In his TED Talk, Tim Harford details the fascinating story of how a highly frustrating situation lead to an incredible creative breakthrough. Go ahead and take a look … I think you will enjoy it!
Can you relate? Have you ever been in a similar situation where things went completely wrong and you ended up with a superior outcome?
What do you do when you grow frustrated? Most of us will look for an alternative and, if we don’t find one, will just accept the situation. But a few of us decide to do something.
If you are in a frustrating situation, your choices are clear: Do something about it or stop complaining.
Here is the best part …
When you decide to do something about it, you will discover that frustration is the foundation of creativity.
It is pivotal to reframe your relationship with frustration if you want to move deeper into creativity.
Here is a fabulous quote from the book we reviewed last month Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by acclaimed author Gilbert Elizabeth.
If you want to be an artist of any sort, it seemed to me, then handling your frustration is a fundamental aspect of the work — perhaps the single most fundamental aspect of the work. Frustration is not an interruption of your process; frustration is the process.”
Bernard Sadow, an executive of a luggage company travelling through an airport frustrated by his heavy luggage, observed a carrier effortlessly sliding a wheeled skid. He put the two together. It took him many months rolling his prototype bag from department store to department store until finally, Macy’s ordered some for the market to grow quickly.
Frustration is a sign you have reached a plateau. The subconscious mind advises you to step out of the known, to give creativity a home in which to flourish.
Above all else, welcome frustration as the spark of creativity … it is above all else the mother of invention.
