E25 - How and Why it is important to REVIVE to reach your true creative potential.
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Beth: [00:00:00] Well, hello, my creative friend. Welcome to another episode of BDI Create Today. This is your go to podcast for nurturing and unleashing your creative potential. Today, we begin our exploration of the four stages in my going forwards creative process. In this four part series, we'll explore how you can go forwards with your creativity using a simple process of four words, revive, realize, refine.
and release.
Today, we'll explore the first and very important word, revive. Now, imagine you just came back from a [00:01:00] long road trip through the mountains. You've parked and you've gotten out of your car, but you did not unload your gear and your luggage, the coats, the mittens, the boots that you'd used on your trip.
You left all the cups and the cans and the bags of Snick Snacks that you nibbled on during your journey, and you leave your parked car,
You go into the house to retrieve another address for your GPS. And you quickly pack clothes for a trip to a warmer client. So you're tossing in towels and swimming suits, sandals, sunscreen into another bag.
And you also cram into your car without unloading your mountain gear, beach umbrellas, volleyballs, things to make sand castles, , your water shoes, your lawn chairs, all the things you need to create a really lovely beach scene. Now you get back into your car with all the things that you've packed.
Things that you've left in there from your mountain trip and the things that you're going [00:02:00] to use for this next journey to a warmer client and you back out of your driveway and you start listening to the instructions for this next trip.
now, how exciting to have another beautiful trip to enjoy, but my friend, you have not unloaded and unpacked your car from your past trip. You've not vacuumed out pine needles and mud from hiking trips. You have remnants of takeout and Starbucks cups filling your cup holders and cubby holes in your car.
Your laundry wasn't done, and worse. Your car wasn't fueled up again for another trip. You didn't give yourself time to rejuvenate between these two trips. That seems like a ridiculous story, right? Who would do that? That's ludicrous. Of course you would unload your car before you packed for another trip.
[00:03:00] Right? But, my friend, we do this creatively all the time. We start a creative project and we work feverishly on getting all the supplies we need and we often work some crazy hours to start creating. Do and finish the project. Maybe we have a really quick deadline for a client. Maybe we're trying to get this project done for a gift, for a birthday, a wedding, a new baby, but we work hard to get that project done.
And then many of us. We park our creative selves just long enough to get instructions and supplies for the next project and off we go. But have we taken time to really refuel and embark creatively rested for another project? Did we give ourselves time to unpack, to get organized and rest from the creative [00:04:00] adventure that we just finished?
Often the answer here is nope. I know it happens to me. And that is what we are talking about today. Today. Our word is revive.
We're going to talk about what it means, why it's so important, how we can do it, and how we can fit it into our busy lives. So let's start with this fundamental truth, creating good work Requires energy. Imagine an athlete trying to run multiple marathons back to back without rest, without refueling their mind and their body, you know, their speed and their overall enthusiasm for the sport would certainly be diminished or maybe even crushed.
The creatives. When you haven't given yourself time to rest and refuel between projects, [00:05:00] The quality of work can suffer, creativity can be stifled, and the joy of creating, it can turn into a chore. Have you been there before? I know I have. So being rested and energized is the foundation of any creative endeavor.
When your body and your mind are rejuvenated, Your creativity flows effortlessly. Ideas, while they're more vibrant and enthusiasm, feels light and buoyant.
Without sufficient creative energy, even the most talented and brilliant creative can fall short of their potential.
Now, scientific research indicates that sufficient rest is not just beneficial, but essential for reaching true creative potential. Rest also supports [00:06:00] memory consolidation, emotional regulation, problem solving abilities, attention restoration, and neuroplasticity. And all of these things that I just mentioned that sound so science y.
Those are all things that make your creativity run at its peak.
By prioritizing time to creatively revive, you can enhance your creative capacities that will lead to more innovative work where you can look back at what you just did and you can say, dang, look what I just created.
So let's look at some key points that are supported by research in the area of reviving your creative energies. Here's the list. Number one, cognitive function and creativity. And with this, I'm going to ask you a very important question. Are you [00:07:00] sleeping, my friend? Yes, sleep. First, memory consolidation.
During sleep, particularly in REM with that rapid eye movement sleep, the brain consolidates memories and processes information. And this is vital for creative problem solving and generating those novel and unique ideas. And brain connectivity. Sleep enhances the connectivity between different regions of the brain.
And this facilitates better integration of disparate ideas, which are ideas that don't seem to have a connection with each other. That, but when you pull them together, all of a sudden you have this great new idea that is fostering creativity. That is important.
Number two, have you ever found yourself, uh, extra emotional when you are running low with your creativity? I know I have. [00:08:00] When you take time to revive, it helps with your emotional regulation. So first, stress reduction. Rest and adequate sleep help in reducing stress and anxiety, which can otherwise inhibit creative thinking.
