Satisfaction Killed the Cat… But Curiosity Brought It Back

Over a drink last Saturday, a photographer-friend said, “Getting AirPods changed the way I experience the city”. He loves to walk in London, but finds the noise can be overwhelming, and so through this discomfort, he found a new auditory world using the latest technology – AI, I see you. After spending his whole life in London, he discovered he could experience the city in an improved way, that he could enjoy walking without city sounds, creating his own liminal place – an inner and outer world existing in the same space. This was only possible when facing a challenge, evolving when he found a way through it. Noise is a big part of how we experience our surroundings, but what if we found a new way, our own way? 

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Perhaps creativity is having the guts to be uncomfortable, and then, outside of our comfort zone, we will be invited into new forms of comfort we never knew existed. It can be easy to go into a tunnel with your first idea… but what about the next one, and then the next? Inspiration is everywhere; maybe we must find a fresh way to feel it. 

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Even with this blog, I was certain about my first idea for it, but after speaking with my friend, I felt he articulated what I wanted to express in a more nuanced way. Sometimes things click; it just takes a choice, hard work, and discomfort to get there. Often, it will get worse before it gets better, but eventually, it gets easier to find the path to that place you are striving for. 

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I am an overthinker and can get bogged down in details. I’ll feel quite sure of an idea, or opinion, or lens through which I see the world – the challenge comes when something in the world doesn’t fit with that. I can describe it this way: imagine you really believe that a puzzle piece is meant to go in a particular place, you check the 1x1cm patch of the picture on the box multiple times, and you are certain, you force it into place, and it goes in, but doesn’t fit perfectly. Then you are humbled when you realise that another piece fits better. You find the right piece under the table, and it slides perfectly into place - so the question is, what about the next one? Not in terms of consumption, but curiosity – isn’t that what forms creativity? Go beyond the label the world has given you, and the one you ‘know’, because truly, how much do any of us really know? The more we learn, the more there is to discover, and isn’t that so exciting! The world will always surprise, intrigue and interrogate us if we are open to it. 

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So, I suggest going for a walk somewhere you’ve always known and finding a different way to experience it. If you’re a ‘tech bro’, try wearing an outrageous hat and see how the world engages with you; if you’re a ‘hippie’, wear a football shirt and see what conversation strikes up with people you may never have spoken with. Don’t get stuck, caught up in the details, but see the whole picture. Discover what new lens you’ll see through, what unfamiliar environments you’ll enter, and maybe then, you’ll come up with a great idea.

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