Chapter 7 - Recognizing Stuck Thinking

Question 1

What is the difference between creativity and mastery?

Answer 1

Creativity is a state of being; mastery is excellence in a set of specific skills.

Question 2

What is one way to increase creative potential?

Answer 2

By eliminating functional fixedness, or Stuck-Thinking, as I like to call it, we can open up to our creative potential.

Question 3

Where can creativity be found?

Answer 3

Creativity can exist in every arena of human endeavor, not just the ones that sound creative.

Question 4

How do you measure creativity?

Answer 4

A creative endeavor almost always makes something constructive happen, fostering some kind of positive growth.

Question 5

Describe an ideal Kid-Thinker

Answer 5

A Kid-Thinker acts in the moment; she’s not swayed by outside forces or inner turbulence. She’s free of negative emotions and able to look at things differently.

Question 6

Describe a Stuck-Thinker

Answer 6

A Stuck-Thinker is trapped in the status quo, and because he’s often swayed by his emotions, he can barely imagine how a thing or situation can ever be different from how it appears.

Question 7

List the 4 personality type from the Ethics of Fathers

Answer 7

Slow to anger, quick to pacify
Quick to anger, quick to pacify
Slow to anger, slow to pacify
Quick to anger, slow to pacify

Question 8

Brain Bottle Opener 7 - The Walk Away

Answer 8

Single out any random object you see in front of you. Let’s use a kitchen table for our example. First see the table for what it is (most likely wood). Then take a metaphoric step back and the wood becomes: a tree, then a seed, then two hands planting the seed, then the face of a young boy who’s planting the seed, then the house where the boy lives, the bed he sleeps in, the moonlight streaming in from his window, and the heat of the sun that makes the moon shine…. Continue uninterrupted in this fashion for about two minutes, until the table you started out with becomes something completely unrecognizable.