Creativity and Mindfulness

 

Creativity and Mindfulness

 

Creativity is essential for innovation and problem-solving. Creativity is what helps to develop new products and services and to improve processes. There is evidence to support a relationship between mindfulness and creativity.

 

When people have better control of their emotions, they experience less stress and are more creative. 

Mindfulness can aid creative thinking by providing greater focus, increased generation of ideas and improved responsiveness to new concepts.

 

I share 3 basic tips that can help you achieve greater focus and better receptivity to begin to take control of your emotions and give way to creativity:

1. No to multitasking

If there is one thing common to all work environments it is multitasking: we all end up doing fifty things at once as if we were an octopus. Now a phone call, now the mail, eating a sandwich and now deciding how I will title my next newsletter "Death by Stress".

Starting to eliminate multi-tasking means applying mindfulness. It means being aware of the actions we are taking at each moment so that we can focus much more on each of the actions we take at work.

Doing many things at the same time may seem productive, but it ends up being just the opposite. By wanting to cover a lot, we are not devoting 100% of our effort to anything in particular.

2. Accept the things that cannot be changed

I'm sure you've heard this phrase more than once (which as a mantra can be very useful): "If things have a solution, why do you worry? If there's no solution, why do you worry?

There are things we can change, and things we can't. And one of the most interesting points of mindfulness at work (and in life in general) is that we must accept everything we cannot change.

For example, it won't do you any good to get angry with a colleague who is always late, with a client who goes to the competition or with someone who is always on edge if their decisions are not up to you.

3. Feel gratitude

We often tend to focus more on the bad things that happen to us than on the good things. Contrasts in life are normal, but we must have the ability to appreciate both good and bad times to obtain the necessary balance that will give us emotional stability.

Gratitude is the perfect antidote for positive moments to come into their own: giving thanks for what you have and what happens to you, and appreciating it in a real way, will have a direct impact on your creativity, health, relationships and work. Being aware of all the positives in your life (or work) will help you to improve your resilience and neutralise the negative thoughts in your mind.

If you try to do some or all of these actions and find that you're having a hard time, many mobile applications can help you carry out your guided meditation.

So, you know, put it into practice!