August 2006
Enhancing Creativity
by Judith CohenDear Judith:
I heard that you used to be a librarian before you became a coach. Do you have any good book suggestions for enhancing creativity? I’m already familiar with Julia Cameron’s work. I’d appreciate any other suggestions that you have.
K. M.
Dear K. M.:
Yes, it is true that I used to be a librarian and it is also true that I am a prolific reader. I love reading books as much as I love coaching. I’m interested in whether you want these recommendations for your own edification or whether you are going to suggest the books to your client. If you are reading these books to find ways that you can be more creative in your own life and with your clients, that is fine. If you are planning to assign one or more of these books to your client as homework, I think that you might want to do some prep work with your client beforehand.
The power of good coaching is that it brings the client (and the coach, for that matter) into the present moment and allows people to connect with their experience. Creativity is definitely fostered through direct experience. The more you can have your client access his or her direct experience, the more you both will see creativity emerge. One of my early teachers once said, “There is nobody more eloquent than a person in touch with their soul.” This is also true for creativity. There is nobody more creative than a person in touch with his or her soul.
Prior to mentioning these books, have your client experience his or her creativity during the coaching session. If your client feels particularly non-creative during the session, you might creatively find ways to deepen the experience. Playfulness and humor are great tools. Another powerful tool is the willingness to make mistakes. In other words, create a “perfection-free” zone.
I have found in my own experience and that of my clients that the biggest inhibitor of creativity is perfectionism. Perfectionism is inflexible, unimaginative and deadening in most cases. Creativity, on the other hand, connects with what is happening in the present moment and builds upon it, often eliciting something far greater than one originally imagined.
That said, I do have some suggestions for you.
The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life
Tharp’s book is specifically about discipline and preparation. While creativity may seem to be magically dispensed to a lucky few, Tharp maintains that with diligence, good habits and will power, anyone can be creative. Lest you fear that this book won’t be fun, do not worry. She offers many playful exercises designed to elicit your creativity and your inherent strengths.
Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step (Perennial Library)
If you are more of a thinking type, this book will help you use your thoughts to jumpstart your muse. De Bono is considered to be an expert in creative thinking and has spent much of his professional life educating people to think. This book is filled with “Aha’s” and ideas that will create new perspectives (and thus new experiences) for you and your clients.
Creating
This is one of my favorite books on creativity as it describes Fritz’s version of the creative process in detail. He focuses on vision and finds usefulness in obstacles. He is uplifting while applying down to earth common sense as he explores each step of the creative process.
The Highest Goal: The Secret That Sustains You in Every Moment
Michael Ray believes that one’s highest goal drives creativity. The highest goal is not merely an idea but a holistic experience involving, mind body and soul. Most people have this experience early in their lives and then forget about it. Getting back in touch with their highest goal allows people to break through their self imposed boundaries and obstacles blocking their creativity.
These four books and Julia Cameron’s books are excellent ways to prime your creative pump. Edward De Bono suggests starting a “Thinking Club” to enhance people’s thinking. Just as people join tennis clubs to play and improve their game of tennis, De Bono suggests that people form thinking clubs. I suggest that you form a “Creativity Club” and encourage your clients to do the same. Who knows what will emerge?
Coaching is devoted to creating possibilities. What is creativity if not finding the many different possibilities inherent in our current situations? Whether there is a creative tension that causes us to design or invent something new or practical or there is a pull for a different form of self-expression, creativity takes our present experience and dances with it so that we can learn, love and continue to create.