of?The Simpsons, explains the secret of his creativity: “Most grownups forgot what it was like to be a kid. I vowed that I would never forget.”

4. Clarify Your Purpose

Inspire your creativity by clarifying what you want to create.

Try this exercise: Get a pen and a blank sheet of paper and, in the next few minutes, write down your creative purpose. Even if you feel that you have no idea of your purpose, please just make something up. If you already have a well-defined purpose statement, write it out.

After completing your first draft, highlight the words in your statement that have the most resonance for you at this time.

Invest a minimum of ten minutes a day every day contemplating your key words and reviewing and revising your statement until you feel fully aligned with, and excited by, what you’ve written.

5. Strengthen Your Confusion Endurance

In the 1980s corporations began to seek managers with a high “tolerance for ambiguity.” More recently, Forbes described tolerance for ambiguity as “The One Key Trait for Successful Entrepreneurs.”

I suggest replacing the notion of tolerating ambiguity with the idea of embracing it.

6. Move Beyond Either-Or Thinking

The creative mindset reframes either-or propositions in order to stimulate more productive thinking. For example, questions such as “Is it better to be a planner or an improviser?” and “Which is more critical to organizational success: leadership or management?” can be rephrased as follows:

• ??How can I discover the ideal relationship between planning and improvisation?
• ??What practical skills need to be cultivated in our organization to ensure the most productive balance between management and leadership?

7. Assume?Chutzpah?. . .

Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BCE) explained that we acquire a particular quality by acting in a particular way. In other words, we become ethical by acting ethically, and brave by acting bravely.

And we become creative by acting creatively.

Chutzpah?is a Yiddish word that can be interpreted to mean audacity or nerve in the face of uncertainty. The closest word in the American vernacular is moxie.?In other words, when it comes to learning how to be more creative: Fake it until you make it!?

8. Be Courageous & Persevere

The process of shifting out of a fixed mindset to embrace a creative one will, for most people, generate significant anxiety. We tend to think of heroism as a feat of derring-do — rescuing hostages or pulling someone from a burning building — but the courage to make inner changes, to face anxiety directly, is equally heroic. Rescue the creative self that has been held hostage by the fixed mindset, pull your dreams out of the quicksand of fear, and commit to a more creative life.

9. Appreciate Beauty, Sensory Delights, & Natural Wonders

In his Symposium, the Greek philosopher Plato (427–347 BCE) gives advice on how best to nurture the soul. He advises us to appreciate beauty in the external world, whether in art, science, or nature, in order to deepen our connection with the beauty within. If you nurture your mind and heart with beauty in different forms, you will feed your soul and empower your creativity.

In our mass-market, lowest-common-denominator, spam-infested world, beauty isn’t the default setting. The creative mindset seeks out and celebrates beauty on a daily basis.

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10. Invoke the Muse

How can you prepare yourself to function at the highest level of creativity? Combine?chutzpah?with humility. In any creative endeavor, begin by asking wholeheartedly for inspiration and insight. When you get stuck or frustrated, ask for help. As you near completion, ask for guidance.?

Interested to learn more? Check out?my books!

?Michael J. Gelb 2022