Bruce Honig Easy Ways to Fertilize Your Creative Self

Bruce Honig, IdeaGuides, gifted 2021 Playful Creative Summit attendees Easy Ways to Fertilize Your Creative Self in his discussion with David Chislett. Honig has a fascinating definition of creativity: “the act of doing something that we’re not familiar with  initially… Getting from here to there when we’re not really sure how to get there… So a child learning how to walk is being creative.” We are born creative. Honig believes we stagnate if we don’t nourish our creativity, it’s a biological necessity to create.

Creativity comes naturally, but we keep ourselves from  it. It’s critical to understand what’s getting in our way: Honig uses the acronym BETA, the BETA approach, to remind his clients what to watch out for. (1) “blocks and barriers.” We have control over our internal blocks. (2) Exercise. Honig fervently believes in exercising creativity, engaging in it as often as possible. One simple technique for that is to break out of a habit. Another is to play games. (3) Tools. Give yourself appropriate tools and processes. Honig goes to hardware stores for inspiration. (4) Awareness and education. Become aware of who you are as a creative person, identifying your personality and needs, what helps you, and broadening your perspective by learning about other creators. Honor your individuality, for example, some people might like to research their options before developing a concept, others might be more spontaneous.

Creativity enhances every aspect of our lives, it opens us to playfulness and mindfulness. It’s fun, even when it’s work. Perhaps even flow as defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – Chislett made the observation about flow and it is powerful.