Your Creative Brain Needs a Little Elbow Room

photo credit: wolfpix

Ever been stuck while working at a creative task (lke maybe something as simple as writing a blog post}?

What did you do to overcome the block?

Maybe you need some psychological distance?  Scientific American offers several examples from a study by Lile Julia from the University of Indiana.

How would you solve the problem if you were someone else?  What would James Bond do?  How would Mickey Mouse solve the problem?  I know it seems silly.

That’s not necessarily all bad.  Think for a moment what it means to be silly -

O.E. gesælig “happy” (related to sæl “happiness”), from W.Gmc. *sæligas (cf. O.N. sæll “happy,” Goth. sels “good, kindhearted,” O.S. salig, M.Du. salich, O.H.G. salig, Ger. selig “blessed, happy, blissful”), from PIE base *sel- “happy” (cf. Gk. hilaros “gay, cheerful,” L. solari “to comfort,” salvus “whole, safe”).

Other etymological descriptions I have found in the past have included flexible, loose, and relaxed. In brainstorming sessions, the more creative, unusual ideas often come toward the end when logic has run its course, and silliness sticks its head in the door.

Abstraction

When we move away and become more flexible in the way we look at problems – and think of them more abstractly – more and different answers flow.

Why does psychological distance increase creativity? According to CLT, psychological distance affects the way we mentally represent things, so that distant things are represented in a relatively abstract way while psychologically near things seem more concrete. Consider, for instance, a corn plant. A concrete representation would refer to the shape, color, taste, and smell of the plant, and connect the item to its most common use – a food product. An abstract representation, on the other hand, might refer to the corn plant as a source of energy or as a fast growing plant. These more abstract thoughts might lead us to contemplate other, less common uses for corn, such as a source for ethanol, or to use the plant to create mazes for children. What this example demonstrates is how abstract thinking makes it easier for people to form surprising connections between seemingly unrelated concepts, such as fast growing plants (corn) and fuel for cars (ethanol). An Easy Way to Increase Creativity: Scientific American.

Spatial Distance

Finally, getting physical distance also takes the pressure off, and in creative thinking, can unstop the bottle when we are stuck.  Take a walk in nature.  Step away from the table; take a mindfulness break.

You may be surprised at the results.