Page 253 - THE DO-IT-YOURSELF LOBOTOMY Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking

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If your answer is occasionally or rarely, you are sometimes resistant to
change and can be attached to how things are done. Perhaps you are a
victim of your own success. When something works, people resist
changing, but in so doing they are likely only holding back improvement.
If your answer is never, this is an area of strength for you. It appears
you are not nearly as resistant to change as most people. But there is one
caution for people who score high in this area. When you answer that
you are not attached to how things are done, are you talking about your
habits now or in your glory days? Many people who achieve creative
breakthroughs early in their careers or lives think of themselves as cre-
ative, then go on to continually emulate their early success. Alfred Hitch-
cock said that style is self-plagiarism. Beware of this trap. Are you a
victim of your own success?
When something works successfully people resist changing, but in so
doing they are only holding back from further creative accomplishment.

Question C: How often do you hold back from mentioning ideas
for fear of looking silly or being wrong?
Those who do not stop asking silly questions become scientists.
∼Leon Lederman, nuclear physicist

Sticking your neck out with a new idea means taking a risk, but with-
out some risk there are few advancements. We’ve been trained since our
early years to “make sense” and to “not look foolish.” Logic, rational think-
ing and linear thought have been drilled into us. Even the standard IQ test
mostly measures convergent thinking. But the greatest thinkers of all time
were often divergent thinkers. New ideas often don’t make sense and
might sound silly or wrong. Often, crazy ideas are a lot closer to brilliant
than the same tired old “this is the way it is” ideas.
If your answer is almost always or often, this is a problem area for you,
as it appears you’re very apprehensive about mentioning new ideas to
others. This is not uncommon, but it hurts your creative achievement.
New ideas often don’t make sense in the current order of things. Your
self-consciousness keeps you in the realm of “what is” and prevents you
from exploring “what might be better.”
If your answer is occasionally or rarely, it appears you are sometimes
apprehensive about mentioning new ideas to others. Keep in mind that
new ideas frequently don’t make much sense in the current order of
things. Your self-consciousness might keep you in the realm of “what
is” and prevent you from exploring “what might be better,” thus ham-
pering your creative achievement.