As a recent blog on the Huffington Post stated:
‘Creativity works in mysterious and often paradoxical ways. Ideas often arise seemingly out of nowhere and then fail to show up when we most need them, and creative thinking requires complex cognition yet is completely distinct from the thinking process.’
We’re regularly required to ‘be creative’ but do we allow ourselves the simple luxury of mindfulness and new experiences to feed our imaginations?
The blog covered 18 things highly creative people do differently and now I have an excuse to daydream… I am sure most people have had great ideas, seemingly out of nowhere, when our minds are just free. We need to give ourselves the time alone to simply allow our brains to wander, or connect the dots that others might never think to.
Openness to new experiences, sensations and states of mind is a significant predictor of creative output. At Just:: we actively encourage all staff to bring outside insights into the workplace to encourage fresh thinking. This speaks to one of our three core values; curiosity. Creative people are insatiably curious – they look at the world around them and want to know why, and how, it is the way it is. They ask the big questions.
Creatives also tend to be intrinsically motivated – meaning that they’re motivated to act from internal desire, rather than a desire for external reward or recognition. Our co-founder Emma Crozier is currently writing her first book and one Justee has taken a sabbatical to explore the world – both following different passions.
For me, losing track of time through painting or drawing allows a state of effortless concentration and calmness… this is apparently known as a ‘flow state.’
So what I have learnt… shake things up a little!