The Playful Life

I wonder if it’s apparent to those reading my posts that my process of writing is almost stream of consciousness. When I sit down to write here I have an idea of what I want to talk about but not what I’m actually going to say or how I’m going to say it. It’s really a process of exploration and discovery. Much like sounding out ideas with a wise friend or therapist.

I’ve been thinking about the idea of “process vs. product”. This is something I picked up in art school. The idea is that it can often be more advantageous to pay more attention to the process of creation than to the desired end result. However, this concept is useful for other types of challenges and undertakings; not just for creating a work of art. Like the iconic road trip; the experiences you have along the way are often more significant than the actual destination.

This is a playful approach that fosters adventure, exploration, and curiosity. It is more open ended and tends to generate more ideas and possibilities. It helps us from donning too soon what Dr. Edward de Bono calls the Black Hat. This is the hat of The Judge; and judgment is one of the greatest threats to ideation and creative thinking. This is especially true when others are telling you that it can’t be done, or it’s a stupid idea, or impractical, or any other foregone position. Proceeding in this fashion can also make your endeavor less onerous: You get to smell the flowers along the way. Furthermore we can often be in such a rush to come up with a solution that we miss ideas that are even better. In fact when in a rush we can even end up trying to fix the wrong problem.

Enjoy the ride