This is the first entry into the Creativity Series, and it will explore the fundamental importance of first establishing our goal to induce creativity.
Now, as a writer, it has always been important to have a good flow in my ideas – and, of course, every now and then, that flow would come to an unexpected and tumultuous stop. I have always done more thinking than writing. The worlds are simply bigger in my head, and only then do they spill onto the paper like the overflow from a dam. So when the mental flow stops, so does the writing. I used to be a victim to this, but then I started to investigate creativity itself and just how it comes about. I will share one particular concept which immediately resonated with my creative process.
Psycho-Cybernetics and the Goal Striving Mechanism
Psycho-Cybernetics is one of the fathers of all self-help books. Written in 1960 by the plastic surgeon, Maxwell Maltz, the book aims to help readers achieve success through the regulation of the self-concept. He bases his ideas on the science of cybernetics, where humans had to reverse engineer the mind to design servomechanisms (essentially artificial brains).
The purpose of his study came about when he saw that some of his patients were never satisfied by his plastic surgery. In many cases, Maltz himself could see no problem with his patients’ noses or jawlines, so he began to ask what the root cause of their problems actually was. He found that a negative self-image was what drove his patients to unhappiness, and he decided to change that. Setting positive goals was the leading method that he employed, and how to achieve those goals is the part of his study that we will focus on.
We are the most powerful servomechanisms in existence
In the development of servomechanisms, which are automatic devices that course-correct towards a goal, the human brain was a key inspiration. Maltz made the direct comparison that we ourselves are organic servomechanisms. That means that we, in our nature, strive indiscriminately towards the goal that we have set.
Now, you might be thinking; well, if it were that easy then wouldn’t we all be successful?
But what is your ‘goal?’
Maltz found that a goal can be both negative and positive; and the most powerful goal is our self-image. Our subconscious accepts whatever ‘image’ we give it, and then it gets to work on achieving it.
So, in short, if we see ourselves as a failure, our Goal Striving Mechanism turns into a Failure Mechanism. We course-correct by self sabotaging ourselves whenever there is the slightest notion that would disprove our poor self-image. And, sure as anything, we will achieve with resounding ease – failure.
However, if we dare to offer ourselves a positive self-image, and we stick to that belief with a grim determination, then our subconscious (our servomechanism) will accept that goal and turn into a Success Mechanism. It will course-correct by learning from mistakes and staying put when things are going well. Sure enough, we will achieve our goals, just in keeping with our successful self-image.
The take away from this is: Our subconscious accepts the goals that we give it (positive or negative) and automatically works towards achieving them. Creativity is part of this automatic response!
Observe the Goal Striving Mechanism in your life
After reading about the Goal Striving Mechanism in Psycho-Cybernetics, I began to realise just how it had been operating in my life. I can especially remember times when I would have been operating under a Failure Mechanism.
The Failure Mechanism – Bad Driver
For example, after I failed my first driving test, I remember that my self-image as a driver was really challenged. I began to believe that I was a bad driver and that I would never pass another test. With remarkable ease, I refused any suggestion that I would do well, and therefore I became reluctant to actually do anything to improve or even try to pass the next test.
An experience had given me a poor belief about myself, and my subconscious adopted that as its goal – its image to uphold. Eventually, I changed this belief by getting in the car and creating new positive experiences that gave me hard evidence against the idea that I was a bad driver.
Maltz also talks of experiences being the most vital aspect for the autonomous course-correcting of our Goal Striving Mechanism. He says it is essential to at first learn from mistakes, but then remember the successes. In time, we forget the mistakes completely, and the successes become so ingrained that they are remembered out of habit. Do I dwell on the fact that I stalled four times in a row before my driving test? No ways! Do I take pride in the fact that I am now a confident driver that can go anywhere? Yes, I do!
The Success Mechanism – This Website
Apart from my books, which also demonstrate the Success Mechanism, ProProsel is the best example I have. At the time of writing this article, ProProsel is still in its very early days. However, it has so much going for it; so many different avenues are already opening up. The Creativity Series will help me sell services that I have always dreamt of being able to offer people. The Short Stories section will connect readers with authors like myself. So, I can see with proximity just how the Success Mechanism operates… and trust me; it truly does.
It started with a simple but extremely clear goal
‘I am going to create a website that will allow member authors to market their books.’
That was it! That was the goal, and I felt myself spurred into action. I was carried away with a zest that I had rarely felt before. There was an effortless energy in my doing, and I would hardly call myself an energetic or productive person. But there it was – a website that had only existed in my mind before. It was now real, and the ideas just kept on coming. The Creativity Series was a secondary development. The thought of offering my dream set of services from here was also a secondary development.
