Virtual Book Tour

Just Like Who?

By Ellen Palestrant | 5/13/15

Not I, not any one else can travel that road for you. You must travel it yourself. — Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself”

Thank you to Chris of Creativity Portal for hosting me on this virtual book tour celebration for the ‘Have you Ever Had a Hunch? The Importance of Creativity.’ I look forward to interacting with your audience on Facebook and welcome their comments or questions.

Creativity implies originality. Truly creative people incorporate the uniqueness of their own vision into their own thinking and work. Their creations, in varying degrees, bring change to what has been seen, heard or done before. They are not simply derivative. They do not mindlessly copy the past attempting to work or think just like somebody else because such work lacks true engagement. It seldom brings about any level of change but simply maintains the status quo.

Trying to be an otherself is a creativity cruncher. Otherselves travel far from their own selves and lose their own originality to imitation – safe but uninspiring. They do not heed or respect their own hunches or instincts but become victims of homogenous thoughts. Their actions, rarely contribute much of significance to any project or collaboration.

People inexorably influenced by societal expectations are alienated from self and do not have established identities. They have little understanding of their own motivations, emotions, and impulses. Theirs is a life of ignorance, of inattention and imitation. The voices of others compete with their own, and eventually so condition their attitudes that they are barely capable of thinking independently. Instead of listening to themselves, they value only the voices of authority. They continually take direction from and imitate others and adhere blindly to their suggestions. They ignore any hunch they might have because that hunch came from within, and they only respond to what comes from without. They are incapable of respecting their own originality. Such people become collectives, victims of homogeneous thought and actions, bent solely on maintaining a social consensus.

An ability to look with fresh eyes at a project and trust ones own instincts about it, instead of following someone else’s, are importance ingredients in creative thinking and productions. Instead of deciding in advance just like who to be when engaging in work, it is better to know that although, as a start, others people’s ideas and work are worth studying and considering, it is very important to be just like you.

This feature is part of the Virtual Book Tour celebration for Ellen’s book HAVE YOU EVER HAD A HUNCH? The Importance of Creativity. Join the celebration and follow the tour.

Ellen Palestrant is a writer, artist, filmmaker, educator, game inventor, hydroponic farmer, creative conceptualizer and creativity consultant. Among her nine published books, HAVE YOU EVER HAD A HUNCH? is now in its Third Edition. Learn more at EllenPalestrant.com.