There are at least two kinds of creativity.
The first is when you know exactly what you want to bring to life. A child says, “I’ll draw a garden on the Moon.” An adult declares, “I’ll cross the Pacific on a raft.” The task might be difficult, even dangerous, but the final result is already clear.
I first encountered the second kind of creativity in the Netherlands, at a training session for a psychotherapy method called Focusing. We were given clay and told to shape whatever emerged on its own.
At first, I was annoyed. What kind of pointless exercise is this? So I threw the clay at the board on the floor. After a few minutes, I noticed the lump had started to form a cube. I felt the urge to carve a hollow in it. Then to roll a small ball and place it inside. And so on.
In the end, I had a strange sculpture. I couldn’t explain it, but I liked looking at it. The instructor asked me how I felt and what it reminded me of.
Suddenly, I understood what my body had been trying to tell me.
The first kind of creativity is familiar to us. A business faces a problem, and we have to find a clever way to solve it. Countless books lay out theories, methods, and algorithms for this kind of thinking.
The second kind is rarely discussed. Yet, this is how we choose a life partner, discover our calling, and make sense of our struggles, traumas, and mistakes.
We first create our life, and only then do we make sense of it. Isn't that why this process keeps our curiosity hungry until the end?
Yours sincerely,
-Alexander
About me:
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.
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