Tag Archives: TED

The Fuel for Creativity is Fear

A few years back, I presented a talk to several ad clubs about fear and its impact on creativity. Naturally, when I came upon a TED talk about the same topic, I was interested in what was being said. Below are excerpts from a TED talk in 2012 as well as content from a book, The Creative Edge. I find the info still valid today.

Kevin Chesters, CSO and Co-Founder of Harbour, argues that, far from hiding from it, we should be embracing fear as the ‘spidey-sense’ that lets us know when we’re onto something creatively exciting. Chesters is co-author of the book The Creative Edge, which includes a chapter on fear entitled Don’t be Afraid to be Afraid.

Fear is fuel; uttered by Paul Gilding, the former Executive Director of Greenpeace, from the TED stage in 2012.

In his talk, he outlined the apocalyptic future for Earth if we stayed on the current emissions path and asked the audience: “are you scared?” 

He then went on to say that fear was a fantastic fuel for action. If you’re not scared, you’re not paying attention.

Gilding went on to qualify that too much fear is paralyzing. We know this from science. The body floods with adrenaline and too much of that is, literally, a poison. But fear itself is very useful as a trigger for action. From an evolutionary perspective the role of fear was vital. The presence of a threat allows the brain to focus and then concentrate on either fleeing from the threat or eliminating it. It can also, as Gilding said, be a very powerful motivator for taking action to solve problems in life or the world.   

The book, Fear is Fuel by Patrick Sweeney, continues this theme about how useful fear can be as a positive force for change in life and business. He points out that fear is one of the most pervasive emotions in the human psyche, but is probably the least understood or studied. According to Chesters, the book is a fascinating, contrarian ride in establishing fear as the path to optimal living. 

Sweeney says: “Most of us know fear as the unwanted force that drives phobias, anxieties, unhappiness, and inhibits self-actualization. Ironically, fear is the underlying phenomenon that heightens awareness and optimizes physical performance, and can drive ambition, courage, and success. Harnessing fear can heighten emotional intelligence and bring success to every aspect of your life.”

Where fear is most useful though is in the world of creativity. Humans suffer from two rather unhelpful phobias when it comes to creativity, especially when one realizes that the dictionary definition of creativity is simply different or original thinking. 

The first is neophobia – the fear of the new. This was a rather useful thing to have 50,000 years ago, when anything new was likely to get you killed or seriously damaged. The second phobia is xenophobia – the fear of the different. Humans feel unsure when presented with something outside of the usual. Again, it was helpful in 50,000BC, but is less useful now, with fewer woolly mammoths about.

When humans (whether client or agency, planner or creative) are faced with something new, it triggers our ‘fight or flight’ response at a sub-conscious level. Everything in our evolutionary spidey-sense is telling us that we should shun it, ignore it or kill it stone dead before it kills us. When you consider that the dictionary definition of creativity is about doing new things, you start to see a problem emerging.

And, anyhow, you really shouldn’t be scared these days. After all, the negative outcome in a business context won’t be life or death. It is highly improbable it will ever involve any physical harm. There is lots of research to show that, in the context of a safe environment, being scared can be incredibly positive. Good scary. The body’s natural ‘fight or flight’ mechanism can be hijacked when we feel safe; the natural chemicals that our body releases when it is scared can be put to good use. It can even be pleasurable. There is a lot to learn about this in Margee Kerr’s brilliant book Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear.

The thing is, fear is a brilliant signifier of creative brilliance. It’s a fantastic lightening rod for detecting whether your idea is different and new. That thing you’re feeling isn’t fear, it’s a creativity detector. Fear isn’t just fuel for creativity; it is the accelerator too. When you have an idea and it makes you scared, or you start to worry, then you shouldn’t walk away from it, you should run towards it as fast as your little shaking legs can carry you. It’s a good sign that you may be onto something category redefining or, at least, career enhancing!

Everyone from every area of business needs to allow fear to play a truly positive role in their lives, to find ways to override their natural cowardly custard instincts. It’s time to reframe fear as excitement. 

Thinking about fear in a different way enables you to act differently and effect a positive outcome. Are you actually scared, or are you just excited in an anticipatory way? Next time you feel nervous, try to appreciate that this is a great thing. This is your body and brain getting ready to fire on all cylinders. Fear is the best detector you have for knowing if your idea is a good one, and for making sure it’s a new one. 

So, don’t be afraid to be afraid.

 

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

And, check out creative selections from my website.

Jolan tru!

 

Discover Your Creative Type With This TED.Com Creative Quiz.

I think you’ll find this little quiz curiously interesting. Though I don’t recall how I came about it, I’m glad I did.

Creativity comes in a variety of forms as does “being creative.” But it’s not like we have a switch that we can simply flick on and off to control our creative flow. Although, at times, I wish it were that easy.

According to writer and professor Meta Wagner, “by discovering what drives you and your art, you can tap into your deepest motivations and achieve your full creative potential”.

Do any of these sound familiar?

— You believe you have a great creative talent, but you think your dreams of pursuing it full-time are childish and impractical.

— You spent months on a creative project. Then, you couldn’t decide if it was brilliant or worthless so you. just. stopped.

— You’ve sold a drawing/song/podcast/story/web series, and you’ve got more under way. But even though you’re succeeding, you find yourself waking up at night, worrying about competitors.

If you can relate to one or more of these scenarios, welcome to the creative life. Any artist you’ve ever heard of has had something besides talent, dedication or luck behind them: Most of them knew why they created. When you know what drives you — and what encourages and discourages you — you’re better able to keep yourself on track and enlist friends and colleagues to rally you during dry times or tough times.

The five creative types here grew out of the extensive research and thinking Ms. Wagner has done for the “Creativity in Context” seminar she teaches at Emerson College. Her students have responded enthusiastically, and she realized she’d tapped into something valuable for anyone creative.

Click the “start” button, take the quiz,* discover your type, and embrace a life fueled by your imagination and art. Let me know what Creative Type you are!

Meta Wagner writes about pop culture and creativity, and she’s been published in The Boston Globe, Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune, Salon and other outlets. Wagner teaches creative and communications writing at Emerson College and Boston University, where she was a 2017 TEDx speaker.

*BTW, when I took it, the results say I am a “game changer”. . .

“You’re looking to produce something new and different with your creativity. You don’t understand people who churn out variations of the same thing or who imitate other artists. Nothing pleases you more than smashing conventions, and the highest praise you can get is when someone says, “I’ve never seen or heard anything like this before.”
Just remember:You’re going to encounter a fair amount of criticism and rejection, so try not to let it derail you or make you too dejected. When you receive constructive criticism, see if it resonates with you and make changes as you see fit. But keep in mind that what you’re doing may make people uncomfortable or threaten anyone who is conventional or risk-averse. So, when you receive a rejection letter or email, do one of the following with it: burn it, frame it, delete it, spear it or save it so you can later send a note back to the rejecter saying ‘I told you so.’ Just don’t give up.”

TED

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.