Have you had your minimum daily requirement of creative stimulation, relaxation, imagination, daydreaming, and activity today?
Today I was having a short foot massage and reading The Element by Sir Ken Robinson. After about 15 minutes I finished my massage, put the book down, and prepared to move on to something else.
As I walked to the kitchen to get myself a glass of water, my mind roamed around, I realized a couple of things…..
First, I noticed that I was just beginning to enter the creative zone–I wasn’t quite yet in it–and if I went on to my next project I wouldn’t be propelled by, or have access to, my continuous creative energy.
As I walked back to my study, I decided to do another 15 minutes of reading and foot massage before I did anything else. I was pretty sure another 15 minutes would do it.
Second, that got me thinking about how much creative stimulation–here, reading and thinking about what I was reading–and how much being in a creatively relaxed, open and imaginative head and inner space is needed before a person can enter the creative zone and be energized by, and operate from, their creative source.
How much creative simulation, imagination, daydreaming, and activity does it take for a person to enter the creative zone and to operate from, and remain fueled by, their creative source?
I knew that today it would take at least 30 minutes for me to reach the critical mass that would propel me into the creative zone and keep me operating from it.
That got me thinking about–looking at–what I’ve been thinking about, spending my time on, using my mind for, and putting my efforts toward.
Then I discovered something interesting. Lately, while I’ve still been creatively producing, I’ve been very task focused and productive but apparently without enough creative input/stimulation and enough time to leisurely think/imagine/daydream about these things.
My ratio has definitely been off track; working/thinking too hard, not enough high strength creative input. Time to readjust the mix, make a new mashup. No wonder I’ve felt so restless, tired, and frustrated in getting things done–running on a low grade fuel in the creative tank. Definitely time for an upgrade!
Time to leisurely think and play around with ideas, images, sounds, feelings, things, movements is necessary, sure, but also having enough of the right kind of creative stimulation/input and activity is vital, too, just like having the right combination fuel, air, and spark before something can catch fire.
While writing this, I realize that what I’ve been thinking about is creative ignition.
How much stimulation, relaxation, imagination, and activity does it take to ignite our creative energy so that our creative fire can continue burning on it’s own?
What does it take to reach this critical creative mass?
Whatever your creative stimulation is, that’s what is part of the ignition mixture–as well as relaxation, imagination, daydreaming, and activity. Activity can include working on something, walking, getting a massage, talking to someone, anything physical where you’re moving–this is a key ingredient.
How much creative stimulation do you need to enter the creative zone? How much relaxation, imagination, daydreaming, and activity gets you into and operating from your continuous creative energy source? How much and what kind are key.
More importantly, have you been getting enough, daily?
If not, start now.
I did, and this blog entry, and several other things, resulted.
Try the recipe for yourself and see what happens:
Creative Stimulation + Relaxation + Imagination + Daydreaming + Activity = Creative Ignition
Get your minimum daily requirement.
Find your mix.
Make your mashup.
See what happens and enjoy it.
Repeat daily.
And…Make sure you upgrade from time to time.