Happiness lies not in the mere
possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of
creative effort.” - Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address
In her book, YOUR CREATIVE
BRAIN, Dr. Shelley Carson shares the psychology and neuroscience of
creativity. A Harvard psychologist, Dr. Carson defines creativity as something
novel or original and useful or adaptive to some portion of the population. She
focuses on the distinction between originality and creativity.
Carson indicates that many things are original but aren’t particularly creative. She cites the “word salad” speech of a schizophenic as highly original but it does not appear to have a utility, even to the person uttering the words.
Carson indicates that many things are original but aren’t particularly creative. She cites the “word salad” speech of a schizophenic as highly original but it does not appear to have a utility, even to the person uttering the words.
Psychologists used to believe the
left brain analyzed with an involvement of sequential thinking and the right
brain handled creativity. The a movement developed toward the front-back brain
division. The front brain became the gatekeeper and controlled the input from
the back brain. Now we think it’s more complicated that either model. It
depends upon which stage of the creative process you’re in.
Dr. Carson feels contentment is the
enemy of creativity because the creative mind constantly hungers for
stimulation.
Creativity involves novelty-seeking. Studies of cognitive behavior have shown you can change brain activation states, alter neurotransmitter levels and the receptors for those neurotransmitters and receptors. Dr. Carson believes, “if we have the ability to change our brains with cognitive behavior therapy, why not use that power to become more novelty-seeking and more creative?’
She adds, to increase creativity,
“keep learning new things. Take courses, read widely, and learn how to play a
new instrument or how to cook Tuscan food. Learn, learn, learn! Second, try not
to judge the things you’re learning. Keep an open mind. Everything you learn is
a possible element that may make its way into some future creative idea that
you can’t even imagine today. And the more open-minded you remain about what
you learn, the more likely you are to see how it can be combined with other
information to form a novel and original product or idea."
What could you do to develop a novelty-seeking ability in your life today?
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