Think you’re “not creative” or “not playful”? We have different talents. But your capacity for creativity, fun and playfulness is unlikely to be zero. And the more you use it, the more you get.
The Two Modes of Creativity
As John Cleese says, “Creativity is not something you either have or don’t have. It’s a way of operating.” (See his talk here.) We won’t all write top comedy shows, but we just like we can go for a swim without worrying about winning the Olympics, we can enjoy creating fun for its own sake.
One insight that can help unlock creativity is recognising the two modes in which we can think.
School mostly teaches us about “closed mode” thinking. This is when you focus on something, work it out, analyse the best options, and get it done. It’s narrow like a spotlight. You can push your way through it. There’s a right and wrong answer. Your job is to find it. You can check you got it right.
There’s also “open mode” thinking. Most of us have less practice in this and it’s often overlooked as a form of thinking at all. Open mode is when you relax, open up, allow ideas to come. It’s wide like moonlight or listening. You can’t force it. You open to it and see what comes. One sign you’re doing it is you surprise yourself. Sometimes it’s an “aha!”. Sometimes it’s “Where did that come from?”
Both modes are useful, but they’re different.
When people say they are “not creative” or think they “can’t do improv”, or “can’t be playful”, they’re often trying to use closed-mode thinking to work out the “right” thing to do or say. It’s the wrong tool for this job.
It’s like if you’re trying harder and harder to remember someone’s name. The more you try, the more it disappears. But if you relax and wait, it just pops up.
Open mode means learning to listen to whatever comes up. It means suspending judgment. It usually requires less effort, not more.
Learning to access open mode is part of what we practice in improv. Relaxing tightness. Allowing something to emerge from the unknown.
Finding Open Mode to Get Unstuck
If you get stuck when you’re trying to come up with an idea, see if you’re using the wrong thinking mode. Closed mode is great for analysing a problem, clarifying your next steps and implementing a plan. Like tracking an animal. But it’s not helpful for allowing in fresh ideas.
Explore what helps yourself find open mode: Go for a walk, think about a problem then put it aside and let it incubate. Lighten up. Allow some time.
I’ve learned not to write the first draft of these newsletters at my computer. I get too tight and get stuck. Instead I sit on the floor and imagine I’m talking to a friend, and things flow much more easily.
John Cleese credits a lot of his success to being patient. Playing around with ideas and trusting something will come.
The More You Use, the More You Get
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
Maya Angelou
And the good news is you don’t run out of creativity, fun and laughter. They’re not finite resources. The more you access them, the easier it becomes to find them again.
We’ll be playing with some of these themes and enjoying the infinite nature of creativity in The Magic Porridge Pot improv classes starting next week. By allowing ourselves to relax, laugh, be open and joyfully explore the unknown, we’ll be having fun in the moment and gradually building that into our systems.
Suitable for people with some experience or confidence with improv. Mondays are sold out but there are still some spaces on Fridays 2pm UK time.
The Delight of Surprising Yourself beginners’ improv course has already started – either contact me or look out for the next one.
One man’s campaign against his ‘anti-fun’ city
I quite liked this chap’s playful protest against a “fun deficit” in Chichester, just down the coast from me.
“Chichester Anti-Fun Partnership” (CARP) Facebook page here.
I had a SUPER fun reunion with friends who I mostly last met 30 YEARS ago when we were all teaching English in Japan. Of course some things were different on the surface. But so much was the same underneath. We laughed and shared like it had been 30 days, not 30 years. I guess that was not guaranteed after such a long gap.
What a special thing. <3