We’ve all experienced a light bulb flash of an idea. Light illuminates a dark place in our brain — showing us something we’ve never seen before. Creativity is all about light. And light is a mystery beyond our comprehension.
One of the first things God created was light. And the complexity of light (photons) still baffles us. What’s it made of? Scientists conduct experiments to see how it behaves. Is it solid? Is it a wave? It acts like both.
And one of the most baffling elements of light and quantum physics is the observer effect. Without getting too technical, scientists have developed an experiment to study the composition of light called the double slit experiment. Scientists were able to get a glimpse into the mystery of light.
So they took it a step further and tried to observe it closer. The most fascinating thing happened, though. As soon as scientists starting observing on a quantum level, light changed its behavior. Check out this video to see what I’m talking about:
The observer changed the way light worked. It’s almost like light has a mind of its own. The act of observation collapsed the phenomenon.
Isn’t that just like creativity? Creativity seems to have a mind of its own. Sometimes it’s there in full force. Sometimes we’re grasping at straws to find it. But creativity is always there somewhere.
The problem comes when we try to dissect it. Creativity works, but when we over-observe, over-analyze, and over-critique ourselves, it no longer functions the way it was intended. Our insecurity collapses the experiment. Light no longer functions like light. Creativity no longer functions like creativity. And we churn out something predictable and mundane.
Don’t collapse the experiment of creativity in your life. Let yourself create. Don’t dissect and kill a great idea because of insecurity. Rather than attempt to control creativity with clenched fists, just let go and create.
Jonathan Malm writes and speaks about the creative process — especially for churches. Check out his blogs: JonathanMalm.com and ChurchStageDesignIdeas.com.