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We’ve had more than 100 different people leave a lot of thoughtful and intelligent comments on Thoughtwrestling during the first six months we’ve been in operation. I wanted to take a few moments today and present some of the best ones back to you. I’ll list the blog post title , the author and a brief description of the post. Then I’ll list the name of the commentator and their comment.
Oh, and make sure you read all the way to the end… I’m planning a contest to celebrate all of our commentators!
Someone stole your toolbox – what do you do? by Ian M. Rountree
Ian wrote about problem solving without a script or a standard tool box, something that is becoming increasingly important. Here’s an insightful comment from Rebecca Leaman:
The same thought came to my mind as to Mark’s: “if your only tool is a hammer, then you will treat every problem as a nail.” Part of the challenge is not only to discern which problems are nails and which are screws, to extend the metaphor, but to recognize whether the nail (if it is indeed a nail) is actually a problem. Or at least the same problem you think it is… but I digress.
From the point of view of problem solving without the toolbox, it does seem that we often confuse the tools used to solve a problem with the actual process of solving the problem. As you say, Ian, “Above all else, being willing to accept new tools is one of the best problem solving skills out there.” Agreed! If the problem is a bent nail, what’s fundamentally important is the hammering on the nail to straighten it out, right? So the creative (and successful) problem solver would be he who, finding his hammer gone, instinctively looks around for a nice big rock.
Problems really are problems and there lies the opportunity by Mark Dykeman
I wrote an article which criticized the tendency of business people to label every problem as an opportunity instead of engaging an actual problem solving mindset. Beth Robinson had this to say:
Looking at problems in the right way is the best way to solve them if you have training in a variety of problem solving techniques.
The idea behind labeling something an opportunity is indeed about motivation, but it is also about thinking beyond whatever narrowly defined problem statement the average person has stuck in their head. It’s an awkward attempt to get someone to think laterally without really laying out expectations and methods.
If someone has been dealing with “opportunities” and wants to go back to solving problems then they need to make sure they and/or their people have the mental training to do so.
Following my interview of author J. C. Hutchins, Bill Wren made the following comment:
I’ve always thought of my blogging, which has included some fiction, as a draft book. I put ideas down, sometimes even in a finished form (though fiction has been all drafts). Currently what I’m doing is harvesting. Once pulled together, I plan to ask myself, “What is all this? How does it pull together (if it does at all)?”
It may lead nowhere. On the other hand, it may lead somewhere. Of course, whatever I end up with there will remain the work of making it coherent and then figuring how who, if anyone, would want it.
Who knows? Right now I’m collecting the fiction. What happens with it is anyone’s guess.
(Note: Bill has now published a free eBook with several stories, which you should really check out.)
Not From Concentrate, a post from Scott Marshall about concentration and multi-tasking, inspired the following comment from WhiteFeather:
I prefer to think of concentration as modular, but I also think that the way our brains work now is changing in response to the vast quantities of information pouring in at all times via our technologies. Sure, downtime for resting strained eyeballs and breathing deep is a good periodic exercise, but I agree that nothing is either/or and multi-tasking is just the way we work now, and it can be a very good thing. It can be a way to productively procrastinate (I know, a contradiction in terms, but true), and to stimulate our cognitive firings to greater efficacy. For example, would you consider listening to music while you work to be multi-tasking? I would. The brain is engaged in more than one task. Research has shown that listening to music (certain kinds, I’m assuming) stimulates the brain to think more clearly and form neural pathways with more precision.
I love the idea of setting a time on tasks. I love the idea of small commitments. For some of us, deep, prolonged focus is not the goal, or desirable in any way. It isn’t a matter of quieting the mind, it’s a matter of not keeping up with our brains in a new world where they have learned to process faster. Have you ever noticed how quiet a well-oiled machine is?
Now, let’s all go for a nature walk, and don’t forget your iPhone so that you can upload some photos instantly to Facebook, or tag the location on Twitter.
Dealing with the lonely pursuit of creative work, another of my posts, garnered at least three thoughtful responses, including the following:
Bill Wren
I jotted down a thought as I was reading this and it was this: You’re only lonely when it isn’t working.
I think there may be something to that. When you’re caught up in something, you aren’t really aware of your surroundings or how you feel. It’s only when the flow stops that you realize, “Hey, I’m all alone here.”It may also be an interesting to ask, are we isolated because we’re creative or are we creative because we’re isolated? A chicken and egg question. I’m not sure it’s a question that matters though.
There are also personality types that tend to be more creative, in a traditional sense (artists etc.) but also more given to solitude and isolation – introverted personalities. That would be a factor I think.
Personally, especially since I work from home alone, I literally make myself leave the house and go out. Sometimes I’ll work at a restaurant downtown, and sometimes I get work done and sometimes I just chat with people. Apart from relieving a sense of loneliness, it also provides input (stimulation) for creativity, even if the contact isn’t specific to what I’m working on.
I’ve done more formal group things (writers’ groups) in the past but found them not really that helpful – for me. I tend to feel more isolated because what someone else is interested in doesn’t interest me and vice versa, and because we all have our specific focus they don’t quite “get” what I’m working on or why. (Again, vice versa.) So interaction specific to creativity isn’t necessarily something that works for me. What works, generally, is plain old human contact: talking about a hockey game, gardening, dogs etc.
I have problems of loneliness far less now, almost none, but it took a long time to get there. And honestly, it all came down to one thing: get the heck out of the house. Be around people. Then go back to work.
Tara Mohr
Bill’s comment really resonates for me – it’s only lonely when it’s not working.
