Tickling Salmon

Robert Fritz has taken the creative process and deconstructed it, determining the psychological underpinnings of motivation and creativity. Some people may find this book a little dry for their tastes, but I loved it.

His key point? That our minds hate contradiction. So when we want something, and currently have something else, one of three things will happen. Either we will adjust our desires (“I didn’t really want to win an Oscar”), or we will become delusional about reality (“My performance absolutely deserved that Oscar. I was robbed!”). Or, if we can hold firmly both to what we want and an accurate assessment of what we have, our subconscious will move heaven and earth to bring the two images into alignment (“Holy Crap! I just won an Oscar!”). It may not happen immediately, and the book has lots of tips on how to maintain focus and motivation over the long haul, but you will eventually get there.

Table of Contents

1. Part One: Fundamental Principles
1. The Path of Least Resistance
2. The Reactive-Responsive Orientation
3. Creating is No Problem — Problem Solving is Not Creating
4. Creating
5. The Orientation of the Creative
6. Tension Seeks Resolution
7. Compensating Strategies
8. Structural Tension
9. Vision
10. Current Reality
2. Part Two: The Creative Process
1. The Creative Cycle
2. Germination and Choice
3. Primary, Secondary, and Fundamental Choice
4. Assimilation
5. Momentum
6. Strategic Moments
7. Completion
3. Part Three: Transcendence
1. Signs of Future, Signs of the Times
2. The Power of Transcendence