How to Level Up your Personal Creativity with Curiosity

In the previous edition of this newsletter, we looked at the first of the three Creativity Trifecta.? In this article, we are going to deep dive into the second Creativity Trifecta and how it can help to level up your Creativity.

Creativity Trifecta #02:? Curiosity

“When you’re curious you find lots of interesting things to do.” ~ Walt Disney

Curiosity is the desire in exploring new things.? It is also a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as investigation, and learning.??

Creativity expert and co-author of ‘The Brain Smart Leader’, co-author and creativity expert Tony Buzan, mentioned that Curiosity is one of the 7 Brain principles that help people to be creative because the brain constantly seeks new knowledge and information.??

In doing so, the brain actively looks for innovative ideas and solutions.? Curiosity is heavily linked with various aspects of human development, which derives from the learning process of learning and desire to gain knowledge and skill. Curiosity makes us to be more self-aware, develop empathy and help us to learn and grow as individuals.

For years, the high-jump athletes would jump over the high-jump bar just like how athletes jump over the hurdle on the race track.? A few years before the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, a high school student Dick Fosbury started to ask himself why couldn’t jump any higher than 1.62m. As he practised, he improvised and kept working on his “new” technique.??

Over time, as he practised, he could jump higher and higher.? As a result, he went on to win the 1968 Olympics gold medal in high jump with a record of 2.24m.? His technique, named the Fosbury Flop, is now the standard technique used in high-jump, both in the amateur and professional arena.

If we were to deconstruct Dick Fosbury’s curiosity process, it would appear in three stages, in what I would describe as “The A.R.T of Asking Questions”:

Stage 1:? Using Analysis Question

“Why were the current techniques not effective for him to jump higher?”??

In this context,? Dick Fosbury was analysing the reasons and was finding out the root cause of the problem he was facing - the inability to jump higher.

Stage 2:? Using Reframing Questions

“How can I jump higher and break my own personal high-jump record?”

At this stage, he was shifting his paradigm from looking at the current state of problem to a more solution-focused one.? His mind then wandered looking for possible solutions.

Finally, comes a third kind of question:

Stage 3:? Using Trigger Question:

“What if I jump backwards as a new technique of jumping?”

Stage 3 is the “Trigger” question that allows the user to identify possible solutions for him to execute.?

In addition, if we were to re-look at these 3 stages in sequence, the ‘Yes, And’ principle was present. ? After Dick asked the First question (Analysis Question), he ‘Yes, And’ his process to Stage 2 where he asked the Second kind of question (Reframing Questions).? He ‘Yes, and…” by moving on to Stage 3, asking the What If? (Trigger Question).

The next time you are faced with a challenge, use “The A.R.T of Asking Questions” framework to facilitate you identify the root cause of the problems and find possible solutions.

In the next article, we are going into the third element of the Creativity Trifecta from ACT 1 of Creative Leadership framework.

Stay Safe, Stay Positive, Stay Creative.

Towards your continued success,

Hazriq Idrus | Creative Leadership & Public Speaking Strategist | Author of “Creative Leadership” & "The Stage Fright Antidote!"

Hazriq Idrus is a stage actor turned professional speaker, and is also the author of ‘The Stage Fright Antidote!’ and ‘Creative Leadership’. He founded The Speaking Factory Pte Ltd (TSF), a corporate training/ consulting firm that works with leaders; guiding them to speak, lead and innovate with impact. ? TSF uses experiential & transformational training approaches, specifically - acting & theatre improvisational principles, to make training fun, engaging yet practical to the real world.

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