A calm and relaxed and rejuvenated mind is more open to creative insights and innovations. And it's going to help you strike a positive mood. Rest improves mood and emotional well being, both of which are strongly linked to enhanced creativity. Positive emotions broaden our thought processes and help us see more possibilities.
That's always a good thing.
Number three, problem solving and insight. So when you're in a rejuvenation or revive stage, you have this like incubation effect where you give yourself time [00:09:00] to revive. This rest allows for an incubation period where the subconscious mind continues to work on problems even though you're not pushing it.
And this often leads to sudden insights or those aha moments which are critical for creative breakthroughs. So if you give yourself time not to think of things, your brain will think of things. And you'll think of some great things. And another problem solving insight piece. is divergent thinking.
Adequate time to rest improves divergent thinking, which is the ability to generate many different ideas or solutions to a single problem. So divergent thinking is a core component of creativity. If you think about it, how often when you're pulling together a new creative project, do you need to have more than one concept?
You're going to show a client three to five [00:10:00] ideas. If you don't have divergent thinking, really warmed up and ready to run, you aren't going to be able to come up with really great ideas. It's like three to five of them. It's going to be very difficult to do that. Rest is going to help you keep that divergent thinking running at top speed.
number four, attention and focus. When you give yourself time to revive, you regain attention.
resting helps you recover from mental fatigue. It improves your focus and your concentration. And this is essential for any creative task that requires sustained attention and deep thinking. And that is a lot of creativity where you're diving into a project and you need to be able to pay attention to what you're doing.
If you're tired, that is going to be hard to do. And, cognitive resources. resting ensures that the brain has the [00:11:00] energy needed for creative tasks.
And so resting is going to replenish those cognitive resources, which often require high levels of function and mental flexibility, right? And number five, neuroplasticity. Oh, we've talked about this before in past podcast episodes. Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections.
And this adaptability is crucial for creative thinking and learning new skills. When you rest, when you sleep, this promotes sleep. Neuroplasticity. It's a good thing for your brain. So you might be thinking, oh yeah, science shows that doing all these things is important. , I need to revive my creative energy.
I need to clean out my creative car and get refueled.So, let's take a [00:12:00] moment to have some fun thinking about how we can take time for ourselves to creatively revive. And you know I love a good list. Here are a few ways to rest and rejuvenate creatively.
Number one, nature walks. You know, it's pretty easy to just put on your shoes and go take a stroll in a park or a nature preserve, grab your dog, grab a buddy, and go for a walk. Grab your partner, whoever, get out, see the sights, the sounds, and smells of nature to refresh your mind. This is also something that might be most beneficial if you do it on your own so you can let your mind wander wherever it wants to go.
And number two, mindfulness and meditation. Think about engaging in some mindfulness practices or meditation that are going to just clear your mind and reduce the stress. that you had from a busy day, [00:13:00] or a past project, or just stress that's happening because of life, right? Number three, artistic play.
This is where, as a creative, you try a different form of creativity, without any pressure to excel. So if you're a writer, try painting and just be messy. Have fun. See what happens. If it looks like a hot mess, that's okay. You had fun doing the thing. So if you're a musician, maybe you're going to try sculpting.
If you're a crocheter, maybe you're going to try decoupage, something you have never tried before, and you just do it because it sounds like fun. Number four. Reading for pleasure. I know a lot of us read to get better at what we do, whether that's in business or creativity or to be healthier. there are so many reasons why we read books to better ourselves.
And here, You're going to be reading just for [00:14:00] fun. so read books or articles outside of your usual genre that are going to spark ideas and perspectives.
Think about how you can read something that's. It's outside of what you always do. It's going to spark some ideas. Reading for pleasure, a great idea. Number five, journaling. So take a moment, write down your thoughts, your dreams, or even your mundane experiences.
This is also a great way to clear mental clutter, especially if you've got something building in your head. This is a really good way to just let it out on paper and it allows for some downtime to get it out and away so that you can put it away and get some rest. Number six. Physical exercise. Now, depending on who you are and how much you move, physical exercise is going to mean something different for you than anyone else.
So take a look at who you are [00:15:00] and, and how movement can fit into your life. So activities like yoga and dancing or a workout session, maybe you want to lift some weights. And if you haven't lifted weights before, start out really light. And if you are working with weights, get in there and lift some heavy stuff.
All of these things can boost your energy levels and improve mental clarity. number seven, listening to music. Just turn on your favorite tunes and dance in your kitchen.
Or discover some new music to elevate your mood and inspire your creativity. Music is a wonderful way to find a time to revive. Number eight, social interaction. Spend time with people you like to spend time with. Friends or family, engage in those meaningful conversations. And my friend, take some time to laugh.
