Creativity should have no boundaries.  Or, should it?

The human mind is amazing because it can think of just about anything. What kind of dreams did you have when you were a kid? What did you think you could do in the world?

I bet most kids would say there wasn't too much of a limitation. It's not until we get older or we start limiting our thinking that we restrict our believing. 

I think some of the most inspiring people in our world are not inspiring because of what they have accomplished or the knowledge they have but by the belief they possess. They think things that we believe here on Earth are incredibly possible and in fact many of those things they've already started to attack.

Vision

In my couple years of writing this blog and hosting Speaking of Impact, I've noticed that some people have the skill of vision.  They can take crazy ideas and make them seem possible and almost tangible.  After hearing them speak or reading their words, you feel inspired.  You feel strong and in some cases, compelled to step out of your comfort zone.

So why don't you?

In reality I think you do. Even thinking about something like that is stepping out of your comfort zone.  A big part of that is because you haven't developed the skill.  Visionary thought can and should be practiced. The more you've developed the muscle, the deeper into that thought you'll be able to go.   And beyond just the thought, you'll be able to take physical action.

When you take physical action, you feel like you've done something. In the meantime, you'll have to do your best with what you have.

Limitations

Accepting your creative limitations is essential to being your most creative self.  Fatigue in the creative mind is quite the illusionist.  Not only does it sneak up on you but it also disguises other things.

When you think you have writers block, it's fatigue. 

When you think your eyes hurt, it's fatigue. 

When you think you’re uninspired, it's fatigue.

You must guard your energy. Unfortunately, this is harder than it sounds.  As a driven entrepreneur and impactmaker, you desire to capitalize all inspiration and make the biggest impact you possibly can.

Today’s world of immediate gratification pushes you beyond your limits. See the E-Impact 56.

I'm not so much telling you to delay action or gratification as much as I am telling you to maximize your creative efficiency.

Your Calendar

There are a couple important tools to help you manage creative fatigue and maximize efficiency.  The first is your calendar.  You have to know your limits and set them.  You have to give yourself a clearly executable system.

Creativity can be expressed in many ways as each person has their own formula.  Know these things:

-when you're most creative

-how you’re most creative

-where are you’re most creative

-with who you’re most creative (this can be just you)

-and perhaps the most overlooked yet most important, why you are most creative

A calendar is much more than just a keeper of your time.  It can be a guide, a mentor, an accountability partner, and keeper of your values if you want it to be.

Allow this age old tool even, if you have a digital form, to simplify decision making, avoid mistakes, and limit fatigue.

If used well, it's dual purpose of organization and limiting decisions, which are a direct energy drain, will up your creative game beyond explanation.

Rest

The second tool for maximized creativity is this brand new concept called “rest" haha.  It's really not new at all and probably even older than a schedule or calendar.  I'm not sure why most of us are so good at resting our body but struggle with resting our mind.  I assume it has something to do with feeling.

We know pretty quickly when something makes our muscles tired or we know when we feel a comfortable chair.  I know when I have sore muscles, I shouldn't be exerting them and it's a good time to lay down.  Why isn’t it so easy to realize when my mind is tired?

The simple solution to this seems like having rest in your calendar.  I would highly recommend this and believe it's very helpful.  However, it's not the perfect solution at all.  It's a necessary practice to make sure that you do take rest but it's not an explanation of how to rest.

Active Rest

Resting the mind is different than resting the body.  First of all, there are no ways to truly think about nothing other than sleeping.  And even then, science and the dreams we have would tell us that's not the case.  Therefore, I believe that the most effective form of rest for the mind could be likened to what we call an active rest for the body.

When I take an active rest day from my normal physical exercise, it normally involves some sort of activity that's not as strenuous as a typical workout but unique enough that just by doing it, I'm challenging my muscles in a different way. 

The normal loads and exertion are avoided so as to not over train the muscles, ligaments, and tendons but the body is moving. There are those times where I just need to sit on the couch but the active rest is arguably more important.

Active rest for the mind allows you to rest from the normal decision-making processes and high value things in life while still staying occupied.  It's important to stay mentally occupied because as I mentioned, you can't think about nothing.  Especially if you're a high strong person, you're going to think about those high value things in life if you have nothing else to think about.  In other words impactmakers. you better have something to think about.

Sudoku?

I'm dictating this as I drive off to my mom's house about 4 hours away from mine. This is not the first time she's come up in the blog.  One thing that she does do execute active mental rest, whether she knows that or not, is Sudoku.  Some people might cringe at the thought of unnecessary math functions but for her it's really a low impact way to stimulate the brain.  Sure there are right or wrong answers but there's no assessment or evaluation at the end.  It's just a mild challenge that allows her to think without “thinking".

The lesson is two-fold.  First, the brain appreciates challenges that can be overcome.  I've never asked Mom before but I would imagine she's not doing first grade level Sudoku and I would also imagine that she's not doing world Sudoku championship levels either.  I'm guessing there is a world Sudoku championship.  After all, I was watching frog races on television the other day (did I just admit that?).  I suppose that was an adequate form of active rest for my mind.  As you can see, the intellect never made it to my generation in the family.

The second lesson to take from Mom’s math puzzle habit is that it's a habit. It's not a requirement nor is it an obsession.  It's just something that she does consistently and the consistency is key.  Whether she realizes it or not, the brain knows when it's in Sudoku mode it's okay to think just about Sudoku.  In fact, I would venture a guess that it knows it should only be thinking about Sudoku at those times.  It's actively resting from the normal day to day worries of retirement that my mom has.

An ancillary benefit of the healthy active rest habit is the sense of accomplishment that it provides.  I can't overestimate completing one puzzle no less an entire book of them.  I'll have to ask Mom how many she's completed and report back to you.

Hobbies and Communities

There's things out there that you appreciate that can provide active rest. A great place to start at is your hobbies.  You might think, “They’re hobbies which means I already do them.” Yes, but do you do them consistently and at the right times and with the right people?  Do they distract you in a healthy way from the high leverage things in life or do they merely have the potential to do that and you need to work at it?

Another great place to find good activities is in communities.  My wife and I have spent quite a bit of time with the high schoolers in our church youth group since we've been married. Truthfully, it's been such a part of our lives over the past fifteen years that I don't even consider it volunteering. It's just part of our life and is what we do.  I would put it in the category of active rest for my mind. 

If you knew how athletic and competitive some of these kids are you’d know it's not active physical rest.  It's mental rest because even though some weeks bring some very challenging conversations, we often feel uplifted when we come home on those Wednesday nights and judging by the feedback from the kids, who are really just our friends, and their parents (also friends), we know that something is being accomplished.

These people are part of a vital community to our lives. There are other activities, some formal and some impromptu, that we participate in with them that are excellent active rest. 

Look for the things that the people closest to you in life enjoy and participate in. Make it  regular practice to do the same and build deeper relationships along the way.

In conclusion, active rest can be incredibly productive in your life.  It will spike your creative genius and can richen your most cherished relationships.

Don't limit your creativity by limiting your rest.