Brainstorming

A topic from Chapter 11 which I found interesting was brainstorming. Brainstorming is something that we learn since grade school in terms as a useful tool for creative writing. I think brainstorming is important because it give people a free environment where you don’t think rigidly but rather just blurt out ideas and concepts. From this freedom and comfortable environment, sharing is facilitated and therefore a creative solution can be accomplished. By coming up with an abundance of ideas, one is able to open their mind and see the world of possibilities that are out there. Moreover, it promotes communication and positive sharing which is always useful. I believe that many times, brainstorming is undervalued.

On the other hand, brainstorming can deter from progress if the ideas aren’t organized and don’t decide on a plan of action. If this occurs entropy could ensue. If this happens, the chaos hinders the group from achieving the ultimate goal of positive communication and problem solving.

I consider my family a sort of group. Right now, I am experiencing something quite interesting with them and I believe that it is an excellent example of groups and creativity.
One month ago I became engaged. My parents were in Mexico during this time, so the planning process was left to me and my boyfriend. We make a great team, and the environment is comfortable and sharing therefore is easy. We can brainstorm, we say ridiculous ideas, and somehow things work out and we come up with good things. It’s been a month and we have so much accomplished already. Sharing ideas and being creative was not that easy when my family came back into the picture. My ideas were not well accepted, faces were made, and I was rejected on mainly every decision I had previously been excited about. I am scared to even share any more of my ideas. I used to stay up until four in the morning every night, tirelessly and excitingly looking at options and trying to plan. Now, my motivation is down, I feel more stressed, and I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing anymore/I don’t trust my ideas and I’m second guessing myself. I have been experiencing some of the culture barriers that have hindered my creativity. I have found myself being polite, complacent, and agreeing that I like things that are being changed when in reality I wanted it the original way I had decided. I have found that even when I try to be creative and decide/ visualize what I want, it’s just not working anymore.

Five Cultural Barriers to Creativity

Living in this melting pot of cultures that is the United States deeply affects people and their ability to be successful. Many times there are cultural barriers due to the fact that ones persons culture does not promote but rather looks down upon on certain aspects of ones character that is needed in order to succeed in the United States. In many cultures, conforming is importartant and standing up or fighting for your ideas is not good. This hinders creativity because one becomes submissive and therefore is less likely to give creative ideas, or add to someones idea, but rather conform to other peoples ideas. Another barrier is a culture that promotes competition. Obviously, competition obstructs creativity because the environment of sharing freely is not able to occur and therefore people fight over each other and compete rather than create on creative solution out of all the ideas. Conversely, and expectation of politeness that some cultures put high regard on is also detrimental to group creativity. Being polite means not going against what someone else says and if someone shoots your idea down, then conforming. Not everyone knows everything though and though one may not be and expert per se, their ideas are still valuable. Some cultures though, do not promote this and they rely on expert knowledge. Lastly, an expectation of practicality and efficiency does not allow the creative juices to flow. When a groups is strict and to the point/ mechanical, group members can not be creative.

My person experience is with conforming and expectation of politeness. I do not like to go against people because as a female and Mexican-American, I was socialized that it was rude and looked down upon.

Sharing

Sharing is not the easiest thing in life. Whether it be sharing material things, responsibility, or feelings, it is hardly ever an easy feat. Sharing though, plays an important part in the creative process. When one feels comfortable, supported, and the environment is ideal, people feel more at ease and therefore confidently share ideas and the ability to come to a creative goal is more likely. A negative group environment where ideas are laughed at, looked down upon, or etc, hinder the willingness for people to share and in turn hinder creativity. Effective groups and leaders know this fact, and create this environment where creativity can grow. Sharing ones ideas can be very difficult and intimidating. One never knows if what they say is stupid, how the idea will be received/ perceived, and no one wants to feel stupid. For this reason, a nurturing environment is necessary. Without it, you will have shy group members who do not speak up.