THE PRINCIPLE

Vividly evoking a time when you were very creative makes it easier to be creative again

In my book, Focus: Use the Power of Targeted Thinking (Pearson), I introduced the notion of alter egos. It’s based on the idea that all of us have lots of sub-personalities that come out at different times.

For instance, some people are quite relaxed when meeting with someone one-to-one but nervous when they have to address a group. Similarly, you might be assertive in one situation but more timid in another.

Most of the time we leave it to chance which of our sub-personalities (or, as I call them, alter egos) is in charge, but there’s a way to make it a choice. That way you can be sure that the task at hand will be handled most appropriately, effectively and efficiently.

Having a ‘curious kid’ alter ego can be great when you’re exploring ideas. However, if you put the curious kid in charge of cleaning your garage, it’s not going to work out too well. The kid will find a stack of magazines or a box of mementoes, get engrossed, and four hours later nothing will have been dealt with. For that job, you should consider making your Attila the Hun alter ego the boss.

I’m sure you also have an ‘Originator’ alter ego – the part of yourself that comes up with lots of ideas. Here’s how to get into that state whenever you want:

• Remember a time when you experienced that state. It may have been recently or you may need to go all the way back to when you were a child.
• In your imagination, vividly recall what the world looked like when you were in that state, anything you said to yourself or that others said to you, and especially what it felt like in your body.
• When that feeling is really strong, make a gesture like pressing your thumb and forefinger together (in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, this is called an ‘anchor’).
• Practise doing this a few separate times. You are establishing a connection between those feelings and the gesture.
• The next time you want to get ideas flowing, make the gesture and you should notice yourself returning to the Originator alter ego state. If the feeling starts to weaken, or you are distracted and sense you’re losing that state, just make the gesture again.

Stay in that state until you’ve finished your brainstorming, then decide what you want to do next and what kind of alter ego would best serve you in that task. With practice, you can have a whole team of alter egos at your beck and call.