Idea Deficit Disorder – Treating Yourself
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Idea Deficit Disorder (IDD) is a horrid affliction. Millions suffer from it, causing a loss of billions of dollars worth of good ideas, not to mention poor self-esteem and lost opportunities.
If you suffer from IDD there is hope. You weren't always that way.
Newborn children are naturally creative. They overflow with ideas.
But new ideas make things hard for people who want to tell you want to do. That's why the educational system and many bosses seem to have made it their mission to drive creativity from the planet.
By the time they've been in school for only a few years, most children have IDD. They've been taught that the correct answer is the one the teacher knows.
By the time they reach adulthood, these same children believe that some, few people are "creative." Most of these people are artists, musicians, and inventors who fill their days thinking up good ideas. Normal people like them, they've learned, are not creative.
The final stages of IDD happen at work. Bosses who imagine workers as replaceable parts who should be obedient and compliant make sure that anyone who offers a new idea is told why that idea is no good at all, since it did not come from further up the org chart.
But the teachers and bosses have it wrong. Creativity is a natural part of being a human being. If you are a human, you will come up with ideas.
Recognize that you are creative. Think back to the good ideas you've had.
Analyze how it happened. Then, when you need a good idea, just recreate the situation.
If you get good ideas in the shower, take a shower. If it was while driving, go for a drive. If you got them sitting in your special chair with a pad and paper, head for that chair. If you get good ideas standing on your head with your socks in your mouth, that would be the ticket.
IDD is a society-inflicted condition but it doesn't have to be permanent. Start today to reclaim your creative birthright.
Free Resource
Some years ago I helped develop a creativity program for a client. As part of my work I wrote a twenty-page document titled "62 Tips for Getting Good Ideas when you need Them ." You can download a free copy by clicking on the link.
Throw off the chains of IDD! Start reveling in your natural creativity!
Check out Idea Deficit Disorder – Stopping the Epidemic
Dear Wally,
I think the most pernicious form of IDD is something I called PROBLETENCE i.e. impotence in problem solving. In politics, morality, finance, economics it is a devastating epidemics of Probletence just now- some call it the Crisis.
No Probletence in technology; in business and management- you know it.
better
My ambition is to introduce "Probletence"
in the English dictionary.
Till now I have created only 1 new word, "ego-out."
My newsletter Info Kappa speaks a lot about you, dear Wally! Thank you for the many fine papers!
Best wishes
Peter
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Thank you for that new word and your comments, Peter. I like the word, but here in the US a simple word will not do for effective marketing. You need either a phrase no one has heard of ("low t") or a TLA (Three Letter Acronym).
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You are right. Anyway I have to publish first my study re real Life Problem Solving
about an original system that I have developed in my newsletter
I am sending you my septoes, characteristic for my thinking, I know you will not like (some of) them but I lile your writings and that's more important:
Wisdom of crowds lies in their diversity
The Good and Evil are siamese twins
The Universe feeds our insatiable curiosity forever
Human rights are threatened by Human Privileges
Bad septoism is seven words not wise
All great crises are crises of thinking
The Universe is obsessed to be interesting.
Brainair- four parts realism, one part imagination.
My favorite metasport is swimming counter-stream.
Future is bright but not for Humanity.
Astrology offends Human Intelligence but is Business.
Even the best religions are mainly suicidal.
We live in memecracies, ideas dominate us.
Means are swallowing aims and replacing them.
People lie because most truths are bad.
In need solidarity becomes liquidarity even gasidarity.
Greek Gods ruling today: Ares, Hermes, Koalemos.
Initiative is the greatest differentiator of humans.
Perfectionism is dangerous, we need sustained perfectibilism.
Good could take creativity lessons from Evil.
Evolution is the inherent perfectibility of Nature.
Save the world with the Seriousyne vaccine!
Human nature plus idealistic theories equal disaster.
Unlimited greed and ignorance lead to disaster.
Life is hungry matter and edible too.
Victories over your former Self are triumphs.
The Future Shock was amortized by irrationality.
Lies are shortcuts from problems to solutions.
The essence of human nature is discontent.
This literary genre was created by Edward de Bono but has been abandoned.
Peter
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Thanks for adding those thoughts, Peter.
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Great piece, Wally, and great article. To the list of books which you've included in it, I'd add Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit. It adds amplitude + resonance to the many points you've so succinctly made here. Trust this adds some value. - John
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Thanks, John. I appreciate the comment and the book recommendation. Perhaps some other readers can suggest books about creativity and innovation that they like.
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This is so true. You can see the spark in kids before they are crushed into boring, lobotomized behavior. Sele my posts on "The Illusion of Explanatory Depth" and "Letting Children Learn."
Lack of curiosity leads to idea deficits
- The Curious Cat
http://curiouscat.com/guides/
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Great posts, John. Thanks for sharing them. And I love your line: "Lack of curiosity leads to idea deficits." I'm sure that all great science begins with "Hmmmmm … that's interesting."
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Thank you for writing and sharing this post, and for generously sharing your 62 Tips document!
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Wally,
Great concept. Terrific presentation.
As you recall, you inspired my earliest creativity workshops many years ago. Two of the most amazing factoids I found were: (1) The major characteristic of creative people is that they believe they are creative, and (2) The best way to get a good idea is to have LOTS of them!
Keep up the good work!
Warmly,
Your Long lost friend,
Carolyn Long
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Great to hear from you again, Carolyn and thanks for the kind words. You're right that believing you're creative is at least half the battle.
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