Home Add to Favorite Contact Submit  
             28 March, 2024
 

    
Category:  Articles » Self Improvement » Creativity

 

Creative Pleasures - How To Enjoy Your Creativity Three Times as Much (at Least!)

Popularity:
         Views: 1715
2006-07-18 21:04:57     
Article by Dan Goodwin

How much do you enjoy your creativity? How aware are you of the different phases of creative pleasure? And how many of them are you truly appreciating?

Any creative project we undertake can be broken down into three distinct stages of pleasure or enjoyment.

First there’s the anticipation and planning stage. For many of us this is the most exciting and rewarding. It’s the period where we have the seed of a new idea and begin to let it form patterns and shapes in our mind, giving it the freedom to become whatever it has the potential to become.

This stage is the author having an initial idea for a story and the personalities of a couple of characters, then beginning to work out how they’ll develop, relate and interact.

It’s where the musician has a few fragments of melody in their head they just can’t ignore and start to work out how to string them together, and add further elements of sound to transform these fractured pieces into a fuller whole composition.

This is the period where the research scientist suddenly sees a new possibility, a subtle breakthrough not found before, and thinks of all the possible next steps he and his team can take to move it forward.

The enjoyment here comes from the promise and the possibility of what’s initially been discovered, and knowing that a great surge of creativity and development is imminent.

Stage two is the full flow of creativity, the periods of intense creating where the outside world becomes a blur, time appears to stretch and contract uncontrollably, and the creator feels invincible and unstoppable.

The musician’s song is soaring and somersaulting, taking on its own life and evolving almost more quickly than it can be recorded.

The author’s characters are deeply entwined in the racing plotlines and each other, the tension’s building, the drama riveting, and no-one, including the author themselves, is quite sure where all this is going to end.

The research scientist has his first quantifiable results and each day a new series of more finely honed experiments begins, each time inching closer to the solution he’s dreamed of for months.

In this second stage, the enjoyment comes from the unstoppable joy of creating, being on a runaway train and not knowing where you’re going to be taken, but loving every thrilling second of the journey.

The third stage is after the electric storm of creativity has died down and the creator basks in the afterglow of their achievements.

The musician plays his finished composition to his peers and his audience for the first time and sees the same delight and emotion in their faces that he felt when producing the music.

The author receives word that his new novel is a bestseller and has been read in dozens of countries the world over. Each day he receives mail from readers thanking him for his latest work and praising his ability to connect with them as if he knows them personally.

The research scientist sees the results of his experiments released as a commercial product and hears of countless tales of people’s quality of life being drastically improved, and prolonged even in many cases, as a result of his work.

In all these examples the pleasure of the third stage comes from the creator knowing that their creative work has had a significant impact on the world, and that it’s connected with people and enriched their lives in some way. Once they achieve this, whether to an audience of one or an audience of millions, nothing can ever take it away.

The secret in all three stages of course is to ENJOY the process and the experience and be as fully absorbed in it as possible. In all three stages there is so much potential for pleasure in the life of someone creative.

How much do you enjoy each of the three stages in your creativity? Which part do you get most from? The anticipation and planning, the full flow of creating, or seeing the fruits of your creative labour afterwards?

Whichever stage you’re at in a creative project right now, how can you appreciate it as much as possible, the experience of being in that stage as well as the creative project itself?

As creative people we are fortunate, not only that we have such abilities to create, but also that we are able to enjoy them three times over! Make sure you’re as open as possible to each of these, and bring three times the pleasure into your creative life!

© Copyright 2006 Dan Goodwin.

Print article      Bookmark this page
Related Articles 
The Power Of Imagination (Popularity: ): The power of imagination is the most powerful tool you can use to help you create the life you desire. The best part is that it is free and anyone can utilize it. You can also learn to have fun with it as you create your life in your mind and watch it become a reality.We all used the power of imagination when we were children; but for some reason ...
Create Your Own Reality or Accept Someone Else's: It's Your Choice (Popularity: ): Each time I look back on my life I see clearly all the ways in which I have created my own reality. Maybe I should have been more specific! Only kidding. Through the power of my thoughts and feelings I have created my circumstances one hundred percent of the time. If I am responsible for anything it is the life I’ve made for myself and all I have created, both ...
Succeed In Life Through Visualisation (Popularity: ): What is visualisation and why should I bother with it?Visualisation is a technique where you use your imagination to create a picture or movie in your mind that you deliberately put together yourself. Rather like painting a picture you have complete control to create an image that you desire. By seeing this picture you will:a) be able to focus more on achieving that goal because you are very clear what ...
Riding the Creative Flow (Popularity: ): Notice that as soon as we wake up we start building stories inside our minds. It's a mixture of yesterday, now, tomorrow with a pinch of apprehension and a few drops of fatigue. We never take things as they are, we irresistibly build scenarios. When we do not create our own stories, we listen to the stories others tell every minute around us : people, radio, newspapers, television. And as ...
Seek To Know Your Inner Guide (Popularity: ): The spiritual aspect of your being is an integral factor in the conscious creation of your life. This spirituality information can transform your life from one of quiet desperation to one of active manifestation.We are all made up as three part beings. The physical aspect of our being is our body and it is our body that has the wonderful task of experiencing the life journey. The non-physical aspect of ...


Related Business 
Creativity For Life (Popularity: ): An exploration of creativity in everyday life, with articles, quotes, reviews and other creative resources to awaken creativity in daily life. We see creativity as process, not product.
OSCWeb.com (Popularity: ): The Other Side of Creativity is for writers, artists, collectors, and other creative folks who are looking for resources they need to renew their creativity.
Wily Walnut - Unleash Your Inner Genius For Creativity (Popularity: ): Free articles on creativity, increasing intelligence, and generating innovative ideas. Featuring strategies, techniques and attitudes to get your creative juices flowing.
Centre for the Development of Creative Thinking (Popularity: ): The COCD creativity site offers creativity tools and training. Web site is in English and Dutch
Creativity Pool (Popularity: ): A global pool of innovation and new ideas. People can browse the database and search for creative inspiration, or donate their unused creativity and be rewarded.
India Government Jobs - Employment News (Popularity: ): We, bunch of creative indians think that the technology with a pinch of creativity can make the difference the way people live their life. If creativity is an intellectual response to the problem, then absence of problem leads to an absence of creativity. And we have numerous problems to solve so that we can make life of our users and our community a bit easier.
Tied Ribbons (Popularity: ): TiedRibbons.com is an Online Gift Store which offers you everything except the usual gifts and gifting ideas. It is packed with loads of exciting products for you to express your creativity and personalize the products exactly the way you want. We are sure that you will enjoy and relish personalizing the products with our Tied Ribbon’s Creative Pad.
Creative Education Foundation (CEF) (Popularity: ): A non-profit foundation aimed at enhancing creativity and change in individuals and organizations. CEF also publishes the Journal of Creative Behavior and hosts the Creative Problem Solving Institute.
After Hours Creative Studio (Popularity: ): Meticulousness, attention to detail, creativity and passion are what make After Hours Creative diverse. We are a small, friendly, design and print company that is always accessible and able to complete projects with tight deadlines. Being client oriented takes precedent at After Hours Creative. Our full attention and creative skills are devoted to every client. This is the result of that devotion.
The Creativity Workshop: creative writing, drawing, storytelling and personal memoir (Popularity: ): The site explores creative process, stimulating new ideas, getting over writers' block, gaining creative courage. For people of all backgrounds, writers, businesspeople, teachers, artists. Workshops are given in NYC, Florence, Greece, Paris, and Barcelona.