Don’t just stand there like a wimp. Get mad, dammit! For creativity’s sake!
Use Your Anger To Smash Creative Blocks
by David Burkus
Hall of Fame basketball player Michael Jordan is famous for his world-class talent, but what set him apart from his peers was that MJ knew how to get angry. And Michael Jordan was always angry.
Jordan would famously invent and exaggerate grudges to help fuel his competitiveness. As Wright Thompson wrote in ESPN Magazine, “This started at an early age… His whole life has been about proving things, to the people around him, to strangers, to himself. ”
Life can throw us frustrating circumstances out of our control that can serve to derail our creative process. Bad news like this is often totally out of our control and can serve as a source of despair or anger. We feel upset, angry, and alone. We hardly feel like creating.
Despite what happens in our personal life, our professional life still needs us to create. The events that bring us down are often outside of our control, but there is something we can control: how we work. New evidence suggests that negative emotions might just help our creative abilities in certain areas. Specifically, when you’re in a bad mood, the bad mood is an asset best used to attack a creative block.