Creative Traditions
By Peter LloydThe record shows that our greatest creations have been done either in accordance with or in defiance of tradition.
First of all, most traditions involve a deadline because they come around on schedule, like Passover, Easter, and Ramadan. And we all know what wonders deadlines do for creative people.
Secondly, traditions offer a ready platform on which people with creative possibilities can readily perform. Whose first stage appearance wasn't some tradition-based school pageant? Just get Uncle Louie in to his Santa outfit and he's suddenly transformed into an actor. What ridiculous roles we play on Halloween!
But traditions can't give us their full benefit until we really get to know them. And that often means challenging traditions. Even breaking with them.
Humans are curious creatures. We change and we stay the same. The part that stays the same thrives on tradition. The part that must change, often in order to survive, needs to challenge authority and break with tradition. But our best traditions—the ones that remain—are built to withstand our defiance.
They're meant to show us how to act, not what to do. Follow them mindlessly and they lose their meaning. Put them to the test of skepticism, even cynicism, and we crack their code. Only then can we decide to embrace them or forget them all together.
Peter Lloyd is co-creator with Stephen Grossman of Animal Crackers, the breakthrough problem-solving tool designed to crack your toughest problems.