Train your Brain to be More Creative
I’m not an author. Not because I’m a very talented artist, but rather because I understand how the brain functions. For your brain to consistently produce those “AMAZING!” moments, it needs food and challenges.
Consider it. To reach their optimum performance, great athletes train their bodies for days, weeks, and even years. So why wouldn’t a creative person use their mind in the same way?
It is not innate to be creative. You must practice it. My interest in neuroscience has given me a lot of insight into what I need to do to generate ideas on my own over time.
The more we understand about how our grey matter functions, the more adept we will be at manipulating, training, and shaping it to accomplish what we want.
These are some strategies that I have found to be effective throughout the years.
Interact with the natural world
It has been demonstrated that being in nature increases our creative faculties. Instead of using our electronics, taking a look at trees and leaves can calm us, lower our heart rates, ease anxiety, and improve brain connectivity.
I also don’t want to imply that spending time in nature entails going on a walk in the backcountry. Just twenty-five minutes of strolling through an urban green space can help us de-stress and become autopilot nodes.
The British Journal of Sports Medicine claims that this condition piques our interest and awakens our senses. We can link preexisting ideas, concepts, and pictures more readily to create fresh, applicable, and practical concepts.
Thus, give unplugging top priority. Spend some time outside by adding plants to your balcony, going for a stroll in the park nearby, or even just strolling along the beach. Even if my name isn’t on the family agenda, I find that walking with my dog helps. The advantages of giving up screens will become apparent to you almost immediately.
Meditate
You’ve probably heard this a million times by now: meditation helps us focus on our tasks more clearly and make better judgments by clearing our minds of distracting ideas and providing our brains with time to observe and think.
However, did you realize that meditation uses the entire brain during practice?
You may have heard that although more analytical occupations use your left brain, creative endeavors activate your right brain. According to neuroscientists, creativity truly utilizes the whole brain, and you can access it through meditation.
All you have to do to engage in this deliberate activity is close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. The well-known meditation software Headspace even offers guided meditations to stimulate creativity.
The concept is that when we consciously take a moment to stop and notice, we permit our thoughts to be quiet and creative. In between meetings, I practice this. I locate a peaceful area, concentrate on my breathing, and train my mind to enter an alpha state, which is a relaxed, awake condition. As the human brain is designed to follow the path of least resistance, this enables me to break free from my original concepts and forge new mental pathways.
Get Up and Go
For good reason, Steve Jobs was a strong supporter of walking meetings. On creative tests, moving around has been associated with improved performance. Endorphins are hormones that our bodies create to reduce stress and pain, and exercising releases them. Our minds go to more useful places when we are not as agitated.
Make an effort to schedule exercise time, and be sure to stick to it. If you don’t think you have enough time for a formal workout, set aside 20 minutes on your calendar to perform stretches at your desk.
Make connections with a variety of people.
Diversity is a powerful source of inspiration when it comes to conscious creativity. Do you recall how the brain tends to choose the easy route? Because diversity challenges preconceptions, it forces the brain to work harder. Furthermore, Johns Hopkins University researchers discovered that “the development of more complicated kinds of thought, particularly the ability to think critically, might be fostered by exposure to a variety of experiences.”
I intentionally surround myself with individuals whose backgrounds differ from mine, as their viewpoints inspire original thought. Differing viewpoints open our minds to new ideas and help us notice connections that we had previously missed, which helps us make better judgments. There was merit to the statement that Abraham Lincoln assembled a “team of rivals” for his cabinet. Constructive dialogues, ideation sessions, and debates frequently lead to more informed decisions. To start this kind of conversation, my organization has established an “inspiration council,” which unites our members from different locations, cultures, genders, and more.
Make use of these neuroscience concepts to provide your brain with the exercise it needs. You’ll escape any rut with it.
Have a magnificent day!
Thank you for reading my article.
