My last column discussed why being judgmental stands in the way of creativity. Instead of being critical and judgmental of others and yourself, you need to go through life with the open, curious beginner’s mind you had as a child. Here are five things you can do to silence your inner critic and open your mind to the beauty of creation.
1. Tame your inner critic
“Life does not consist mainly, or even largely, of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thought that is forever flowing through one’s head,” said the American writer Mark Twain. There is a constant inner voice in your head; your inner critic constantly judges everything and everyone you encounter.
In his book Taming Your Gremlin, Rick Carson likens the inner voice of judgment to a gremlin, a mischievous being that is out to make you miserable. The first, and most important, step to tame this destructive voice is to become aware of the gremlin in your head. Carson recommends naming it, drawing it, and describing its cunning ways and tactics. You might even find that your gremlin appears in different disguises. For example, I’ve found that my gremlin appears as a devious Mephistopheles, a raging Tasmanian devil, and a precocious dwarf, among others. Does this sound crazy to you? That’s your personal gremlin talking, afraid that you’ll notice him and take steps against him.
Today, start becoming aware of your inner voice of judgment. Start taking control of your thoughts. As the Zen saying goes: “Watch your thoughts; they become your words. Watch your words; they become your actions. Watch your actions; they become your habits. Watch your habits; they become your character. Watch your character; it will become your destiny.”
2. Open up to the world
Once you’re aware of the destructive power of your inner critic, you can then openly embrace the world. People are not only judgmental with their words; they also use body language. Crossed arms, crossed hands, or crossed legs are physical barriers that reflect mental barriers toward others, their opinions, and their ideas. Closed body language often reveals a closed, judgmental mind.
To help acquire a curious open beginner’s mind, open up. Unblock your bodily barriers and uncross your arms, hands, and legs. Over time, opening up physically will also open you up mentally to other people, viewpoints, and ideas. “Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music — the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself,” recommended the American writer Henry Miller.
3. Ask questions and listen
“Judgmental people always talk — either to themselves or to (or about) other people. Creative people express their curiosity by asking many questions. Then they become silent and listen for answers. Become a listener instead of talking all the time. Listening is a form of accepting,” noted the author Stella Terrill Mann. Master the art of asking questions, and then listening with a closed mouth and an open mind. This is the way we all learned about the world as children, and it is one of the secrets of creative geniuses such as Albert Einstein, who said, “The important thing is to never stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
Judgmental people are know-it-alls who love to show off all their knowledge. Creative people are open and passionately curious like the Nobel laureate Linus Pauling, who said, “Satisfaction of one’s curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life.”
4. Stop striving for perfection
Many judgmental people are perfectionists. They tolerate no output that isn’t perfect. But, as the American writer John Updike said, “Perfectionism is the enemy of creation.”
Don’t wait for the perfect idea. Don’t wait until your new product is perfect before releasing it to the market. Don’t wait until something you create — be it a presentation, drawing, movie, or book — is perfect. It never will be.
“Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything,” said the French artist Eugène Delacroix. Ignore your inner gremlin’s demands for perfection. This will set you free and boost your creative zest and energy. This will then accelerate and amplify your creative outputs. And in these fast-moving times, perfectionism may drive you out of business.
Notice the beauty all around you and pay attention to the imperfections in it. Notice the beauty that lies in the imperfections themselves. If God’s creations aren’t perfect, why should yours be?
5. Separate idea generation from idea evaluation
Every good creative process separates creation from judgment. After you’ve explored your problem and discovered your real challenge, first create a lot of ideas without censoring or editing them; even the wildest, craziest, funniest ideas can contain nuggets of real value.
When you’ve generated a pool of ideas and have developed the most interesting or wildest ones into meaningful idea concepts and solutions, only then is it time to evaluate your ideas. Now you need to exercise judgment. Now it is your job to critically assess each idea to identify the few that are both meaningful and feasible, and should be brought to life. There is a time for your inner critic and skeptic, but that time is when ideas are evaluated, not before. Idea evaluation is when to indulge your judgmental mind and let your inner gremlin off the leash.
© Dr. Detlef Reis 2012. This article was published in parallel in the Bangkok Post under the same title on 10 May 2012.