You struggle with trying to be creative.
Phrases like ‘brainstorm’ and ‘think outside of the box’ have been drilled into you.
You’re convinced the only way to be creative is by doing something extraordinary. That you have to be original.
You think endlessly, work hard, and try to be innovative.
But your efforts backfire. You can’t get any traction.
It’s a paradox. When you try too hard, you fail.
You’ve put yourself on the line and have something to lose.
You’re anxious and scared. Ultimately you disappoint yourself.
You feel defeated.
You want to stop this vicious cycle but don’t know how.
There’s a simple solution. Be ordinary.
It may sound counter intuitive but it works.
I learned about being boring years ago studying with Keith Johnstone, a renowned Improvisational Theatre teacher.
When ever 2 students were ready to begin a scene, Keith reminded them to start with a boring sentence like ‘I’m going to sit down on the sofa” or ‘I’m going to the store.’
Nothing flashy. Plain and simple.
I learned that NOT trying to be different allows the creative juices to flow.
Commit to what you’re doing, put one foot in front of the other, and do the work.
Don’t judge the quality of it.
Just continue to practice. Do what comes naturally to you. Without trying to be great.
It’ll help you make connections and observations that may be obvious to you.
But are original to others.
So the next time you have the urge to be extraordinary, pause. Take a deep breath.
Fran,
I would have never thought of doing this. Never. Thanks for sharing something new!
Tess…
I know. When I first tried implementing it in improv, it was extremely difficult. It went against everything I had been taught. But depending on your nature and the circumstances, it can work like a charm.Fran
I know it works! When I learned to slow down after I quit my job, even though my days were full with hospital visits, a baby and managing our home, I found peace. Unbelievable peace. Because I was not under pressure to be perfect. And had the opportunity to discover that ordinary was indeed perfect most of the time 😀 Oh, how good that feels!
Vidya,
I can feel your passion about slowing down, not feeling pressure, and being at peace when you removed your mantle of high expectations. Isn’t magical? Maybe it’s time for you to give some inspirational talks on the subject…
I think you could motivate a lot of people to think about the subject and to get some to actually make some changes. 🙂 Fran
Fran,
I love this! Recently I had a huge deadline to meet with a mountain of work – I found the best way to do it was to just sit myself down and say, “Now Go!” Being ordinary often is more extraordinary than all of the brainstorming and mind mapping in the entire world.
Angela…
Good for you! With the amount of work you have on your plate right now, it’s wonderful that you were able to use that mindset. I think so many of us get stuck in thinking that what we do has to be ‘extraordinary’. Even the word ‘epic’ that has become a part of the blogosphere’s lexicon instills a sense of being ‘out of the ordinary’.
I’m not even sure I know what that means:) Fran
Hi Fran,
You are so right about this! Most of my popular blog posts are the things I thought were mainly rote. But apparently it’s what we think is obvious which isn’t to others that often gains the most traction.
Julie…
How lucky you have clarity about this subject. As a garden designer, some of my simplest designs and ideas have clients ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ all over the place. For them it’s extraordinary. It sure had taught me to stop trying so damn hard to work at producing ‘epic’ work! Thanks for chiming in. Fran
I absolutely LOVE this! We don’t realize how unique our own lives are so what we think is ordinary is extraordinary to others.
It’s when we share our “boring and ordinary” selves with others that true connections with others are made. We can bond over our ordinariness which helps to drop all the pressure to be more.
Recently I was telling my mother that I was working to implement more video in my blog. Her first suggestion was to video where and how I live every day. I laughed at how right-on she was and how I had missed the obvious. What I take for granted because I’ve lived this way for 15 years is what most people dream of. Stay tuned…
Thanks for the inspiration and the “permission” to be great just the way we are!
Fran,
Your twitter button says @addthis…..you need to add your twitter handle to it.
xoxo,
Angela