Thanks very much for this, Clint. It's partly why my creativity has plummeted recently. I've not read any kind of fiction for a while, and spend way too much time on YouTube watching political and instructional content. As YouTube randomises the home feed based on your watch history, but pushes content which is more likely to get a reaction, in my feed it's effectively gamified mundanity like a content fruit machine. I should be spending more time with comics, books or sci-fi/fantasy TV shows to reactivate my creative brain. Good luck with the book!
Yes, we have to be mindful of where we put our attention in this day and age. I also sometimes struggle with it and have to force myself to stop scrolling and pick up an actual book. I'm always glad I did though.
The kingdom of heaven is within you, as you say, and maybe infinity also. Good quote. What is in your article is an interesting way to look at creativity and how to foster it. You also make a very valid statement about the cluttered mondanity of everyday life. It is the latter factor that introduces stress, anxiety which results in difficulty in focusing on tasks. The anxious and stressed mind cannot focus properly, and willpower is not able to overcome the effects of stress. Many of us are unaware of this impact of stress on cognitive and creative functioning. As a result, people get very frustrated with themselves when they observe that even with the greatest possible application of willpower to the problem, the conscious mind is not able to clear the mind sufficiently of the cognitive noise that stress and anxiety produce. The bottom line: reduce stress, lessen cognitive noise and you will have greater access to your creative functioning. The capacity for accomplishing that is already in all of us but it needs training in my opinion.
Thanks very much for this, Clint. It's partly why my creativity has plummeted recently. I've not read any kind of fiction for a while, and spend way too much time on YouTube watching political and instructional content. As YouTube randomises the home feed based on your watch history, but pushes content which is more likely to get a reaction, in my feed it's effectively gamified mundanity like a content fruit machine. I should be spending more time with comics, books or sci-fi/fantasy TV shows to reactivate my creative brain. Good luck with the book!
Yes, we have to be mindful of where we put our attention in this day and age. I also sometimes struggle with it and have to force myself to stop scrolling and pick up an actual book. I'm always glad I did though.
The kingdom of heaven is within you, as you say, and maybe infinity also. Good quote. What is in your article is an interesting way to look at creativity and how to foster it. You also make a very valid statement about the cluttered mondanity of everyday life. It is the latter factor that introduces stress, anxiety which results in difficulty in focusing on tasks. The anxious and stressed mind cannot focus properly, and willpower is not able to overcome the effects of stress. Many of us are unaware of this impact of stress on cognitive and creative functioning. As a result, people get very frustrated with themselves when they observe that even with the greatest possible application of willpower to the problem, the conscious mind is not able to clear the mind sufficiently of the cognitive noise that stress and anxiety produce. The bottom line: reduce stress, lessen cognitive noise and you will have greater access to your creative functioning. The capacity for accomplishing that is already in all of us but it needs training in my opinion.
Thanks for the inspiration !
I'm just entering back into this space after a long exploration in space 🚀