Chapter 7 Creative

To solve any problem in life you need to be creative. Because as the old saying goes: if you continue to do the same things, you'll always get the same results. But being creative can be a daunting task. Give most people a blank sheet of paper, figuratively task, to start the creative process and they'll finish with a blank mind. But being creative doesn't necessarily mean coming up with original ideas. In fact, most new ideas are combinations of old ones with a fresh wrapping. The good news is there are some useful questions that can help you to generate life-changing ideas. But before I share them with you, let me say this.

We often fail to solve problems because we fail to think outside the box. Our habitual actions wand ways of thinking restrain our creativity. But, to live a more fulfilling life, we need to look at life from different angles. In a sense, we need to grow up. You see, as children we learnt how to behave by coping the people around us. As adults we copy others to learn new skills too. But there comes apoint in our developement when we have to stop coping.


As a Japanese master once told me :'To master karate, you must first imitate your teacher: But at some point you must go beyond what you've been taught and create your own techniques.' You see, imitation is necessary in the early stages of learning but it lacks creativity. Eventually we must transcend what is known and develop our craft. that's the way to grow. Essentially, techniques are stepping-stones to a place where we can be creative. When we get to that place in karate our activity transform from a science into an art.




There comes a point when we have to break free from coping.


It's the same in life: we learn ways of living that serve a purpose at our early stages, but when we find ourselves in new situations the old behaviors tends not to work. There comes a point when we need to drop the old method, move on, adopt new behavior and reach new heights. Here's how.


First, you need to know what you want- the end result. The critical questions are: what do i want to create? and what do I want to happen? Next you need to know what exists currently. Ask:what is my present situation? and what is happening now? Then you need to be creative. The following questions are guaranteed to get your creative juices flowing. What would a person I admire do? How else could a person  handle this?
What would be the proactive things to do? What would I do if I moved towards the fear? Then, when you're explored enough options, pick one and take action.