Creativity is curious. Want to be more creative? Try expressing what makes you curious.
I’ve been an active writer for most of my adult life, but I have to confess the past few years have been hard. While I’ve had a swirl of ideas, my ideas were unwilling to greet the page.
One of my hangups was I was stuck on the problem: “What do I have to say that hasn’t already been said?”
What a daunting hurdle; it’s not surprising no ideas came through.
A few months ago, that shifted, and I’ve been riding a creative wave, including my Strategic Product Management work. The shift came from two places: (1) acknowledging an unconscious commitment stifling my creativity—and defining my curiosity.
Today, I want to share how I defined my curiosity—I did it, and now, I encourage you to do so as well. For so long, I affixed my gaze to my purpose: where am I headed and why—is my next step purposefully aligned with it? Nothing came.
Then, last December, I changed my focus; instead of focusing on my purpose, I focused on my curiosity—what am I curious about and why?
The result? A research thesis I call The Quantum Mirror Problem (professional). It’s a write-up that outlines what I’m actively curious about.
I believe we tend to treat all questions as answerable and the answers to all questions as knowable. In the product management craft—this leads to teams stuck trying to find the “right answer” instead of making their answer become the correct answer. It means reasoning about philosophical questions with scientific tools—a kin to swimming about running.
My exploration of The Quantum Mirror Problem (personal) is pursuing wisdom and sharing it with the world.
You might find it interesting—but that’s not the point; the point is, I encourage you to find your own.
What fills you with inquisitive passion?
Removing this stone might unblock a waterfall of creativity.
I know it has for me.
Personal research thesis of The Quantum Mirror Problem (view)
Professional research thesis of The Quantum Mirror Problem (view)
One thought on “From Creative Block to Research Thesis”