When we think about creativity, we often imagine an explosion of ideas, alternatives, possibilities. The more options we have, the freer we feel. Or at least so we believe. In reality, psychology tells us a different story, counterintuitive but surprisingly concrete: to be more creative, we often have to remove, not add.
We live immersed in abundance. Infinite shelves, kilometer-long menus, digital platforms that offer us everything, immediately. But this overabundance does not make us more satisfied, nor more brilliant. In fact, it often blocks us. And creativity, when the mind is tired and confused, struggles to emerge.
We grew up with the idea that “more is better”. More functions, more variations, more choices. But our brains aren’t designed to handle infinite amounts of options without paying the price. Every choice requires attention, comparison, mental energy. When the alternatives become too many, cognitive overload comes into play.
The psychologist Barry Schwartz explained this mechanism, with the famous Paradox of choice. According to Schwartz, as the options increase, our satisfaction decreases. The more alternatives we have, the more the fear of making mistakes and the regret for what we have excluded grows. The result? Tiring decisions, insecurity, stress.
It’s a common experience. All it takes is searching for an item online to feel overwhelmed: dozens of similar models, mixed reviews, endless comparisons. In the end we choose, but with the doubt of not having chosen well. In this scenario, creativity has no place, because the mind is too busy defending itself from the noise.
The study on jams
One of the best known and cited experiments on choice is the study conducted by Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper, published in 2000 and today considered a point of reference in the psychology of decisions.
The experiment, which went down in history as Jam Studytook place in a supermarket. In a first phase, customers were offered a counter with 24 different flavors of jam. The stand attracted a lot of attention, aroused curiosity, made people stop. However, only 3% of those who approached actually purchased a product.
In a second phase, the jams were reduced to just 6 variations. Less choice, less confusion. The counter attracted fewer visitors, but the key figure was another: 30% of people bought.
The message is very clear. Too many options block action. Less choice makes the decision easier, faster and more satisfying. And this also applies to creativity: when we reduce the field, ideas become more readable, stronger, more effective.
The rule of three
One of the simplest ways to apply this principle in everyday life is the so-called rule of three. It means limiting the alternatives to a maximum of three options. Not just one, which may seem like a stretch, but not even ten, which become unmanageable.
Choosing three possibilities forces you to make a real selection. Deciding what is worth keeping and what can be let go. It is a subtraction exercise that requires commitment, but which frees the mind and makes decisions more fluid. Creativity, in this cleaner space, breathes better.
There are contexts in which drastically reducing options is not possible. Let’s think about supermarkets, where we find dozens of types of biscuits, sauces and cereals. In these cases, the solution is not to add more, but to make the differences clearer. Creativity, here, lies in the ability to simplify, explain, orient. When the information is readable and intuitive, the choice becomes less tiring and more natural. And a less tired mind is a more creative mind.
Less bureaucracy, more creativity
The principle of “removing” does not only concern individual choices. It also applies in organizational and social contexts. Reducing unnecessary steps, redundant procedures, rules that complicate without adding value can speed up processes and free up energy. It works like this in everyday life too. Eliminating what unnecessarily complicates, such as superfluous commitments, unrealistic expectations, mental superstructures, allows us to focus on what really matters. And creativity almost always comes from there.
We are used to thinking that creating means adding. In reality, very often creating means choosing what to remove. Fewer options, less noise, less dispersion. Where we cannot reduce, we must at least clarify. The next time you feel stuck, confused or uncreative, try doing the opposite of what would come naturally: eliminate, simplify, prune. You may discover that the best idea is born right in that empty space.
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