“Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way. Creativity is the ability to move beyond habitual responses and approach things as fresh.” William James
Not long ago, I asked a friend of mine about how he makes important decisions. His response: “I make everything significant.”
His words had a strong impact on me. And, considering my own quest to teach other how to unlock their full creative potential and also to lead by example, I couldn’t help but think how his words, “I make everything significant”, can be a powerful tool for both creativity, and for relating with the world with greater depth and intimacy.
Our lives our saturated with stimuli of all sorts. We have short exchanges and longer conversations with our families, friends, and coworkers. We are bombarded with media of all sorts, including newspapers and magazines, billboards, commercials, even bumper stickers. Our five senses are always and unceasingly drawing in colors and forms, sounds, smells, and sensations from the world around us. And, in every moment, we are inhaling lungfuls of air, and exhaling back out into the environment.
In short, in every moment, we are in an unceasing exchange with the world around us. And yet, as humans, with our very powerful but sometimes tricky minds, we can feel isolated, stuck, and creatively blocked.
So what’s the solution? Make EVERYTHING significant. Treat everything that enters your awareness as a teacher, a message, or gift from the universe. Don’t dismiss anything. Albeit the flyer that blows across your pathway, the long lost friend who suddenly calls you, or the piece of broken glass that catches the sunlight just so, make everything significant.
To repeat what William James, one of the early pioneers of the budding field of psychology, said, “Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way. Creativity is the ability to move beyond habitual responses and approach things as fresh.”
Whatever catches your attention may just hold the key to your next creative breakthrough.
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