( continued from page 21 )
Express
Forte urges his readers to shift time and effort from consuming to creating . Instead of trying to always find the best content , switch your focus to creation . This includes more than writing ; think about evaluating , sharing , teaching , recording , posting , lobbying . Reflect on “ big problems ” you see that you feel uniquely qualified to tackle . What parts of your life could be improved ? How could you contribute to something greater than yourself ?
Remember all those intermediate quantum packets of notes ? Intermediate means you are going to string them together into something big . Then when you get a chance to sit down and really reflect , you put a bunch of packets together , connecting what author Steven Johnson calls an “ archipelago of ideas .” It ’ s like filling in an outline . But digital outlines beat physical ones because they are malleable , interactive and searchable . You can access and edit them from anywhere and hyperlink to other content . Creativity becomes iterative . Connecting , collaborating and sharing become easier . As you engage more deliberately with the world , connecting your ideas , things happen . What is the point of having a beautiful notes collection if you never make anything ?
Creative products are always shiny and new ; the creative process is ancient and unchanging .
– Silvano Arieti
Action
Forte ends the book by encouraging us to plan for creativity . Collecting and Organizing represent divergent steps in creativity – pulling material from all over the place . Then we must converge , put it all together , with Distilling and Expressing . Addition then subtraction . That convergence part can be hard . We always think we need just a little more research on a topic . But you can start the expression part anytime and then build on it . This new approach is not linear , it allows for life ’ s inevitable cycles . Forte suggests other productivity tools like project checklists at the start but also at the end of projects ( to see which content can be recycled into other stuff ). He recommends weekly and monthly comprehensive reviews of your PARA folders . What can you finish or remove , or start to create ? The Second Brain helps us notice and capitalize on new associations , mixing our ideas together like scrabble letters . With your ideas and research organized into a system , you can tap into and build on that foundation for a “ calmer , more sustainable approach to creativity .”
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago . The second-best time is now .
– Chinese Proverb
My research team conducted a small survey study 6 on academics ’ viewpoints of creativity . Most respondents highly value the creative process and believe they can become more creative over time . Older respondents rated themselves as more creative . This fits the science showing that creativity can be trained like a muscle . Early career work ( and life in general ) involves divergence . Wise people find a way to pull it all together . Address the basic human need 7 of contributing to something larger than yourself . In Wired to Create 8 Scott Barry Kaufman and Carolyn Gregoire write about the paradox of creative work : it is both desired and feared , celebrated and suppressed . Brave people find that it also heals by helping us confront problems that arise when we question our assumptions about the world . Assumptions like we only need one brain .
References :
1 en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Martin _ Seligman
2 en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Values _ in _ Action _ Inventory _ of _ Strengths # Character _ Strengths _ and _ Virtues
3 practiceofwellness . com / 2018 / 07 / 11 / july-11-2018 /
4 amazon . com / gp / product / 1643136887 / ref = ppx _ yo _ dt _ b _ search _ asin _ title ? ie = UTF8 & psc = 1
5 fortelabs . com / blog / how-to-take-smart-notes /
6 tandfonline . com / doi / abs / 10.1080 / 10400419.2021.1888530
7 tonyrobbins . com / mind-meaning / do-you-need-to-feel-significant /
8 amazon . com / Wired-Create-Unraveling-Mysteries-Creative / dp / 0399175660
Dr . Huecker is an associate professor and research director in the UofL Department of Emergency Medicine .
22 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE