“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.”
There’s a fundamental contradiction when organizations ask employees to maintain a fast pace of work and be creative. What often happens in hectic workplaces is that employees resort to autopilot or habitual ways of working. When they don’t have the time or space to incubate novel and clever ideas, they may miss out on opportunities to reframe a problem and see new possibilities for potential solutions.
So how can we develop a truly innovative and agile culture in the workplace? A great start would be to think with the right mindset and be open to new ways of thinking. This can be achieved by training the most creative parts of our brain, learning how to refocus and be present in the moment.
With mindfulness techniques we have an opportunity to strengthen the creativity of our work teams. We know that mind training can nurture key areas in the creative process. The burgeoning research suggests that people who practice mindfulness have more cognitive flexibility, are able to see beyond what they’ve already done, and are better at solving problems requiring insight.
The science behind mindfulness:
Current work environments are usually fast paced and as a result we focus on the need to be able to multitask. But being interrupted causes our mind to jump from one idea to another without thinking of what we are actually aiming to achieve. If stress is added to the equation then this will affect our ability to be creative and innovate.
Neuro-plasticity has shown the possibility for the brain to rewire itself by forming new neuro connections. Therefore, we can train our brain to decrease stress centres while focusing on increasing our creative mind. Mindfulness is one way to train the most creative parts of our brain.
What does mindfulness mean?
Mindfulness is defined as being fully present in the moment by bringing our mind back to the present whenever it wanders. Mindfulness is accessible through simple exercises and training of the brain to improve on our ability to stay focused without getting distracted.
Mindfulness practices foster several skill that can counter these limiting stories and allow employees to step out of their comfort zone and try new things. Managers can also learn to be less judgmental and dismissive and give more time to investigating and evaluating different ideas. Through Mindfulness we learn skills such as non-judgement and acceptance. We see ideas as just that; ideas. We release the need to equate a bad idea with self-worth of ourselves or others. We shift from a stance of failure when things do not turn out optimally to a stance of feedback; learning and improving from what has happened. This shift changes our approach altogether and unleashes our creative potential. Mindfulness also teaches us that starting over is OK. When we experience set-backs we can begin again. We can try a different approach and we can move forward again and again, improving along the way.
Four stages of the creative process
The creative process has 4 clear, distinct steps and mindfulness can be used to enhance each of these stages:
1. Preparation:
Generating those creative ideas. This involves the use of divergent thinking. It requires stepping outside the parameters of the tried and tested.Devised by J P Guildford in 1956 divergent thinking is thinking outside of the box, moving away from the parameters that we see around us everyday, reaching for the stars. We’re culturally conditioned for convergent thinking, or the ‘how to’ but not so good at divergent. There is a way to change this.
How can mindfulness help in this phase?
Divergent thinking requires silencing the cognitive control network (CCN). This is the constant chatter that goes on in our minds, the voice that judges ideas and throws them away as useless before they’ve had time to gestate. It tells us “That’s dumb” or “It’ll never work” as new ideas are formed, rendering creativity stone dead. Quietening the CCN lets the creative default mode network (DMN) loose. Try meditating before pop corning to increase your focus, fluency and quality of your ideas during brainstorm sessions.
2. Incubation:
During preparation stage you’ll have had enough of generating ideas. The muse has left and you’re ideas have dried up. Time to go and do something else instead. This the the stage where your subconscious brain says hi-ho hi-ho it’s off to work we go. But the key to this is leaving those ideas alone to percolate and cogitate all on their own. Go for a walk, a run, watch tv, take a bath anything but obsess about those ideas. Don’t be tempted to wear yourself out on the ideas phase, therein lies the road to stagnation. Just let go and leave your brain in charge.
How can mindfulness help in this phase?
Already feeling stressed about the incubation stage? Here’s where mindfulness comes in. Employ mindful breathing to relax you and bring the anxiety down a notch or try mindful walking, mindful painting or a mindful run to manage the very necessary stage of incubation which requires you taking a step back.
3.Illumination:
The moment where the light has dawned upon your idea and it presents itself in all of it’s glory. Your unconscious has done the work and hey, what do you know? it’s an Aha! moment. This is the work of the salience network (SN), first identified by Greicius and Seeley in 2007. The SN has prepped your brain for action by analysing and sifting through everything you produced in the preparation stage. It joins the dots even when you’re resting to produce the birth of an idea, a moment of realisation.
How can mindfulness help in this phase?
The practice of mindfulness develops awareness. If you miss out the second stage or your mind is cluttered and noisy you may miss the Aha! stage. Practising mindfulness on a regular basis will allow you to slow down and quieten the chaos, to slice through the mental clutter, allowing you to bring awareness to illumination and spot that nugget when it surfaces.
4.Verification:
The stage requiring convergent thinking. This thinking is all about finding the most appropriate solution using strategy and logic. Creativity requires the presence of divergent and creative thinking. We can’t have one without the other to innovate. Convergent thinking culminates in one answer.
How can mindfulness help in this phase?
Your thoughts wondering? Will you succeed first time with each idea? probably not. It’s trial and error. Try not to get disheartened when ideas don’t work out first time. This stage is about trial and error, failing your way to success without becoming demotivated. Mediate regularly during this stage, focusing your attention and aiding convergent thinking. It’s important not to beat yourself up and compassion meditation can help to hush your inner critic, minimise self critical distractions and move you into a state of flow for optimum performance.
🔶️practice mindfulness 🧘♂️ with peaceful and calm music 🎶
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