play creativity and flow
Following on from the concept of flow, I then watched another really useful talk on the powerful link between creativity and play. Given that creativity is very much related to flow, it becomes clear that when your work feels like play, you’ll be the most creative, particularly if you identify a purpose that you really identify with.
The talk centres around the following principle
You need to develop a relationship of trust to both play and be creative, so trust is key.
In terms of a process, 3 steps or key elements were explained
- Explore: Become knowledgeable in the task at hand. Explore multiple solutions and combine them to find the best overall solution. go for quantity so you have multiple options and gain lots of experience in the field
- Build: thinking with your hands. Make prototypes, something you can hold. A toothbrush stuck to a piece of wood so you and others can see and feel it in action and discuss it.
- Roleplay: act it out. How you gain more empathy for the situation you’re designing for and create seamless and authentic experiences.
Tim Brown: Tales of creativity and play
Tim researches play and its effects on humans. Through this research, he and his fellow researchers have shown how children can lose their creativity as they become adults because they lose their connection with play.
Creativity is closely related to innovation and problem-solving, and these skills are best learned through play. Therefore, it is important to learn how to instill play in your life as you age to have that play-like quality that children have so that you can access that free creative flow that children possess so readily.
Now that you know a little about the talk, I encourage you to watch the full TED talk and see what else you can learn.
Stuart Brown: Play is more than just fun
Stuart is a pioneering researcher on the benefits on play. You may be surprised to learn that the benefits of play have been recognised for centuries we just have a habit of assuming play has no purpose, that it is just a way to let off steam and relax. The reality is that play is so much more and there is no better time to be reminded about this than right now.
If you want to achieve the flow state, be highly creative or just have a better tomorrow than today then learning about play will never let you down.
Enjoy the talk.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow
Since I love sports science, a key aspect is achieving flow. By that I mean getting to a state where doing what you need to do seems really easy, where you’re at your best and most comfortable. I’ve just watched a very interesting talk from TED titled Creativity, fulfilment and flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
Further reading
- TED: Creativity and flow: Includes a link to Tim Browns talk on play. Mossy brown is a beautiful site dedicated to encouraging and supporting creativity and a place I want to explore further.
- The flow state: the science of the elusive creative mindset that can improve your life
- PlayCare A Scholarly Blog on Play
- National institute for play
