What is creativity? Where do our stories come from? It is something that I will be unable to answer here with these few short paragraphs. Creativity has been the focus of several major neurological studies and a topic that has been written about in countless books. Some will have you believe creativity is an act of divine inspiration, others that it is a harmonious dance of chemicals in the brain. In essence, we don’t really know for sure. However one thing remains true, every book we’ve read, every film we’ve seen, every new song, recipe, sculpture or painting, every complex mathematical or scientific theory has its beginnings from the same thing. They all began with an idea.
Ideas are powerful things. From them we form our views about the world. From ideas we shape our perceptions and dreams. Some ideas must be overcome; others might require a lifetime to answer. Yet we don’t seem to be able to reliably reproduce them. So where do our ideas come from?
These days we are constantly buffeted by information. Facebook and Twitter are instant and within easy reach at all times. Our time at work is about getting as much as possible done in a little time as we can. Our down time is spent doing errands and chores. We do not have a culture in America where we spend time just wallowing in and enjoying our imaginations. We do not take time to foster our ideas, instead we allow others to do it for us as we relentlessly consume a never ending deluge of books, movies and TV. The first thing we must learn to do is stop. Simply just stop for one moment and look at the sky. To wonder at the life of a beetle. To wonder where leaves get their shapes.
All of our brains are wired to react to certain situations. For most of us the color blue is very calming and relaxing. It is also a color that stirs the creative juices for most of us. What many do not realize is that it is not the color that makes us creative, but that feeling of relaxation. This link between relaxation and ideas has been experienced by all of us. How many of you have had a really good idea in the shower? How about as you are drifting off to sleep? Almost everyone has experienced these situations at least once. The trick is that as we unwind our brains are free to do what it does best. So as we hit the pillow our brains are making new connections and forming new ideas. In his book Imagine: How Creativity Works Jonah Lehrer describes this process of discovering what inspires us and ends with this.
“The advantage of knowing where insights come from is that it can make it easier to generate insights in the first place. When we’re struggling with seemingly impossible problems, it’s important to find time to unwind, to eavesdrop on all those remote associations coming from the right hemisphere. Instead of drinking another cup of coffee, indulge in a little daydreaming. Rather than relentlessly focusing, take a warm shower, or play some Ping-Pong, or walk on the beach.1″
We need to learn to pay attention to the things that generate these wonderful ideas. For me it is music. For you it might be running. Whatever it is that spurs new ideas in you, find it and then do it.
What sets our imaginations off? Once you figure that out spend more time doing exactly that. Forget trying to get more done for once and relax. We will find that not only will our ideas flow more freely but our creativity will be pumped and our imaginations stoked.
1Lehrer, Jonah (2012-03-19). Imagine: How Creativity Works (pp. 50-51). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.
Insightful as always.