Creativity is simply the ability to create. You take an original idea, expand it with your imagination, add a dash of personality, to produce artistic work. That work can be anything from writing a blog post, creating a youtube thumbnail, creating your own recipe, writing music, singing a song, dancing a dance, or even a new way to share ideas.
So, does mindfulness enhance creativity? yes and no. Indirectly, it helps to relieve stress, which oftentimes leads to overwhelming thoughts or rumination of negative thinking. It becomes a runaway train of thoughts. When you are in this state of mind, it is impossible to tap into your imagination or creativity to solve a problem or think outside the box of stress.
Once you can relax or redirect your thoughts, you can open up a window to be creative. It is actually how the brain works.
Once you can change your immediate perspective, you can tap into the benefits of creativity. It can boost self-awareness, continue to relieve stress, and help you solve problems easier.
I will refer to the age-old quote of the definition of insanity. “Doing the same thing over and over, while expecting different results. Most reference Albert Einstein with that quote. HOWEVER, that is not the truth.
His actual quote was ” We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them” It’s close but what I have found is that this should be closer to the definition of mindfulness and creativity.
With the practice of being aware of our thoughts, trying to stay in the present moment, not too far in the future, or buried in the past, and being kind and not judging ourselves or others too much, we can learn to make it our default mode of life.
In learning that, the sparks of creativity fire more frequently. You see the default mode is our everyday automatic behaviors. The second portion of mindfulness using a different part of the brain that uses intention specific task – the focused action like walking, talking, eating, movement, cooking, driving, etc.
Creativity or creative thinking comes in that space between default mode and the specific task. Our brains have a difficult time switching back and forth without a positive, restful thinking pattern.
Do you see how mindfulness as a foundation could assist you in expanding your creativity and problem-solving skills?
Let me know in the comment.