Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide

by John Cleese

Children at play are totally spontaneous. They are not trying to avoid making mistakes. They don’t observe rules. It would be stupid to say to them, “No, you’re not doing that right.” At the same time, because their play has no purpose, they feel utterly free from anxiety (perhaps because adults are keeping an eye on the real world for them). Most adults, by contrast, find it hard to be playful—no doubt because they have to take care of all the responsibilities that come with an adult’s life. Creative adults, however, have not forgotten how to play. Now, let’s look at the second characteristic of the creative architects. Most people are very surprised to learn that this involves deferring decisions for as long as possible. Doesn’t this mean that creative architects are, by definition, indecisive? Isn’t that a bit impractical and unrealistic? No! It simply means they are able to tolerate that vague sense of discomfort that we all feel, when some important decision is left open, because they know that an answer will eventually present itself. Let me elaborate. I once wrote a script for a training film about decision-making, and talked to various experts on the subject. They explained to me that if you have a decision to make, the first question you must ask is: “When does this decision have to be made?” You live in the real world, so there is always a cut-off point. But once it’s been agreed when that real-world decision has to happen, why make it before the deadline arrives...