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Have you ever wondered what makes you furious? Have you wondered what anger has got to do with creativity? This blog shows how to use your energy to explore ways to do things differently.
Tom Peters, in his book The Little Big Things, writes “ALL innovation comes from fury.” Fury allows us to see how things are done, and spurs us to delve deeper, to explore, to search intensely for solutions. Understand what’s making you furious? Not irritated. Furious. Then take that energy and start exploring how things could be done differently. This is how change happens.
We all accept that failure is a critical part of success. So, if that is the case, then the emotions from those failures like anger, sadness and frustration are also key ingredients.
Everyone gets angry or fed up from time to time. Fortunately, anger is the perfect grounds for creativity. But how does one harness this negative emotion to solve a problem?
How creativity works
Steve Jobs once explained that creativity is just connecting the dots differently. He says someone is creative because they “were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.”
So that means that new ideas come to fruition when we are able to take past experiences, connect them to something that is happening in the present and piece together a new solution, almost like a puzzle.
How to channel anger
When angry, it’s common for someone to do something irrational or unexpected. We’re so emotionally heated, that our mind loosens up on the standards we have to manage our thoughts, behavior and decision making.
It’s the perfect ground to be creative because not only are we thinking in a completely different way, not only do we have past memories brought to the surface, but our imagination is running wild and we have a higher limit for what you think is possible.
Here are 4 steps to unlock your creativity:
1) Release your anger. Exercise is a common outlet for many people when stressed. It can be anything that distracts your mind and enables you to exert that powerful negative energy through a form of movement – weight lifting, punching a bag, video games, sports, a brisk walk or even writing by hand.
2) Embrace the anger. Use the anger to push yourself harder. Don’t try to think positively. Run faster, punch harder and keep moving. Get into “the creative zone” is a lot easier when angry. Endorphins will begin to release in your system and naturally you will begin to feel a bit better and think more clearly.This is when creativity is ready to soar.
3) Go with the flow. Don’t force things, but while you’re doing the activity, think about the thing that triggered your fury and how you would like to change it or solve the issue. Let the ideas flow while your mind begins to clear.
In a nutshell:
| How creativity works |
| How to channel anger |
| Here are 4 steps to unlock your creativity: |
