Abstract Thinking & The Creative Mind
Abstract thinking is highly subjective and purely individual. A train of thought cannot be driven by much more than a single person. While you may be able to share it with others or possibly make them understand, you cannot expect them to realise or fully grasp it the same way you do. (If they do, DO NOT let em go!)
Abstract thinking requires you to put on your creativity hat. It’s a placid state of mind, free spirited and unconventional. It’s experimental, unbiased and genuinely curious. It’s explorative, inquisitive and unafraid. It’s brave, patient and determined. Abstract thinking requires you to think out of the box and helps you see other possibilities. While every step may not produce results that are black & white, there is a wonderful spectrum of colour in between the lines that you can learn from and use some way, some how. A creative mind tends to hold onto things that the normal mind would otherwise call, nothing. Creatives are constantly battling with the hoard-switch, but, a creative mind knows that inspiration can come from any direction and that it can lead to a great who-knows-what. Imagination is the fuel of a creative mind and when that imagination latches onto something worthwhile, a creative mind knows that it’s handy to have a bunch of nothings laying around, to help you create awesomeness.
Abstract thinking comes from the creative mind. While every person can be creative in one way or the other, creative minds are not all made equal, nor are they all understood equally by the wearer. Some people are good at using what they have but others a great at it — because they have a deeper sense of it. That’s not such a controversial or arrogant statement, people openly admit to their lack of creativity all the time, some use it as an excuse while others see it as an advantage. Some people wear it with pride while others despise or are even impartial to it. To some, thats the stuff of life, to others thats the stuff of dreamers. Actually, a good indicator to know which side of the fence you’re on would be to examine what your thoughts (genuinely) on being called a dreamer. Many people wear at as a symbol of progressiveness while others see it as a label of impracticality. Are you a dreamer, in either sense of the word.
As a dreamer myself, I am well aware of the difference between productivity and wasting time. Procrastination is a massive threat to the progress of my work and so I understand the importance of safe guarding myself from it. However I also understand the acute importance of keeping creativity alive within my progression. Some of my deepest challenges had the simplest, most creative solutions. It’s not always easy to come by and sometimes it seems impossible. Sometimes my rational side questions what I do, but patience and optimism seems to prevail more often than not. If you keep persisting, who knows what the potential could be.
One of the greatest who-knows-what of my lifetime that comes to mind is the iPod. Just look at how that evolved, reshaped and continues to reshape our live and the world. The internet was a great invention but it really wasn’t much, until the creatives started tinkering with it.
“Here’s to the crazy ones — the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” — Steve Jobs
