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Gotwantdo

By Peter Lloyd

The Rukiga word gotwantdo, pronounced gah-WAHN-doo, summarizes the three steps necessary to perform a creative act. Such as composition, invention, innovation, and so on. Okay, I made up the Rukiga word but, made up or not, it contains a solid creativity concept. Let's break it down into its component parts to understand it better.

I Got It

The first three letters of gotwantdo remind us that creative acts require ability. We human creative animals already have everything necessary to create, invent, compose, innovate, and to change what we don't like into something closer to what we want. So let's go to the second part.

I Want It

Every problem can be considered a satisfaction deficit, not having something wanted, a situation that fails to satisfy. The next four letters of gotwantdo arise from the desire to change. Thus the second essential ingredient in the creativity recipe, motivation. Sometimes we have it and sometimes we don't.

I Do It

The final and most often missing element resides in the final two letters of gotwantdo, namely, action. We are all creative, we often desire change, but we fail creatively when we fail to do. Creativity ain't easy. Creative acts are the more dangerous, risky ways to handle a challenge. The more creative the challenge, the more blind faith, guts, and chutzpah we need to "do it."

If you've ever made up a lie on the spot in order to save your skin, you've gone through all three parts of gotwantdo. You have what it takes to lie (ability), you have to lie (motivation), and forced to act, you don't waste any time considering whether you should or not. You just lie (action).

Let me give you another familiar but this time adorable example. You're about one year old. You've been crawling around the floor to get where you want to go. But lately you've been standing, holding onto solid support, considering doing what other primates do to get around.

baby taking first stepsYour legs, brain, and balance system are ready and able. Since your parents have been a little reluctant to carry you around lately, you're ready to try that upright thing they do. And they—seeing you about to take your first steps, on their knees with outstretched arms, eyes wide with pride, urging you on—provide the final dose of motivation. You let your legs fly. You're walking!

You used gotwantdo again when you started putting words and sentences together. When you learned to play a musical instrument or fluently speak another language. The key to these and all creative accomplishments lies in the final step, the letting go. Allowing what you have, and what you want, to have their way.

We can demonstrate the preeminence of the final step in a very dramatic way. A group exercise I call Storytime challenges one creatively daring volunteer to recreate for a live audience of her peers a story told to that audience while she is out of the room. Believe it or not, it always works.

The volunteer has the ability to invent a story. Standing in front of her peers, she has the motivation. There's no way out. She has little choice but to do it. Gotwantdo!

Peter Lloyd is co-creator with Stephen Grossman of Animal Crackers, the breakthrough problem-solving tool designed to crack your toughest problems.
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