Episode 17. Unlock Your Inner Creative: 3 Unexpected Ways to Ask 'What If?' and Spark Creativity

Solo Episode

Sep 3

Transform everyday moments into creative opportunities by asking yourself one simple question.

What if? That's it. Two words. In this solo episode, David explores the transformative power of "What If" questions and shares three practical techniques to unlock creativity in your daily life—from playing with new perspectives to experimenting with your routines.

Whether you're someone who wishes you were more creative, or someone who once loved creating but lost touch with that spark, this episode offers a simple, accessible practice to reignite your imagination.

Drawing inspiration from groundbreaking innovations like Netflix and Post-its, David reveals how every creative breakthrough started with someone asking "What If?" Learn how to embrace boredom, flip your perspective, and discover how a single question can change everything.

Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform.

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“Creativity isn’t a magic trick. It’s simply a practice. And then practice can be as simple as asking, ‘What if’ every single day?”

— David Peck

Transcript

What if? What if can flip your perspective and even turn the most mundane moments into opportunities for creativity? Hey there, design enthusiast. Welcome to Inside the Design Studio, the podcast where we unravel threads of life and design. I'm your host, David Peck, your guide through the cosmic wonders, the tangible touches, and the delightful twists of creating a life you absolutely love. Today's episode is a special peek into my eclectic toolbox, the secret weapons I use to design a life that's as vibrant as my creations. So grab your metaphorical sketch pad and let's dive into the art of intentional living. Welcome to Inside the Design Studio. Today, we're going to talk about a simple two-word question that can transform how you see the world. It's been a minute since I've done a solo episode, and I wanted to just drop in and give you something simple that you can apply in your life that will hopefully help you unlock creativity. I feel like so many of my listeners are people who either aren't creative in their jobs and long to be, or perhaps they were creative growing up, but yet have not figured out how to tap back into that. And this simple two-word phrase is hopefully going to unlock some creativity for you. And I'd love to see what happens when you apply it to your life. So the two-word phrase is what if. No, not the Marvel series, though I'd love to see a universe where everyone is as creative as Tony Stark, but I'm talking about asking yourself, what if? What if can flip your perspective and even turn the most mundane moments into opportunities for creativity? So how do we apply this in our lives? It's really super simple, and here are three ways that you can do it. And... Let's go.
So you may have heard that as adults, we still need to play and explore. Well, that can be a little tricky. But if you approach play with the curiosity of the question, what if it's going to unlock so much for you? For example, what if you start with a simple question, such as, what if I doodled my to-do list instead of writing it? What would that look like? You know, we're so used to writing in prescribed notes, but what if you drew a little picture or doodled it, or just let your mind go a little wild while you're making your to-do list? What would happen? Or what if I invented a new rule for this game that nobody's tried? I've seen my kids do this and they'll be playing a very standard game. They're like, well, what if we make this the rule instead? And what this does essentially is it encourages us to look at ordinary activities with a new and a fresh perspective. And it just sparks creative connections. So for every groundbreaking idea, from Netflix to Post-its, thank you, Romi and Michelle, they started with somebody asking the question, what if? That's tip number one. Play around with your life. Embrace the power of what if as you're playing.
Tip number two, do a what if experiment. So we all have routines in our lives and they can become pretty mundane. And there's something really lovely about having a routine and having something that we repeat every day. But if we're trying to infuse more creativity in your life, is there a moment where you can ask yourself, what if I did this differently today? This may seem like a silly example, but think about how much joy it might bring. But what if I walked backward into the kitchen for my morning coffee? Or what if I brainstormed ideas while doing yoga? These are just really simple ways to simply change up your routine without actually changing up your routine. It's just a new approach to something very routine, and it frees you from old habits. And it can spark novel connections because you're actively searching for new answers to what if. So if Einstein could imagine riding a beam of light just to figure out relativity, surely you can ask yourself what if while stuck in traffic or waiting in line for coffee.
So my last tip is practice boredom. I know that in today's culture, it is so easy. And I feel like this past week, I have listened to so many podcasts that have talked about how hard it is to function and be creative when every single moment of our lives are inundated with social media, with input, with stimulus, and I am incredibly guilty of it myself. I don't even realize it, but I default to my phone and it's something that I have committed to fixing and to just make myself a little bit more aware. And so boredom is actually the very, very core of creativity. So what if you let yourself get a little bored? And then what if, when you're a little bored, you start asking yourself the what if question. Instead of just sitting in silence and thinking, you could think, what if I built a time machine out of spare parts in my garage? Or this could be even more practically, what would it look like if I changed my job or my look or my lunch order? And these don't have to be things that you actively do, perhaps it's not practical, but by just simply asking yourself the question, what if, it eliminates the overwhelm and also sparks creativity out of boredom. It's like we're priming our minds to find creative solutions and ideas because you're giving your precision, your self-permission to think beyond the ordinary. And that's really all creativity is, is practicing thinking beyond the ordinary, thinking outside the box, asking yourself what if.
So you remember how the office, whether you love the British version or the American version, I love both of them for very different reasons, the office made mundane tasks like selling paper so interesting. And the reason that worked and the reason it's so funny is because the writers of the show constantly asked, what if the most ridiculous thing happened at Dunder Mifflin today. And from that came so much creativity. It's such a simple concept in what should be an incredibly boring environment, but they created something so incredibly humorous and touching and human by simply asking themselves the question, what if? Creativity isn't a magic trick. It's simply a practice. And then practice can be as simple as asking, what if every single day? What if I dared to think differently, act differently, or even dream just a little bit bigger? And what if, just maybe, that small shift could change everything? So I'm asking you to try this today in a simple way. Can you ask yourself what if, what if you walked backwards into your kitchen to get your coffee? What if you took a slightly different road or route to work? What if you changed up your lunch order and tried a new restaurant? These small little decisions are going to take you on the path to more and more creativity. And what's great about these is they are such a low-stakes way of doing this. I'm not asking you to quit your job. I'm not asking you to completely upend your life. You're just simply asking a two-word question, what if? So I'd love to hear how you're applying this experiment in your life and if it's cultivating more creativity. And that's all for this edition of Inside the Design Studio. It's a short episode and I hope it helps you. I hope it brings you joy. And I hope you keep asking, what if? Keep experimenting and keep designing a life you love to live. And there you have it. Another episode of Inside the Design Studio and the Books. If you enjoyed this exploration of life's design, hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode. And hey, if you're feeling extra generous, leave us a review. Your thoughts fuel our creative journey. I'm David Peck, your design companion on this adventure. Until next time, keep crafting a life that's as captivating as your favorite masterpiece.

"What If" is more than a question—it's a gateway to creativity.

Apply these three simple practices today and unlock the designer within you.

Key takeaways

Use "What If" questions to unlock creativity in everyday moments—doodle your to-do list, invent new game rules, and approach routine activities with curiosity.
Small, low-stakes experiments with your routine (like taking a different route or trying a new lunch order) spark novel creative connections without requiring major life changes.
Boredom is the core of creativity. Limiting constant phone and social media input creates space for your mind to ask "What If" and generate original ideas.
Every groundbreaking innovation—from Netflix to Post-its—started with someone asking "What If?" Creativity is a practice, not a magic trick.