Creativity Challenge 2002

Alan's Creativity Challenges 2003-37

This week's challenge is for practising the 2nd step of Graham Wallas' famous
4-step Creative Process, written about at the turn of the 20th century.

The early twentieth-century reformer Graham Walls outlines in his book, The
Art of Thought, what he called the 4-step Creative Process of human beings.

1. Preparation. The person expecting to gain new insights must know his field
of study or problem/challenge and be well prepared.

2. Incubation - Wallas noticed many great ideas came only a period of time
spent away from the problem.

3. Illumination. The "click" or "flash" of a new idea. It's a mysterious phase.
Resting the mind by doing other activities was the suggestion Wallas offered
to generate creative ideas.

4. Verification. In this final step, efforts are made to see if the "idea"
actually
solves the problem.

Reading books from Graham Wallas' time to even today you find many
anecdotes about when creative ideas spark into their minds.

in the shower or bath
running
meditating
just as falling asleep
just as waking up
doing every day things
driving
walking
daydreaming
napping
while intensely exercising

So this week let's practice with the Incubation and Illumination stages
deliberately.

Each day carry a notebook or other note taking device that you prefer 24
hours a day.

Begin by choosing a specific problem you are working on. Spend 30 minutes
to an hour concentrating on it. Look over your notes of the details. Think
about various answers to who, what, when, where, why and how about the
problem. Then put the notes away and strive not to deliberately think about
the problem again until next week, even when ideas pop into your mind or
you discover them in front or around you. Simply write down the solution/idea
and then let it go and get back to doing something else. Remember your
purpose is to practice Incubation and Illumination not Preparation or
Verification.

1. as you go to sleep each night simply lay there relaxing thinking about
pleasant things and let yourself drift off to sleep. If you should be awaken
with
an idea get up and write it down.

2. as you wake up in the morning lay there and let whatever ideas are in your
mind float. Write down any and all that come to mind.

3. in the shower keep your mind as open as you can and be prepared to write
ideas down

4. as often as possible during your day, each day, let yourself have some
floating mind time in which you do not concentrate on anything.

5. take a leisurely or very fast paced walk or run. Take your idea book with
you.

6. wherever you go, whatever you do during each day be prepared to receive
or discover ideas to write down.

Share what happens.

Have a very creatively filled week.

Alan

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