Brain Food #590
Being in the open mode
Thoughts of the day
English actor John Cleese may be better known for his searing sense of humour than his productivity advice. But, through years of crafting comedy, Cleese has also been fortunate enough to recognise and apply what can lead to creativity - a trait that is useful in every area of life, and extends far beyond the realm of the arts - and share it with the world.
In a speech he gave on creativity in management, in 1991, he starts off, naturally, with a joke: “No problem! Because telling people how to be creative is easy, it's only being it that's difficult.”
The difference, he reveals, between being creative and not being creative, is due to two modes that we operate in: the open mode, and the closed mode.
The closed mode is the typical state we tend to be in when working, and might sound familiar to many: it is a purposeful mode, coming with ‘the feeling that there’s lots to be done and we have to get on with it’, slightly stressful, and with a dose of impatience, mostly with ourselves.
He then goes on to describe how being creative comes from being in the ‘open mode’, which he describes as a state of mind that is ‘relaxed, expansive, less purposeful’. Cleese describes how in the open mode we are not focusing on reaching a goal, but instead remain more playful, filled with curiosity.
“It's a mood in which curiosity for its own sake can operate because we're not under pressure to get a specific thing done quickly. We can play, and that is what allows our natural creativity to surface.”
Cultivating an open mode of thinking can open doors that may have otherwise not even been visible.
Adults may not play as often as children. But being in an open mode can be compared to walking, versus being in a closed mode, and running. While walking for the sake of walking, or being in the open mode, you notice things that aren’t supposed to be noticed, and that definitely won’t get noticed in the closed mode, when we are focused on meeting strict deadlines, and getting things done no matter what.
It is important to note that Cleese does not demonise the closed mode: it is still needed to actually give our days, and work, purpose. Like with everything, balance is key.
Interactive art allows the audience to play with the piece.
Test Site by Carsten Holler is an installation of two giant slides, which could be seen (and used) in the Tate Modern, some fifteen years ago. They may look intimidating at first, and one may wonder ‘What is the point’. But once the intimidation is gone, a newfound enjoyment, and even a sense of discovery, could arise, simply from doing something for the sheer sake of it.
