Being Messy to Be Creative

Being messy [by nature and not through deliberate intentions] – is in many cases linked with geniuses and creative personalities.

Here in this article – we shall explore – what type of mess can propels our creative and innovative brain to a level to make these soft-skills Our Key Differentiators.

There are messy people – who are messy because they are careless and passive - This blog is not for the conventional slobs.

Those people who have passion and fire BUT are more logical than creative [and it hinders their finding different and disruptive answers and solutions] – would derive maximum value out of this.

27 Clarifications on What is healthy, Positive and Constructive Messiness

• 1.To be ahead of the crowd – we need a healthy amount of creativity as well as logic – if it is skewed heavily towards only either of logic or creativity – then our life might be filled with less-success, less-happiness, less-satisfaction etc.
• 2.Messiness catalyzes innovation and creativity – when it happens because we are stretching ourselves and stepping into the realm of unknown and uncertainty - while pursuing our larger-than-life goals.
• 3.Confusion and clarity both have their immutable role – in our grand successes* and accomplishments.
• 4.Confusion happens only in the areas of unknown, unpredictable, uncertainties and disruptive changes – all these are very relevant in present world's VUCA environment.
• 5.When we are very clear in whatever we are doing ALL THE TIME – it simply means that, we are operating within the comforts of our biggest comfort-zones*.
• 6.Being satisfied with status-quo – is a definite creativity and innovation killer.
• 7.Perfection is another attitude that limits the quality of results that we get.
• 8.Being organized, tidy, planned, systematic and structured – is essential during action-times.
• 9.Being very structured most of the time – usually makes us rigid, closed and un-flexible*.
• 10.Focusing on Excellence* and continuous improvement to create qualitative enhancement of the existing - stimulates innovation, creativity and disruptive transformations.
• 11.Being open to possibilities, changes, disruptions and un-thought-of and un-heard-of thoughts, ideas, solutions and answers – is what lead us to create a new paradigm.
• 12.Messy people are willing to challenge the conventional norm – that is why – the seems brilliant
• 13.Messy people also experiment with life like anything else they do
• 14.Teams [we are not referring to group of people – there is a distinct difference between Team and Group] of people with diverse traits and personalities unleashes creative-tension and dissonance promotes creative dissent - which in turn boosts creativity and innovation and is an antidote to the lame conformity, complacency, consensus, and herd-mindset.
• 15.The great leaders – always surround themselves with people who not only think and act differently from themselves – BUT – also have the courage to challenge the leaders.
• 16.Healthy Conflict of ideas and working together to accomplish the task and overcome the challenge together can lead to higher levels of performance excellence.
• 17.Human beings often take excessive antibiotics, but this also kills beneficial bacteria - mess and chaos in the body makes natural systems healthier and more resilient while boosting our immune system [under controlled supervision of experts].
• 18.Sometimes the mess produces something worth having – even if that was not what you were looking for – but proves to be of great value in other areas.
• 19.Many breakthrough innovations have happened through this type of messiness – if you can recall Viagra was invented when scientists were researching how to prevent certain heart ailments.
• 20. Life cannot be controlled because by definition all the Lives and Life is filled with many-many minor to major messes – AND - Success requires a willingness to cope with messy situations.
• 21.Off-course – our messiness – would make our friends, co-workers, spouse or family member exasperated and get on their nerves [and vice-versa]
• 22. Mess isn't necessarily the absence of order – in case of brilliant* people and geniuses* - the more important, urgent work tends to stay close by and near the top of the clutter
• 23. While the safely ignorable stuff tends to get buried to the bottom or near the back, which makes perfect sense.
• 24. The Creative Process Is Messy – can you paint a picture or Cook something exotic without making a mess
• 25. Productivity is about filling your time – whereas Creativity is about emptying your time.
• 26. Disordered spaces can encourage inventive thinking - Ordered spaces can encourage focus and logical thinking.
• 27.Messiness works because it is a form of self-created-chaos that makes things much more difficult for our brain than it needs to be - But this is precisely what forces it to come up with unique, innovative solutions which it otherwise would not bother to create.

On the other hand

• 1.Untidiness can be a negative thing - it may also be the best way to sift through and make sense of information-overload [which happens all the time and is inherently messy].
• 2.But Extremes of messiness and tidiness can be signs of underlying illness.
• 3.If your messiness upsets you and makes you guilty or depressed – then it is a problem – AND not a sign of creativity.
• 4.Then there are those people who are too tidy and unable to function unless their environment is pristine and germ-free. This too is an indication of some serious condition like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
• 5.Sudden change from orderly to disorderly can be a symptom of something wrong emotionally, physically or psychologically like Depression.
• 6.If you are a slob – then you would also find direct relationship with sloppiness and mediocrity in your own life

Creative out-of-the-box thinking is essential for sparking new art, new ideas and new inventions. But once we have the spark, the flame has to be fanned – this can only be done by taking actions through logic.

Myth - Messy People Are Lazy

• ðThe 20 Truths about Messy-n-Creative Geniuses
• 1.They Have Laser Focus*
• 2.They See the Bigger Picture*
• 3.Their priorities* are very clear
• 4.They are always focused on the most important things – the High-Payoff ones
• 5.The neglect, eliminate, minimize the less important
• 6.They put more energy on the crucial part – manage their energy* rather than time
• 7.They are comfortable with not having – what for them is not important
• 8.They are masters in finding the best and shortest route possible to their non-negotiable goals
• 9.They are adaptable
• 10.They are normally not concerned even if others think of them as Lazy
• 11.They don't get mired in the quagmire of information overload
• 12.They don't get distracted from their goals
• 13.They are masters of living in chaos and with disordered world
• 14.Their own messiness doesn't bother them
• 15.They are great problem-solvers*
• 16.They have a broad range of interests
• 17.They might be running many projects simultaneously
• 18.They can let go of things that does not fascinate them easily
• 19.They have learned the art of strategic procrastination*
• 20. They become master in the fineries of improvisation*

24 Habits to Be Messy - Deliberately

[All the *marked topics/words have detailed Do It Yourself Blog in the DIY Blog Section - From the Heart of Subhashis - in Success Unlimited Mantra website]. Please also read my other blogs in the same sections on creativity and different types of intelligence.

• 1.You look forward to break the status quo
• 2.You have your share of Fears* – but still go ahead with trying out newer ways
• 3.Doing everything – that you do daily – makes you bored*
• 4.You experiment a lot even in those tasks that may not have any other ways to do them
• 5.You are a action person
• 6.Failures* make you only think – what can you do differently
• 7.You have large goals*
• 8.You jiggle many different activities in your different aspects of life thought your day
• 9.You are spontaneous
• 10.You sometimes surprise yourself with – how you sometimes do things that makes the water muddier
• 11.You find a way to do routine chores - faster
• 12.You are never really concern with what others think of you and their criticisms*
• 13.Like everyone you too have your share of stress – but you are too absorbed in your thoughts to notice the mess around you
• 14.You might be considered absent-minded by others
• 15.You find it difficult to conform to the conventional way of doing humdrum tasks
• 16.You find Inspiration In The -Chaos* - rather than it making you demotivated
• 17.You are quick Decision Maker*
• 18.Changes fascinates you and you pro-actively turn your life upside down*
• 19.You love to simplify*
• 20. You also stick to the basics*
• 21.You hate being busy just to show that you are doing things – you are at ease with day-dreaming
• 22. You conserve your energy
• 23. You can always find what you are looking for in your mess of clutter - Only You - Others Can't
• 24. You constantly push boundaries and take more than you can handle – but it does not make you overwhelmed