<< Back to Articles
Creativity Explored
The Benefits of Repetition
Why is repetition so important in creativity?
Working as a creative career consultant, I have learned over the years
that repetition helps us to discover our personal rhythms and know them
more intimately. This knowledge saves time, maximizes our energy and
creativity. Repetition lubricates creativity, increases capacity, and
helps develop effective working patterns that result in higher efficiency.
No matter what the creative goal—a project, portfolio or marketing plan,
repetition plays a key role in the creative process, up through completion.
Among creativity tools, repetition is key because it deepens our learning
on two levels.
On the conscious level, repetition increases our mastery in using the
new knowledge and tools we’ve learned. Increased mastery makes the new
tasks more automatic, conserving more energy. Repetition is a sort of
lubricant of the creative process that helps new learning “sink in.”
Have you noticed? When you learn a new task related to your creative
project but do not repeat it, the learning begins to fall away? When
finally returning to the task, part of your time must be invested in
re-learning what you’ve forgotten. If one of your goals is to maximize
your creative growth, mastery through repetition is essential.
With enough repetition, learning on the conscious level deepens to internalize
on the unconscious level. Our capacity expands to include instinct and
intuition that guide us into more efficient choices and more elegant
outcomes. Somewhat mysteriously, the unconscious energies become interwoven
with the conscious ones, directing us toward our primary and secondary
goals more efficiently. Most creative people have experienced those
times in the creative process when energy seems to build exponentially
and the project seems to take on “a life of its own.” This experience
is a result of fusion between the conscious and unconscious operations.
New tasks bring tension because they are unfamiliar. Repetition helps
us to grow comfortable with what feels, at first, uncomfortable. This
discomfort is an essential ingredient in creative growth, not to be
avoided but wholly embraced. With repetition, discomfort gives way to
comfort. We then stretch to learn another new task, bringing more discomfort
and further repetition, giving way to comfort, and so on. As we use
repetition properly, each action builds more momentum on both the conscious
and unconscious levels. We begin to experience less trial and error,
fewer false starts, and more efficient use of time. With increased knowledge
and sharpened instincts, our actions become progressively more effective.
(For help on your career
change, project, portfolio or marketing plan click here.)
<< Back to Articles
Do you need content? You may use these essays at your website,
or in your newsletter. The only requirement is inclusion of the following
sentence plus active links:
*Essay by Barbara Bowen of
GatewaysCoaching.com - the definitive source for the creative process
and creative careers.
Contact Barbara with your questions about your
transitional needs. She would love to hear from you.*
Copyright ©2009 Barbara Bowen and Gateways Creative Artist Coaching.
All rights reserved.
|
