Creativity Isn't Magic. It's a System You Can Build.
In our last article, we explored Critical Thinking, the skill of taking ideas apart to see how they work. It’s an essential tool for navigating a noisy world. But once we’ve deconstructed the world, how do we build something new within it?
That’s where creativity comes in.
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Yes, I know what many of us think when we hear that word. We picture a lone genius, a flash of divine inspiration, or a natural talent that we either have or we don’t. This is the biggest myth about creativity, and it’s what keeps so many of us from even trying. We believe we’re not the "creative type."
Creativity is Connecting Dots
I've learned that creativity is much more of a process than it is magic. It’s not about pulling a brilliant idea out of thin air. As Steve Jobs famously (and correctly) said, "Creativity is just connecting things."
The problem is, we often live in intellectual echo chambers. We read the same industry news, talk to the same people, and follow the same thought leaders. Our pool of ideas, our collection of "dots," becomes shallow, and our connections become predictable.
To generate original ideas, we need to break out of these patterns. We need to become master dot-collectors and then get better at connecting them.
How to Become a Master Dot-Connector
We can cultivate creativity by focusing on three core habits.
Build Your Mental Library: The Habit of Collecting Dots
You can't connect dots you haven't collected. This is the habit of cultivating a wide-ranging curiosity. I once spent a week learning about the history of cartography. It seemed irrelevant to my marketing job, but it sparked an idea about "mapping" the customer journey in a completely new visual way, revealing paths we'd never considered. Every new piece of information is a dot we can use later.
To do this effectively, we need a system. It doesn't have to be complicated. It could be a simple notebook, a folder in Apple Notes, or a dedicated database in an app like Notion. The tool doesn't matter as much as the habit of having one central place to capture interesting quotes, links, and stray thoughts. This becomes your personal "idea treasury" that you can draw from later.Force Unusual Connections
Once we have a collection of dots, we need to actively smash them together. Consider W. L. Gore & Associates, the makers of Gore-Tex. For decades, they've used a "lattice" organisational model, inspired by natural systems. Instead of a rigid hierarchy, communication flows directly between peers, like a network. This idea, borrowed from network theory, helped them become one of the most consistently innovative companies in the world. Most of these connections will lead nowhere, but some will spark something genuinely new.Embrace Terrible First Drafts
The fear of the blank page is real. We want our first attempt to be brilliant. But as scientist Linus Pauling said, "The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas." The most creative people I know focus on quantity first, knowing that the good ideas will only emerge after they’ve gotten all the bad ones out of their system.
Your Dot-Connecting Toolkit: Three Practical Exercises
Cultivating these habits might sound abstract, so let's make them concrete. Here is a specific exercise to build each one.
The "Curiosity Diet" (To Practice Collecting Dots)
This exercise is designed to build your habit of wide-ranging curiosity. For one week, intentionally consume information from a field you know nothing about.
Pick a topic: It could be anything: mycology, ancient Roman history, jazz music, quantum physics.
Immerse yourself: Spend 20-30 minutes each day learning about it. Watch a YouTube explainer, read the Wikipedia page, or listen to a podcast episode.
Connect it back: At the end of the week, ask yourself: "What's one idea from this new field that I could apply to my own work or life?"
The "Idea Blender" (To Practice Forcing Unusual Connections)
Now that you're collecting dots, this exercise helps you practice the habit of smashing them together.
Make two lists: On one side of a page, list 10 things you’re interested in (e.g., "coffee," "podcasting," "gardening"). On the other side, list 10 problems you want to solve (e.g., "feeling disconnected from friends," "not having enough time to read").
Start blending: Pick one item from each list and ask, "How could X help solve Y?" How could "gardening" help with "feeling disconnected"? (Maybe a community garden project). The goal isn't to judge the ideas, but simply to generate them.
The "10-Minute Sprint" (To Practice Embracing Terrible First Drafts)
This final exercise builds the crucial habit of giving yourself permission to be messy.
Choose a starting point: It could be a problem you're trying to solve or a question you're exploring.
Set a timer for 10 minutes.
Write, draw, or mind-map continuously: The only rule is you cannot stop. Don't worry about grammar, quality, or logic. The goal is to fill the page with as many thoughts as possible. This forces you out of "editing mode" and into "generating mode."
Ultimately, creativity is a skill we can all build through curiosity, practice, and the courage to start before we feel ready.
Next time, we’ll explore the third thinking tool: Strategic Thinking. We'll look at how to take our best ideas and build a plan to make them a reality.
What’s your take on today’s topic? Did I miss something, did something resonate?
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