From my father, via email, a Kingsport Times-News article:

Watch out! Attitudes can turn off your creativity

Mr. Ferguson is the father of four adult children and the grandfather of ten. He is an attorney in Kingsport and the author of the book, “Above and Beyond the Bottom Line.” His e-mail address is s h e l b u r n e @ f e r g u s o n – l a w o ff i c e . c o m .

We are discovering in all aspects of life, what we should have known all along, creativity is a part of our DNA. For example, if you believe that God is the “Creator” and that we are created in his image; doesn’t it make sense that we have creativity engrained in us? Flip that coin and on the other side is a reality that our natural creativity can be turned off by the way we respond to it.

Imagine a two- to three-year-old, typical child. What are the two questions most frequently asked by this child? Isn’t it: “What’s that?” and “Why?” Curiosity is the first cousin to creativity and how you and I respond to children’s curiosity encourages or stymies their natural creativi t y.

So rather than look at what we can do to encourage creativity (which is certainly an option), let’s think about what habits we can change to not hamper creativity not only in children but in adults as well. Businesses today and for tomorrow   must excel at creativity in order to survive.

Let me begin by giving credit to Brian Clark, CEO of Copyblogger Media, a creative man himself who has launched four successful businesses. The following are his “10 Mental Blocks to Creativity:”

1. “Trying to Find the ‘Right’ Answer.”   When we search for a creative answer, usually there are numerous choices. Our typical formal educational approach is to learn the “right” answer. In the world of creativity, we face ambiguity where there may be no one, right answer, but countless answers.

2. “Logical Thinking.” Logic is vital to good decision making, if it is used later in   the process and not at the beginning. Logic at the outset of the creative evolution tends to eliminate other, better possibilities by focusing on the one logical choice.

3. “Following Rules.” We all develop rules to follow that make our decision making easier. However, adhering to rules hampers creativity. Businesses tend to be the Mecca for developing a rule for every situation. As Marcus Buckingham said in the title to his terrific book, “First Break All the Rules.” Allow creativity to roam free of arbitrary rules.

4. “Being Practical.” We Americans love to look for the “bottom line” of every decision. We rush to get to the end of the creative process and decide whether our idea is practical. Let the idea linger for awhile before testing its practicality.

5. “Play is Not Work.” Do you work at playing? Or do you divide life into play and work? Where are you most creative, at work or play? Learn to work at playing at work.

6. “That’s Not My Job.” We live in an era of narrow specialization. While that may be vital to success, it doesn’t mean that you can’t recognize and see that the parts are related to the whole. You can explore and look for the possibilities outside your narrow specialty.

7. “Being a ‘Serious’ Person.” While it is helpful to getting along with others that we appreciate the three “C’s” of conformity, constancy and consistency, they forge a barrier to creativity. Brian Clark points out that kings often called on “jesters and fools” to see realities from a different, perhaps foolish perspective.

8. “Avoiding Ambiguity.” Ambiguity is uncomfortable to most of us. We prefer certainty and order with everything in the right box. Ambiguity is helpful when your goal is to innovate. It also gives us a huge advantage since most people despise ambiguity.

9. “Being Wrong is Bad.” What is the source for most of our learning? Making   a mistake is what should drive us to learn. Take the toddler for example. She learns how to ultimately walk by falling down and getting up to try again. Creative businesses and people have an attitude that tolerates making mistakes and taking risks.

10. “I’m Not Creative.” If you do not have the twin desires to experience and create, you’d better check your pulse to make sure you are alive. That is what humans do because as I noted earlier, it is in our DNA to create. Please don’t deny your humanity. Create something.

Please take to heart the above warning signals that destroy our creativity. Encourage your friends and particularly your offspring to believe they are creative.