Creative Filter: The break-even point of creativity
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Everything in the world tends to balance. It’s basically cause and effect: at the same time it is the opposite, it’s complementary. This idea is explained by one of the basic concepts of Taoism, Yin-Yang, and proven by mathematics, which in statistics, through analyses and graphs, it is possible to observe the correlation between two (or more) variables. So everything is directly or indirectly related.
And what does this have to do with Creativity?
Well, Creativity also has its own balance. Our ideas come from the amount of information we have about different subjects and how we see a relationship between them. Having a great repertoire is essential for making connections, but you need to know what kind of information you need to do so. This balance is what I call the Creative Filter.
The Creative Filter is what interests us or not as a reference. It is our judgment, our consideration, our break-even point. So, here I listed three major things we should filter to be more creative:
1 — The Abyss of Excess
We are bombarded every day by a whirl of information, which is largely useless. In social media, for example, we see mostly gossip, fake news, what our neighbor ate and kittens. We consume this information indiscriminately and, most of all, we waste time.
Here a tip for you: stop following who do not add value. Try to follow serious and reliable sources or subjects of your interest. Follow people you admire, keep in touch with them, share what you love and produce high-quality stuff.
“If I did not learn something today that I did not know yesterday, then I wasted that day.” — Neil deGrasse Tyson
2 — The Criticism
Our everyday life is full of it, especially the internet. Criticism has the power to kill an idea, depending on how you deal with it. We must be careful about whom we ask an opinion. Sometimes we don’t even have to ask for it, it’s come for free. Those who have no relevance or are not important to you should be ignored, and only those who really matter must be taken into account, as far as possible.
I believe the main reason for filtering criticism is the fact that people usually do not give the same value we do to our own ideas. We have different perspectives and concepts, which leads us to consider something as important or not. Learn to understand people, and do not forget to use your own filter when you give your opinion about the work of others.
Another tip: Even within our family we need to be careful because that’s where opinions are most powerful. Our parents lived in different times, and their costumes and traditions may end up compromising that particular idea. We should know how and when consulting our family, once they normally have good intentions and their wisdom is valuable.
“Every advice is autobiographical.” — Austin Kleon
3 — The Desert of Possibilities
Nothing worst to Creativity than a lot of possibilities. Barry Schwartz talked about that in his TED The paradox of choice. As Barry said, this is directly related to the excess information we consume. It may seem contradictory, but when it comes to creativity limits means freedom.
Knowing the time to stop looking for new information is also essential to the break-even point of creativity. We must learn to alternate research with creation, in order to not lose ourselves in the world of ideas but also don’t stiffen in reality.
Use these filters helps us to set the boundaries that our ideas need to gain shape. When we do this, we restrict the possible connections between ideas, the research area for inspiration and increase the chance of seeing a combination with potential.
Which filter do you need most?
