The Creative Habit Paradox (Twyla Tharp)

Creativity and habit don’t look like they belong in a sentence together. 

Imagine a bunch of creative people and habitual people at a party. 

They’re probably not intermingling much. 

But they ought to be. 

Creativity alone doesn’t mean anything. A creative streak, or better, a creative habit, is where the magic happens. Fool me once, shame on you – but, fool me twice, and you’ve got a job.  

Twyla Tharp calls it the creative habit paradox. 

Creativity implies “fresh” and “new.” 

Habit implies “routines” and “repetitions.”

When we have routines for coming up with fresh ideas, we have methods for invoking magic. 

The creative habit feels like a paradox. But without newness or repetitions, there’s no depth. Keep them together.