How Boundaries Can Stimulate Creativity

Isaac Newton (1643-1727) made some of his greatest discoveries while in isolation during the bubonic plague epidemic that hit England in the 17th century.

Seclusion also seems to have inspired William Shakespeare (1564-1616), who wrote the play “King Lear” when all theaters were closed during a quarantine due to the same illness in London.

In the 1960s, celebrated children’s author Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991), better known as Dr Seuss, was challenged to write a book whose vocabulary did not exceed the 50-word limit — not only did he win the gamble, but “Green Eggs and Ham” became one of his most famous works.

We tend to think of creativity and freedom as two things that always go together. And that restrictions can, in turn, seem a little…limiting.

But experts believe (and the examples above show us) that this is not so.

“It’s a beautiful myth to think of creativity as an open field of infinite possibilities. The reality is that when people are faced with a wonderful open field, they can become paralyzed,” explains cognitive psychologist Catrinel Tromp.

“Restrictions are the anchors of creativity.”

This happens because faced with a limitation, we are driven to find solutions.

“Resilience (ability to overcome obstacles) appears when you have problems and challenges. This, in turn, gives you ideas”, says neuroscientist Susan Greenfield, from the University of Oxford, UK, who specializes in creativity.

These limitations can be of a political and socioeconomic nature, for example, as the British artist Quilla Constance recalls.

“Being a female artist, black and of proletarian origin can be seen as a limitation within the art world, which historically is a very patriarchal, white and middle-class space”, she evaluates.

She cites the example of the now acclaimed black American artist Faith Ringgold, an icon of the struggle for racial equality and women’s rights in the US, who managed to creatively circumvent adversity:

“She wanted to make these huge canvases, in the same way that a lot of men were doing great modernist works of art. But she didn’t have the space at home to do that. So she started making these huge quilts—roll them up and take them to various galleries. is a great example of how an artist can flourish under limitations.”

Limitations in the right measure

Greenfield notes, however, that limitations may not always be beneficial to creativity.

“There’s an interesting question about whether restrictions are really beneficial or problematic for creativity. And I think the answer in both cases is yes,” she says.

So to what extent can limitations stimulate creativity?

Research indicates that there is an inverted U-shaped creativity curve. Without limitations, we can feel bored and under-stimulated. But if there are too many restrictions, we can become stressed and overwhelmed. The sweet spot is in the middle.

And the good news is that everyone can exercise creativity.

“Most people tend to think that creativity is something that happens to people who have a specific talent. That’s a misconception,” says psychologist Volker Patent of the Open University.

“There is no such thing as a gene for creativity,” adds Greenfield.

While most limitations are enforced, as in the case of a lockdown due to an epidemic, you can also choose to set limits to encourage creativity.

The following experts share some tips:

1. Mark on the agenda

“Schedule a specific time when you will do nothing but engage in the creative task. This is one of the ways people with very little time are able to write books—by telling everyone in your family that this is what you’re going to be doing. doing, you’re actually setting aside space for yourself for something creative to happen,” recommends Patent.

2. Get out of your comfort zone

“Avoid familiarity and embrace novelty. Whether using different materials, a different method, or a different process. If you always write poetry, try prose,” suggests Tromp.

3. Start the stopwatch

“Start drawing and give yourself five minutes. Do another drawing. Give yourself 10 seconds to do the drawing. When we have less time to do something, usually the most important information appears”, proposes Constance.

4. Switch roles

“If you play in a band and you’re feeling really stuck, switch instruments. It can spark new ideas in your songs too,” says Patent.

5. Draw limits

“Paint a red dot or a blue line in the upper left corner of the blank canvas and challenge yourself to incorporate those constraints into the composition. And even if you don’t end up using these specific constraints in the final product, they can be beneficial for creativity since that you play with them spontaneously. What can happen is that the mere experience of playing with different limitations expands your imagination and enhances creativity”, suggests Tromp.

This text was originally published here.