Creativity and failure are connected with serendipity. Sometimes, failing at something means you have to take a step back and re-evaluate things. Taking a step back gives you the space to think about things in new ways, which allows the space for serendipity. Sometimes, failure even produces happy accidents – serendipity. Serendipity then can enhance creativity because you are connecting things in new ways. Thus, a cycle is created.
I see a lot of value in discovery on the way to finding an answer because it allows you to find potential new solutions, a new way of thinking about things, or something to apply to future endeavors.
However, when you are working on deadline, arriving at unexpected discovery in place of the answer you expect can be difficult. This brings back John Cleese's idea of being "closed" vs being "open." It is much easier to find discovery to be valuable when you are in the open state of mind.
When considering analog vs digital media, I agree with author Steven Johnson that the Web and the tools we have at our disposal today allow us to pursue new connections in a more mainstream way. Digital media does seem to be serendipitous, because we have quick and immediate access to discovering and connecting new ideas.
When I tried the challenge of not looking at social media or a screen for the first 30 minutes of my day, it was hard for my brain to make connections and figure out something in my life because I knew what I was trying to do. I find it more effective to be serendipitous when I am in the bathroom getting ready for the day or getting ready for bed, driving in the car, or walking to class. These times of not necessarily thinking about anything in particular help me to process through all of the clutter in my brain, in order to arrive at new ideas.
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