Savvy YouDiscover
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Learning and discovering new things have made HMJServices what it is today. However, the creative moment that happens when we discover something new is not simply a product of knowledge. It’s the result of a process that is unique for each person. As a creative entrepreneur, I value both the process and the outcome because, from experience, I know that inspiration happens somewhere between the two.
For me, the journey to discovery begins with exploration and ends with respect. It involves simple pleasures like admiring and liking as well as tougher things like studying and understanding. It is a process influenced as much by our values as by our knowledge. And it is a journey which can be helped or hindered by expectations and assumptions. In this article, I share 7 steps on the journey to discovery which I’ve observed from my own experiences.
While I present these steps in sequence, I acknowledge that they need not happen in this particular order. In reality, this journey is more like a cycle or a set of interconnected cycles. I should also point out that the steps I present here look at creative discovery made through a positive – appreciative process. It’s not one that dwells on what is wrong or a problem to be solved. It is one in which we are inspired to create by seeing and experiencing the good products others have made.
Explore
Exploring is like casting a net. It’s what we do when we surf, read, post, share, and chat. And when we visit museums, converse, go sight seeing, watch TV, or do some window-shopping, we are consciously or unconsciously exploring.
Basically, exploring is about experiencing. It’s about seeking out new experiences on old and new terrain. Exploring is not entirely simple because it requires an open and honest attitude to the things around us. When done right, exploring leads us to broaden our horizons beyond what we know or enrich our experience of what we know!
Notice
Exploring is not enough… We need to pay attention to what we see. We need to observe as we explore. It means noticing that something is new, different, beautiful, true, correct, useful, familiar, pleasant, etc. It’s about being an active participant in your own experience. This is what makes exploring meaningful.
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Admire
Admiration is what we feel when we observe something delightful. It is in that moment that we are moved to click the like, love or pin it button (as the case may be). When we admire, we take a jubilant detour because we’ve spotted something pleasantly interesting.
Study
This is where our journeys to discovery begin to diverge. While some are quick to move from one object of admiration to another, others take the time to study in depth. This step is very crucial because it is here that we truly begin to enrich our knowledge, and broaden our horizon.
Understand
To understand is to reach a comfortable level of clarity about what we have studied or investigated. Ideally, when we study, we understand better. However, as many artists know well, we may come to understand many different things.
For instance, we may come to understand the complexity of what we admire, or we may be led to understand ourselves better. We may even recognize that we don’t understand at all. At the very least, we gain some clarity on where we stand and this moves us forward on our journey to discovery.
Appreciate
Appreciation is about valuing what we admire even more because we understand something about it! And appreciation is never automatic. By this I mean that appreciation is not always a result of knowing more about what we admire. Our ability to appreciate is also a product of who we chose to be.
For instance, a person who sets out to understand in order to steal an idea may understand without quite appreciating. In order to value or appreciate something in the real sense, we must also respect the person or people who made it. We should be willing to give credit to the maker and we should be willing to accept the influence of a work on ours instead of coveting an idea in total.
Respect
Indeed, from true appreciation comes respect. This is the culmination of our journey to discovery…. Respect sums up our attitude towards what we admire, now seen from a richer perspective. For a piece of art, this rich perspective includes what a work of art is, what makes it what it is, how it came to be, who contributed to its existence, what it communicates (if anything), how vividly it does so, how authentic it is, what it contributes to a movement or time period in the arts, how we feel about it, etc.
If there is one word that captures our attitude to all this, whether we have full knowledge on all counts or not, it is the word ‘Respect’.
It’s difficult to discuss this stuff without sounding too abstract. Abstraction however, helps us get to the heart of the matter. When I wrote the first version of this article in 2013, I thought only of this process in the broadest possible sense. For this reason, I left out a few details. Things like extrapolating and experimenting are also important steps in working from existing to new ideas.
I believe that when you’re in a creative line of work, it is critical to pursue these steps consciously. It’s the only way to control your creative process and deliver quality work in a consistent way.
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