Affect the Operating System and Let It Affect You
overview
Like all cognitive functions, the functions of The Creativity Operating System can become stronger and more flexible with time — they can be more present in your life. Putting them into constant use is obviously an essential step toward evolving your Creativity, but with it, you need to proactively and intentionally affect your Operating System.
When you reflect on your creative journey and mindfully explore how you apply your Core Creativity Functions, what works best for you, and how you can take them even further, you reshape your creative setup. When you take an active role in refining your practices and habits, you affect your Operating System and make it more impactful.
At the same time, as you apply The Creativity Operating System, it can affect you. Experiment with Creativity in new domains and areas of your life and let Creativity have even more impact. It is a magical Feedback Loop in which the more you enhance your Creativity, the more it can affect your life. The more it affects your life, the stronger and more flexible your Operating System becomes, and you understand how to utilize it better.
actionable steps
Make space for continuous reflection on your creative journey throughout the journey.
Consider how you apply each of the Creativity Functions, consciously or unconsciously. Acknowledge the impact of each Function on the path and the creative insights you generate along the way.
Think about the Core Practices and consider how you can refine them, implement them in new ways, and enhance their presence in your life.
Expand the scope and depth of each Practice so it will lead you to new, unexpected discoveries and insights.
Actively seek new areas, domains, and contexts to apply your Creativity Operating System.
examples
Example 1
Reflect on the past week and identify events in which you applied The Creativity Operating System or part of it. It doesn’t have to be in the context of a creative project. On the contrary, considering random acts of Creativity will help you understand how to apply the model better in more areas and contexts.
Example 2
Take a few minutes to reflect in real-time whenever you apply one of your Creativity Functions. Consider what triggered it and what value it had. Can you recreate the experience and refine one of the Practices based on that experience?
related practices
further exploration
Attribution and Inspiration
- Inspired by Stephen Covey’s Sharpen the Saw habit