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Welcome back to Thank God It’s Monday!
tl;dr Creativity cannot exist where stress persists. If you live your life in a constant state of motion and anxiety, your brain stays in survival mode and is unable to wander for problem-solving or making new connections (ie, creating). Removing stimulus is essential for your brain to have the space to breathe, rewire, and grow.
Chronic stress forces the brain to remain in a state of high alert. The brain filters the stimuli it deems necessary, and survival, of course, is of the utmost importance. The factors that are commonly associated with causing chronic stress affect our basic human needs (safety, access to food and water, relationships, financial stability, etc). However, the constant bombardment of notifications and news can also create this high-stress mentality that makes our brains feel threatened.
We’re still relatively early on the timeline of human history in terms of social media and other news at our fingertips 24/7. The internet exploded, and all of a sudden, we were carrying these powerful little devices in our pockets that allowed us to contact anyone, anywhere, at any time. But with great power comes great responsibility. And since there are no regulations in place, the responsibility falls on us to regulate this power.
These phones are tailored for the human experience. The colors, sounds, touch, and experience make them addictive. I wish the home screen had a counter for the number of times we physically touch these things every day for some accountability. But until then, we are responsible for controlling our impulses.
Notifications ping, the screen lights up with news, and it vibrates and rings every time someone on earth sneezes, at least it seems that way. Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic.
But no wonder depression and anxiety rates are sky high, and we constantly feel the need to distract ourselves from the stress of the world. Our bosses can always reach us, the bad news continues to roll in, and that short-lived burst of dopamine quickly fades into lethargy and regret.
No wonder creativity is stunted.
If you were fighting for a roof over your head or your next meal, do you think you could create something amazing? Nevertheless, come up with new solutions to your problems? Of course, you couldn’t. You have more pressing things on your mind.
Similarly, the constant influx of news stunts creativity. We are constantly distracted from the task at hand and overstimulated by the barrage of information.
Creativity requires the mental capacity to first feel safe. Only then can your mind safely wander to connect old ideas to new inputs. With a little bit of acute stress for motivation and an overarching sense of safety, the mind can feel liberated. You get the blood flowing to the brain and give the mind the space to explore new ideas.
We need creativity; otherwise, life can become dull. This can be in any form of art or music. It might also be creativity in holiday present shopping, business ideas, or problem-solving in your life. It brings joy and purpose. It creates balance for the monotonous tasks of work. But we cannot leverage it without first making space.
Making space for creativity requires setting boundaries around these little, powerful machines. If you scroll through social media, consider turning off notifications. If you listen to or read the news, limit the time you engage with it. If you constantly feel like your life is being pulled in a million directions, organize your day into segments of busy work and deep work.
So if you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, check in to see if creativity is the missing link for you. Maybe you’ve been working crazy hours and need to allot 30-45 minutes for creative work. Maybe you need to turn off music if you have sound on 24/7. Perhaps you need to turn off your notifications on your phone for all your unnecessary apps and unsubscribe to emails.
The benefits of making space for creativity are the joy and fulfillment that come from it. Many aspects of our lives are dedicated to productivity and following a schedule. Let this be the time you designate for creative work, however that looks for you. Disengage with the noise so your mind can listen to itself.
If you found some value in this, please share it with a friend you think would enjoy it! And let me know if you’d like to be added to get TGIM.
This week, my podcast recommendation is new from Paul Levitin’s Change Made Easy, “Growth vs. Survival: Which Season Are You In?”
With that, how can you be creative this week, amongst the holiday stress?
Until next time,
Shannon
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