When I’m writing and in the flow, I can’t be alone, because I’m not conscious of myself as a self. I’m one with the creating. It’s the most gorgeous contented, focused state I experience. This is what Martin Seligman calls a gratification.
I create in solitude every day, and I’m a huge extrovert, and being lonely and creating in solitude are two entirely different things for me.
I also think we need to dispense with the myth that creating is inherently a solo enterprise. The work of teams of screen writers, theater groups, improv dance companies, artists who work in collaboration all suggest otherwise. I believe there is such a thing as true co-creation, where the lines between individual creators blur or are dissolved.
Thanks for this reflection –really interesting topic!
Scott Marshall
A lot of my creative work has either been in comics or theatre, both of which are (or often are) collaborative. There is a lot to be said for a “single vision” that comes out of solitude, but even the solitary creator will have a support system of friends, family, and editors that will serve as a sounding board. With today’s internet capabilities, we never have to work in solitude if we don’t want to. We can train a webcam on ourselves, leave MSN on in the background, use Google Wave to write a document with someone else.
I remember being fascinated by a concept in Scott McCloud’s comic book, Zot!, which was published about 20 years ago; a musician character called Max was practising in real time audio and video with other musicians over his world’s version of the internet. With screen-sharing and Skype and various other technologies, almost any artist with a computer could do the same.
I wonder if loneliness, especially now, is simply one of the many strategies that Godin’s lizard brain throws out there to mask the true issue: lack of confidence. And paradoxically, the best way to build confidence is to push through the insecurity and Get Things Done.
How white paper, lingerie and eye breathing bring back focus was a post where I wrote about a mental calming technique that I use, based on something I saw on a TV show. Some interesting comments:
Kat French
I’ve read that it’s impossible to think of absolutely nothing. Well, impossible for the average person who hasn’t been practicing meditative disciplines, anyway.
Thinking of white paper provides a concrete image (keeps the left brain from freaking out) that your right brain (which is fluent in metaphor) immediately translates to “Oh, yeah, right–let’s clear out this clutter…”
Another technique I’ve used with a bit of success is the “muddy pond.” I imagine a pond in a field where the silt is all stirred up, making it muddy. I imagine the silt and dirt and debris slowly dropping to the bottom as the water clears.
Bill Wren
Years ago I was part of a university study into hypnosis: I was one of several subjects that could not be hypnotized. The experiment was to use biofeedback training to see if, afterward, I could be hypnotized. (Answer: no.)
But the biofeedback was similar to your white paper. I think, though, that “clearing the mind” may be a bit misleading. Myself, I’ve never been able to “empty my thoughts.” What I find happens is they are redirected and usually simplified. I still use the biofeedback thing – I imagine I’m hearing the wavering tone and try to relax in order to make it a flat tone.
I find watching movies or reading redirects and relaxes me too. When the movie is good, I get lost in the stream of the story. I find it interesting that TV doesn’t do this. I think it’s likely because of commercials and the single minded peppiness that TV has.
How to use mind mapping to kickstart a creative project: For fun, I decided to use a short story to introduce a concept: mind mapping. It was well received (with the exception of one comment, oh well). Chuck Frey of the Mind Mapping Software Blog stopped by to make the following comment:
Wow, what an excellent business fable! It does a terrific job of explaining how “stuck” many people feel. They know what they want to communicate, but they just can’t get it out of their heads. Also, it points out that many people have misperceptions about mind mapping. In its simplicity is its power. No other type of software enables you to manipulate and organize your ideas with as much freedom as mind mapping software.
One more point: If you’re trying to write a book, white paper or lengthy report, a mind map is not only a powerful outline, but many programs enable you to export your map to MS Word – topics become headings and notes become paragraph text – where you can continue fleshing out what you’re writing.
No matter what your dream is – to write a book, start a business, you name it – mind mapping can help you to get your plans out of your head and into more tangible form, so you can take action on them, as I pointed out in this recent post about achieving “escape velocity” on your plans and dreams:http://mindmappingsoftwareblog.com/escape-velocity/.
Rebecca Leaman shared a great post on how she does her best creative work and Paul O’Mahony had the following to say about it:
Hello. I come to your blogpost via @thinktank_ – to whom I am very grateful.
What lovely use of white space. I love the poetic way you don’t fill the lines.
I suspect you’ve been unfair to Dorothy Wordsworth – a woman who strides the hills with notebook in which she records her brother’s words has done a decent job for posterity (after all William had no Twitter account).
I also love your call to action. Write, do the work of writing – don’t wait for creativity to descend on you. I practice, all the time. Every day, in a Moleskine, on laptop, on iPhone, in the margins of telephone books if necessary – certainly on napkins while waiting for food…
The formula I respect most goes like this: there are three qualities an artist needs –
(1) talent – the most widely available characteristic
(2) artistic purpose – takes time to become clear
(3) persistence – the rarest of all (most give up)But practice is the key to pulling them all together. So far, all I’ve done is read one blogpost by you. It’s been delightful, it’s drawn me in. I better go Google you.
HOWEVER:
Hands down, the best set of comments we’ve had to date on Thoughtwrestling came from Rebecca Leaman’s discussion about Robert Pirsig’s Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Trust me, you need to read the post and the related comments. It’s just great. You need to read it all – take my word for it.
Thanks, everyone, for the wonderful comments!
And now for the contest! Everyone who has left or will leave a comment by the end of September 2010 will be entered into a book draw! There will be multiple prizes to celebrate multiple commentators! Do you want in? All you have to do is leave a meaningful comment (anything spammy will be disqualified, sorry) by the end of day on Thursday, September 30! Winners will be announced on Oct. 1, 2010!
Thanks to all of our awesome commentators and keep on sharing your opinions!
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