catalyze /axiomatic / bureaucratic

[Christopher kim]

Competition helps you to be innovative 

Edward Hoffman Ph.D.
The Peak Experience
How to Find Your Creative Muse
Though often challenging, the search is worthwhile.
Posted April 21, 2023
Reviewed by Tyler Woods

 every innovative idea seems to be better

The artists were mostly young and innovative.

 is no longer the preserve of men. 

Competition helps you to be innovative 

I wasn’t innovative enough.

an innovative approach/solution to the problem

Being innovative can

concrete, innovative measures in a difficult environment

Your innovative ideas spark exciting changes at work and home.

innovative use of technology

Japanese companies have been pumping out plenty of innovative products.

The cameras are loaded with innovative technology,

Besides, you're creative and innovative.

An innovative person introduces changes and new ideas.

She has an INNOVATIVE discoverability

develop INNOVATIVE technology

KEY POINTS

In the post-World War II era, humanistic psychology helped dispel the myth that creativity is exceptional.


Its leaders, including Maslow, nevertheless recognized that accessing creativity isn't easy.

In ancient Greek civilization, the 9 Muses were extolled and sought for inspiration.

Maslow's life and writings provide contemporary guidance for accessing our creativity.

It's a scientific truism now that creativity is basic to human nature.

Few psychologists will argue anymore that innovative ability is rare or remarkable—a huge attitudinal change catalyzed in the post-World War II era by the rise of humanistic psychology.

Indeed, it was axiomatic t0 its worldview. For example, Carl Rogers said that "(Creativity) exists in every individual, and awaits only the proper conditions to be released and expressed."

Likewise, Abraham Maslow asserted that "primary creativeness is very probably a heritage of every (person)...common and universal.

Certainly it is found in all healthy children." Yet, seemingly paradoxically, accessing our creative potential is often challenging and even daunting.

In frustration, many give up their quest to write, compose, or design inventively.

innovative (adj.)

"tending to bring in something new; introducing or tending to introduce innovations; characterized by innovations," 1796 (with an isolated use from c. 1600); see innovate + -ive. Related: Innovatively; innovativeness.

Entries linking to innovative

innovate (v.)

1540s, "introduce as new" (transitive), from Latin innovatus, past participle of innovare "to renew, restore;" also "to change," from in- "into" (from PIE root *en "in") + novus "new" (see new). Intransitive meaning "bring in new things, alter established practices" is from 1590s. Related: Innovated; innovating.

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Maslow acutely recognized this reality in his own struggles to express his largely intuitive ideas about personality growth, self-actualization, and synergy.

As an educator, he also lamented the loss of creativity that most people exhibited in passing from early childhood exuberance into adolescent boredom and passivity.

Puzzled why his bright, affluent college students weren't more innovative, he eventually blamed bureaucratic, mass education for this outcome. For this reason, he advocated radical change beginning with primary schooling. Today, the internet, with its countless daily distractions, is similarly criticized for hindering our inborn creativity.

But is difficulty in finding and sustaining creativity really a new phenomenon? This notion seems unlikely, for as back in recorded Western history as the ancient Greeks, individuals have sought creative inspiration. In ancient Greek civilization, the goal was celestial visitation from one or more of the nine Muses, who, according to Hesiod's Theogony (c. 600 B.C.E), were daughters of kingly Zeus and Mnemosyne, Titan goddess of memory. In Hesiod's narration, the Muses brought joyful forgetfulness: that is, liberation from human pain and obligations. They comprised Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, and Urania—stimulating creativity in epic poetry, history, love poetry, music, tragedy, sacred poetry, dance, comedy/pastoral poetry, and astronomy respectively.

In two main temples and various shrines throughout ancient Greece, the Muses could be worshipped—and hopefully for seekers, provide the innovative sparks for geography, mathematics, music, philosophy, and especially the arts and drama. Thus, when Pythagoras arrived at Croton to establish his school for the arts and sciences, his first advice to its inhabitants was to establish a shrine in homage to the Muses for fostering civic harmony and learning. Plato established a shrine to the Muses in the Academy precinct and intended to promote the notion that philosophical inquiry was their greatest gift. According to the celebrated Greek poet-"law giver" Solon, favor from the Muses brought both friendship and prosperity: quite a good combination even today.

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Over the ensuing centuries, the Muses came to be seen metaphorically rather than as heavenly beings. By the 16th century, the notion of divine encouragement for artistic, literary, and musical achievement was increasingly replaced by scientific and technical explanations. Nevertheless, our need for creative inspiration remains undiminished. In the mid-20th century, the British poet/classical scholar Robert Graves sought to re-envision the ancient Muses for the contemporary world by interweaving biblical, historical, and mythological facets. In his view, all authentic creativity involves a mental invocation of a divine goddess who inspires both awe and fear. Though criticized by historians, Graves' analysis gained qualified support from Jungians for portraying the power of archetypes in the creative process.

In practical terms, how can you best find your creative muse? Maslow never addressed this topic directly, perhaps because he was more interested in the theoretical aspects of personality growth. But as his biographer, I can provide a few clues from his writings and personal life. First, Maslow extolled peak-experiences as vital signposts for accessing higher capabilities. That is, by paying attention to what gives you joy, you'll discover how to enhance the flow of "primary process thinking" in which creativity arises. Noticing your "foothill experiences" (as Maslow called these) of milder happiness is also helpful for opening your receptive gates more effectively. Through journaling, he came to important realizations about his own peaks and foothills, such as the necessity for greater periods of solitude to allow for unfettered thought.

Second, Maslow saw dreams as an important source of creativity. Not only did he embrace his colleague Rollo May's viewpoint that dreams provide existential messages about our life's direction, but Maslow regularly recounted his own dreams in a private journal. Doing so, he believed, helped to strengthen that unconscious part of the psyche that gives birth to new ideas and impulses. Third, Maslow conceptualized the mind and body as a unity. Influenced by Aldous Huxley and especially the nascent somatic psychology movement at the Esalen Institute which he personally experienced, Maslow regarded bodily well-being as a vital constituent of creativity. Swimming was his favorite activity in this regard, as well as soaking in a hot bath at home to catalyze creative thinking. Finally, Maslow enjoyed listening to recordings of birdsongs to facilitate a more egoless mindset. Contrastingly, his colleagues Carl Rogers and Rollo May respectively constructed mobiles and painted. By midlife, they all clearly knew where to find their Muse.