0:22
Creativity means generating ideas.
That's often exciting and fun but not everyone of those ideas is
universally well-loved and effective. >> Yeah, well,
I've never experienced rejection.
I'm just kidding [LAUGH]. >> We all have, we all have.
>> One of the interesting things is all
these ideas that are retrospect seem really genius.
It's really fascinating to know the back story and see that no matter how
creatively talented you are, or how good your idea is objectively, nevertheless,
the process can be difficult and will experience rejection inevitably almost.
>> Right, so
how how do we deal with that, and
how do we keep going despite the trouble. >> And
maybe even profit from the experience. >> Yeah.
>> And use it to fuel our own
creativity. >> Absolutely.
1:04
>> So, unfortunately
the creative journey can involve bumps in the road even outright
rejection is as we saw in the case of Steven King and many others.
But that's not to say that rejection is inevitably a bad thing, in fact, rejection
can actually motivate you and show you new paths and new paths to explore.
And I know that we have set the creativity more than something that just happens in
the arts, but a great example of creativity coming from adversity,
comes from the story of an impressionist painter named Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
And you could probably guess from the sound of his name,
that he was from a wealthy, aristocratic family.
And it was interesting because his father was a very athletic,
hard driving overachiever.
But unfortunately, Henri was actually the product of several generations of
intermarrying within the family to keep their wealth intact.
But that also led him to have a genetic problem which stunted his growth, and
he ended up not growing to more than five feet tall throughout his life.
And what that did was that it made him marginal.
And his father rejected him because he couldn't pursue all of the athletic
hunting and all the other events that the aristocracy like to pursue back then.
So for Henri, what that meant was he had to pursue his own path.
And what he did was he started to pursue painting as a serious vocation.
And not just something that was sort of a passing hobby, but
something he really devoted himself to.
And also as a result of his rejection from the upper class,
he was inspired to pay on the margins of society.
He spent a lot of time with the working class, and he was even known for
painting prostitutes.
Both of whom were considered absolutely forbidden subjects at the time.
So I think this is a great and
inspiring example of how rejection can actually be used to fuel creative thought.
So as the story about Lautrec suggests, rejection can fuel creativity, but
there's a catch, it really depends on how you respond to it.
Some people will respond to rejection by trying extra hard to be liked, and
trying really hard to fit in, so as to restore that connection to other people.
But in my research, I found that people with an independent sense of self
interpret rejection as a sign that they're not weird, but unique.
I'm not weird, I'm actually different.
And that can actually inspire them to explore more unusual,
unconventional paths.
And so rather than trying hard to fit in and
restore that connection, they respond with a bit of independence even rebelliousness.
So it could be that they're wrong and I'm right,
and so I just have a unique point of view on the world, and I'm going to pursue
that point of view, even if it means I'm an outsider, a misfit and a reject.
Those things can actually be strengths when it comes to the creative process.
And so for that reason I love the famous Steve Job's quote in which he
sort of raise the to quote and unquote the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels,
the trouble maker, the round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently, because those people who exist
on the margins have found a way to use that experience of rejection to see
the world in a different way and use it to fuel creativity and
to change their perspectives, and the perspectives of the people around them.
[MUSIC]
>> So it's not all wine and roses. >> Apparently not.
>> [LAUGH]
>> But I take comfort in that,
actually knowing all of the great people and
all ideas that were rejected over time.
So I think we can all take comfort in that.
>> Sure, and
I think the implication then is that we have to approach it with a mindset
at we're going to get knocked down. >> Right.
>> And the question is,
are we going to get back up again? >> Right, and the question is how
are we able to do that? >> Right, yeah, and
also let's find out how to make the most of it.
Jeffrey LoewensteinAssociate Professor of Organizational Behavior
Jack GoncaloProfessor
