From the course: How to Make Creative Thinking a Habit

Build courage to think creatively

From the course: How to Make Creative Thinking a Habit

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Build courage to think creatively

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- In the film "Hearts Beat Loud", there's a moment when the character Sam is getting a pep talk from her girlfriend Rose, who turns to Sam and reminds her that you got to be brave before you can be good. That's a wise statement, related to the idea of putting bravery before mastery. This is super relevant because creative thinking is a courageous act. By definition creativity is about the juxtaposition of dissimilar ideas, concepts, activities, or phenomena that people previously never thought to connect. And there's a chance that it could end in failure, and who wants to put their neck out on the line and possibly be laughed at? This is why we need to build courage to think and act creatively. Think back to any situation where you have exceptional mastery. Cooking, dance, completing complicated Excel sheets, et cetera. It did not start out that way. You made faltering, clumsy baby steps where you put bravery before mastery. You did not allow perfection to be the enemy of good. There are two things that happen when you put bravery and courage before mastery. The first is that you become an astute observer and recognizer of patterns. This attunement to your surroundings helps you to distill next actionable steps. The second byproduct of courageous creative thinking is that you reduce regret. You eliminate putting yourself into situations where you wonder, what if I had tried, et cetera? Here's an exercise for you personally. Make a list of five areas of mastery in your life and either journal or doodle about a memory of when you were first learning that skill. It will be a nice reminder of how far you've come. Building the courage to think creatively can be a lot of fun and energizing, so go forth and enjoy.

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