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Everyone treasures their favorite possessions. And there are few things more precious than something you’ve created – after all, it’s your baby!
That’s a natural mind-set, but it’s often unhelpful. Your best work is frequently the result of letting go.
This is especially true of ideas. Thinking creatively is all about new solutions, and to get there, you’ll need to throw out ideas that just don’t work.
Think of it like a cupboard. If you want to free up space for new things, you also have to toss out some of your old belongings.
Take it from the group of Japanese artists behind the 2016 hit “Xylophone in the Forest” ad for cell phone provider Docomo.
It’s an impressive spot. In it, a ball rolls down a 44-meter-long wooden xylophone suspended over a forested hillside. As it makes its way toward the instrument’s final key, the ball plays the notes of a famous Bach composition to create a beautiful soundtrack.
But that wasn’t the artists’ first idea. In fact, they argued for something much more complex. They were particularly taken by the idea of a Rube Goldberg-type machine – a device that completes a simple operation in the most complicated way possible.
Rather than having the ball travel straight down the xylophone, the artists imagined a complex path involving all sorts of twists and turns, levers and special effects.
It was a tantalizing idea, and the group invested considerable time into making it work. In the end, however, the project’s leader, Morihiro Harano, an advertising and media expert, overruled them. He was convinced a simpler version would be better.
The ad was a huge success in Japan and made a splash in the international press. It was a fitting reward for a tough decision: rejecting the artists’ original idea.
Getting the creative juices flowing isn’t just about being bold, though – it’s also about setting yourself up for success. That means getting enough rest and relaxation.
Your brain doesn’t just shut down when you sleep; in fact, it remains quite active. Sleep is when the brain gets down to the important work of organizing memories and weaving dreams. And those are potent sources of inspiration.
But because you’re not consciously processing these ideas, you can’t access them immediately. That’s why it’s so important to set time aside for relaxing and goofing around. Those are the moments when you’ll have that flash of inspiration.
Take it from best-selling author Jonah Lehrer. Like lots of creatives, he says his best insights come when least expected – like when he’s relaxing in the bathtub or playing Ping-Pong.