5.2.7 Discipline

Creativity is essentially concerned with human expression. It also involves a relationship with self and, in relationship, communicating profoundly with others.

I believe that practitioners who feel deeply about their work are heard by hurt people.  This very profundity (and sensitivity) can cause both joy and suffering in equal measure.

Sometimes, in deep relationship with someone in crisis, we may experience a flow state – similar to that of a singer or actor at the top of their game, or a sportsperson playing well.

Studies in neuroscience suggest that the flow state has an almost addictive nature.  That is, the more we do it the more we want to do it.  The exhilaration, or the buzz, is the payoff, and it can be so strong that creative practitioners who really enjoy their job will suffer through the highs and lows of the troubled relationship to savour it.

There is a lot of personal satisfaction in creating and then sustaining relationships with people in crisis, and journeying with them as they grow.  Initially there is (often) rapid change and this is fast-moving and exciting – but then the pace of change slows down and it is not as exciting or exhilarating.

This is where discipline comes in, because nothing will be achieved without the boundary of discipline.

If we are creative we may often launch into projects with great enthusiasm but have trouble staying with them to completion.  We may be energised by starting new things, but existing projects can seem boring when something new attracts our interest.

And this is not okay in a project enabling change in a hurt person – where, in fact, staying on task can be a matter of life and death.

Earlier I sang the praises of the diversity of approaches, i.e. the formal mixed with the informal.  But I also stressed how important consistency is.

Without consistency (and the tenacity that comes from discipline) we risk replicating the insecure attachment patterns experienced in childhood that might have contributed to the hurt in the first place.

A principal purpose of this website is to encourage us to break through the mundane and predictable – like poetry does.

Sometimes I find poetry hard to understand.  As a songwriter I often wish that it would rhyme and then I’d understand it better.  Poetry has spontaneity, and maybe contains a surprise, and (unlike the set of instructions to put together a flat-pack) might mean different things to different people. (Though I wouldn’t be confident that flat-pack instructions would mean the same to everyone either).

Poetry can be unpredictable, and unlike a song might be devoid of a clearly identifiable pattern.  Sometimes it may be a little inaccessible. But while it is all the above, the one thing about poetry is that if it’s not accompanied by discipline it won’t achieve great success.

So the challenge for the creative practitioner is to put discipline on all those parts that, if you like, have a poetic dimension to them.

As usual, (and very unpoetically) I have a list of factors that, I think anyway, optimise creativity through discipline.

Routine Skills: I believe that more creativity is possible if we do not have to worry about doing the routine things well.  Practice, practice and more practice ensures that we are familiar with the routine.  In an organisation that has as its aim to journey, and share power with families affected by imprisonment, most routine actions emerge over time rather than being taught as they would be in more top-down or one-way knowledge flow environments. (This is not too different to what might happen in a family). From systems theory, we know that this gives them a robustness that routine actions put upon by external influences might not have.

Mindfulness: Clarity, simplicity and focus are important in fostering discipline.  Meditation and mindfulness have been around for millennia and have been used to tap into our creative selves.  Modern studies confirm that mindfulness not only reduces stress and anxiety, but also assists our thought processes is different ways – including creative thinking.

Solitude: Because of societal pressure to be in relationship, the term loner generally gets a bad press, though there are loads of people who, as is said, like their own company. I have sometimes wondered if there’s a difference between being a loner and seeking solitude. But whether one is a loner or very gregarious, solitude is always of benefit. Solitude allows us to be open to creativity.  In times past, before the invention of the telephone and radio, when worldwide mass communication did not exist, it was much easier to find solitude.  Nowadays we need to proactively seek it out.  Many creative people appreciate solitude and know its value.  One aspect of being alone with our thoughts is that it allows us to daydream – allowing our minds to explore different options without having to explain it to others.  Solitude also allows us to get in touch with our inner selves. 

Taking it Personally: And taking it personally can have a negative vibe to it too! If we, say, offer constructive criticism to someone, and he takes it personally, it usually means that he is not open to hearing it. In this paragraph it means something different. I actually believe that we will be both more creative and more disciplined if we have a personal stake in whatever we are doing – i.e. if we take our work personally.  When it comes to supporting families in the Focus Group, this is a balance we need to get right – because we also need to discipline ourselves to take time out.  In respect of the outcomes of our work, it is very easy to take success personally but lack of success is a little more difficult.  And accepting criticism is a discipline too – in the sense that discipline is needed to respond in a fitting way rather than react in a knee-jerk manner.

Uncertainty: Uncertainty is very important when it comes to the link between discipline and creativity.  If everything is certain it is easy to be disciplined as we follow the rigid rules [1].  Uncertainty can, if we want, offer us a way out, let us off the hook, or give us an excuse if something goes wrong or goes against us.  The discipline manifests in acceptance of the uncertainty, working with it, and not letting ourselves off the hook, i.e. being responsible and accountable where it would be easier to default to rigidity and inflexibility when the going gets a bit more challenging.

Humour:  Humour (along with playfulness) is a very important aspect of our work but there is a discipline involved in choosing when and where we will be humorous.  Humour can lighten a stressful situation so that a person will be able to reframe a problem and see it in a different light but it can also fob someone off and belittle them, or, indeed, serve to trivialise a very serious situation. Also, something might strike us as funny but it might not be funny at all to the person seeking help.  The discipline involves being self-aware and having cop-on, as well as exploring it in supervision.

[1]. Actually I believe that too much certainty in our lives has a numbing effect on us.  It tends to inhibit creativity and make us risk-averse – often without us knowing it.  For example, the Pillars are not known for their creativity. Might it be that the certainty that is the hallmark of the Pillars unconsciously inhibits people working within them to be creative in their jobs?

I will finish this Sub-Chapter on Discipline by focusing on the important element of integrity because this is what, I believe, binds discipline to creativity.

(I note that there is a similarity between the word integrity and the word integration, which is one of root foundations. I don’t know much about the origins of words but I like to think that terms like wholeness or complete link the two).

If we are committed to creativity the likelihood is that we are not going to do things by the book – as the saying goes.  We will be thinking outside the box and perhaps acting outside it too.

This implies that, within the boundaries of safety and, of course, our mission, we will be taking risks. We will also be using a lot of common-sense. We will be doing something because it works, not because someone told us to do it that way, or not to do it another way, etc. etc.

If we do not have integrity we may get into the end justifies the means kind of thinking, and behave unethically to achieve a particular goal just because we want it to work, or it’s our hobby horse, or it will do some good even though someone will be hurt by our actions in doing it.

So, it follows that we have to have a lot of integrity if we are going to follow the creative path and act outside the box.

When I say integrity I mean behave with the utmost professionalism in all our dealings with first and foremost the people who seek our assistance, but also partner agencies, funders and anyone else we come into contact with.

We also need to have impeccable governance procedures and attend to financial matters properly.

But, the good news here is that the opposite is also the case.

That is, if we are disciplined enough to have high integrity it kind of gives us permission, and makes it easier for us to be creative!