Playfulness is an essential part of creativity. In the book I suggest some games, but here I’d like to mention a few more. Part of your playfulness can be to make up your own games, just as you did when you were a child. The best ones don’t require any equipment, game boards, or rules—just your imagination!
The next time you’re walking along the street, or on a bus or the Underground, pick the first person that catches your eye and play one of these games:
- · The secret! Make up what you think would be this person’s deepest, darkest secret.
- · The biggest event. Imagine what is the biggest thing that ever happened to this person.
- · The blind date. Imagine what would happen if this person went on a blind date with the next person you see.
Remember a fairy tale from your childhood and imagine a different ending. What if Little Red Riding Hood had realised that her grandmother was actually the Big Bad Wolf? How would she have gotten out of that situation? What if Jack hadn’t fallen down the hill? What were he and Jill really up to on that hill?
When you’ve seen a film or a TV show, imagine you had been the main character. What would you have done differently? What would have been the outcome?
Your life as a fairy tale. Tell your life so far in the form of a fairy tale, starting with “Once upon a time…” Then make up the rest of the story, the way you’d like it to be (bring in a fairy godmother if necessary).
Pretend you’re being followed because you’re a spy. To lose the people who are following you, take a different route to work or to the store. Or pretend that you’re the spy-catcher, designate someone you notice on the street as the spy and follow them unobtrusively for a little while. (Note: failing to be subtle about this may result in police involvement, embarrassment, and restraining orders.)
Buy a toy for a child you know but make it one you like and play with it first. Choose something that can be easily re-packaged without arousing suspicion.
Go to a park early in the morning and and create your own tai-chi type movements. If you wear the appropriate gear and look serious, you may end up with a following and a new source of income. If you’re shy, do this at home.