I can testify now that the ideas for this website do not come from me straining my mind, staying up for hours at night, or endlessly brainstorming. My ideas come spontaneously, and a different kind of thinking is involved. It is much more like day-dreaming than conscious thought as we are used to it. It is to be carried away on a torrent of the imagination!
Maltz confirms that it is not so much from thinking, but visualising that our creative ideas come to us. He remarks that this process, observed in the Failure Mechanism, would be known as ‘worrying.’ And we can all relate to that. We all understand that when we worry, we envision a negative future in painstaking detail. So much so that our nervous system cannot tell the difference between the imagined future and our reality now. Effortlessly, we begin to live as if we were in that future, experiencing the same emotions and becoming that same imagined person. Over time, this future is self-fulfilled.
The Success Mechanism works in exactly the same way. When we have a goal that resonates with us, we become excited, and we think about it. We day-dream. We ‘worry’ backwards! The ideas flood into our minds, and we see our ideal future with increasing clarity. Again, our nervous system does not know the difference between an imagined scenario and a real one, so we begin to feel the emotions as if we were already within our ideal future. Over time, this future is self-fulfilled.
The greater our belief in the goal, the more efficient the Goal Striving Mechanism
The reason that ProProsel has induced such a powerful response in my Goal Striving Mechanism, is because I whole heartedly believe in the goal that I have set.
In my head, I can see the value. I can see how I can improve other people’s lives and my own. It is a win-win scenario. Because of this, I have absolutely no mental blocks when I think about it, and I can identify with the goal completely.
It is incredibly easy for me to get excited about every aspect of this site. Ideas flood to me with no effort. The only effort that is needed, is to stay focused and excited about the goal, and to do the work required to make these ideas real.
Visualisation is an incredible tool to enhance our belief in our goals, and therefore provide our Goal Striving Mechanism with precise coordinates for where we want to be. This will be a key topic in the Creativity Series.
So far, I have not made any time to visualise as such, not as someone would sit down to meditate for half-an-hour. All of my ideas have come from spontaneous day-dreams that are the product of my Goal Striving Mechanism homing in. It is a compulsion to think about how I can achieve my goal.
However, it is worth saying that when my belief in my goal dips, as it sometimes does, then the frequency of my creative thoughts on the topic dwindle to the point of non-existence. But my belief is easily reignited either by conscious effort to see the value, or when others point it out to me. Each time I get back up, I have done a rep (as if I were working out a muscle) and the ability to trust in the Goal Striving Mechanism gets stronger. And the greater the trust and the greater the belief, the stronger the creative response.
How to apply this concept in your life
- Start by establishing your goal first, not the how!
- Consolidate your belief in the goal. Why does it resonate with you? Is it for the right reasons? Is it achievable? Don’t forget that by setting too large of a goal, we may not be able to believe in it fully until we have the necessary confidence gained by stepping-stone experiences. Maybe you do need to start smaller. That is not a problem – it is essential.
- Get excited about what achieving your goal would look and feel like. Visualise your success with intricate detail. Bring those emotions into the present. Begin to act as if you have already achieved your dream, and you will slowly become the person capable of achieving that dream.
- When you have a burning desire, the creativity will come of its own accord. The how will take care of itself. Creativity itself is the Goal Striving Mechanism, and it is automatic.
- Learn from failures, but remember successes. Eventually, you must forget the failures. This clarifies our belief in the goal, and the strength of our belief determines the efficiency of our Goal Striving Mechanism.
- Trust the autonomous nature of our Goal Striving Mechanism (the subconscious) to relentlessly go after the image that you give it. Don’t forget that our subconscious does not question our self-image, and it will fulfil both positive and negative goals.
- What other goals can you establish? What bad habits can you replace? Don’t forget that one Failure Mechanism may be hindering a Success Mechanism. i.e. – You desperately want to sell books, but you don’t believe that you are confident enough. Make sure your goals are aligned!
- Put in the work… Ideas are nothing if they are not acted upon. This is where visualising your goal can help. By bringing in elements of your ideal, goal achieving self to your present moment, you will take on the traits, behaviours, and attitudes required for action and success. Over time, and with repeated action, these will become habits.
Creativity is automatic.
The goal is what we have control over.
If you enjoyed this article, then I would highly recommend that you take a look at Psycho-Cybernetics. Maltz goes into so much detail about this concept and others that help you to achieve your goals.