It was an "even keel" kinda day. Another day devoted to editing and delivery of final images to customers.
In the past I used to think that one had to be in a state of mania, or state of despair to be creative - that creativity was somehow associated with heightened levels of emotion or energy. I often felt that I did my best creative work at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning after working all day. However, the expression of creativity is far more complex than that.
In 2014, a study published by the Mindfulness journal found that meditation can promote creative thinking. In particular the practice of mindfulness meditation - which involves acknowledging thoughts and emotions that arise; being receptive to them without “following them" enhanced creative thinking, allowing for the creation of new, imaginative ideas. This suggests that being in a state when we are not charged by our emotions is actually good for enhancing our creative thinking.
Another study in 2015 which used MRI scans to map the creative thinking process showed that the entire creative process involves states of euphoria and inspiration as well as states of calm and rational focus. This study suggested that creative people are characterised not by these states alone but by their adaptability and ability to mix seemingly incompatible states of being depending on the task, whether it’s open attention with a focused drive, mindfulness with daydreaming, intuition with rationality, intense rebelliousness with respect for tradition. In other words, creative people have messy minds, and some of us have messy desks to.
When we are tired, our brain becomes less effective in paying attention and filtering our distractions, which are criteria essential for focussed tasks but detrimental to the the creative process. When we are tired, our brain is less efficient at remembering connections and therefore gives us the opportunity to create new ways of thinking and to be open to new ideas. There is some value then in doing creative work at night, and our analytical focus work in the mornings as these different tasks require our brains to processing information differently.
Creativity is not inherited. However, one of the more interesting articles I stumbled across today, was research undertaken in the early 1990's which suggested that the development of our creative thinking is closely associated with the relationship we had with our mothers as children.
Flying Solo Tip 050365 : When you keep an open mind to different experiences, you are building a reference library for your future creative self.