Laugh really [00:16:00] hard. Number nine, Take some time to just get out of your space where you create and go somewhere.
like farmer's markets, fairs, go to the theater, go to a concert, just get out and enjoy some creativity that is being offered by other creatives. Who are producing their work. now I know that you might be thinking that all sounds really great, Beth, but I am kind of busy.
I am actually too busy to think about doing some of these things or any of these things, but my friend. If it wasn't important, we wouldn't be talking about it. And you saw science backs up how you, when you're creatively fueled, can be more productive. So, by taking time to revive, you're actually speeding up your productivity.
You can probably get more work done by taking time to rest. [00:17:00] So imagine that you're taking time to rest, but when you're done resting, you're getting more work done. You're getting better ideas. So how can you afford not to revive? So you're thinking, okay, but I'm really busy. How do I do this? How do I integrate any of these ideas into my hectic schedule?
Well, it's actually easier than you think. And here are some, here's some tips that you can try. Number one, you don't have to take a week off. You don't have to take a day off or even a morning if you are really busy. And that happens, like I am really busy right now. So for me. I can't take a whole day and sometimes I can't even take a whole weekend.
So I'm taking micro breaks. So what does that look like? These are short breaks and quite often frequently during the day where you, just pause with whatever you're doing to go stretch, to breathe and simply [00:18:00] relax. Even for five. 10, 15 minutes. So maybe that's a quick walk outside to water your garden or your plants.
Maybe it's a quick walk with your dog. Maybe it's time to just get away from what you're crunching on with your creativity and you just go empty the dishwasher. You're getting yourself away from what is taxing your brain and taking up a lot of your creative energy. So even a short break can give you a little refueling.
And then schedule your downtime. This is number two. When you dedicate specific time in your calendar for rest and relaxation, you will make it happen just like you would for any important meeting. You schedule a dentist appointment in your calendar, you'll go to the dentist. If you schedule a dinner party, you'll go to that party.
So schedule your downtime and then allow yourself. The permission to rest. [00:19:00] It's as important as any meeting that you schedule. also number three, take a look at your morning and evening routines. Sometimes this is a really great place where you can incorporate some calming activities, things that are just going to slow you down so that you don't just run, at a frenetic pace and then just collapse into bed.
Okay. You want to take time to get yourself either wound down or give yourself some time in the morning before you wind up. So think about those calming activities like doing a little reading, doing your meditation in the morning or the evening, or this is a great time for you to journal in your morning or your evening routine.
Think about small things or small activities that can bring you joy, like lighting candles for dinner, even if you're only going to have leftovers or you just had a pizza delivered. Lighting candles is a really great way for you just [00:20:00] to feel a little fancy and exhale.
Right? Okay. Number four, retreats. Hey, occasionally. Plan a creative getaway and if you can't get away, consider a staycation, but make it a day or a weekend or a week or a few days when you can stay focused on your creative relaxation and rejuvenation. Make sure that you don't turn this into a giant event where you're more worried about how everyone else is doing and you're busy creating decorations for an event that you've suddenly started.
You are reviving your energies. So this is a time where you're going to just Be a little selfish and focus on yourself. You need to revive. And number five, creative hobbies. Now, I know we're talking about creative rejuvenation here, but sometimes a creative [00:21:00] hobby is going to help you revive. But look at how you spend this time.
If you're going to do this creative hobby as part of your revive, You want to spend time on a hobby that isn't related to your primary work. So like we talked about earlier, if you're a painter, consider pottery. If you're a musician, maybe dabble in some watercolors.
Just allow your creativity to wander in a completely separate space. And just have fun. Do not worry about the end results. It can be a hot mess. You're enjoying the experience, not the results. And if you end up with something amazing, that's cool too. But that's not what the primary focus is in this particular lesson.
You are just having fun doing something different. And that's the revive. So the most important takeaway with this [00:22:00] revive stage in the going forwards creative process is that being rested. My friend, this is the cornerstone of embarking successfully on any new creative project.
When you allow yourself the time and space to rejuvenate, to revive, you lay the groundwork for a more vibrant, inspired, and fulfilling next creative journey. The revive stage isn't about stepping away from your creativity. It's about nurturing the very source. of your creative power. And this is where you will unpack your creative car.
You'll cleanse yourself from the stress and the debris of a recent creative journey. This is where you refuel, where you get yourself energized and inspired for what comes next.
So pause for a moment and think, when did you take a [00:23:00] moment just for yourself to concentrate on replenishing your creative energy? This is the most valuable resource you have. Without sufficient energy, you are creatively unhealthy. In heart, mind, body, and soul. So think about how you are caring for your creative self.
What are you doing? Is it something that you're scheduling daily or weekly? Do you have a creative getaway planned? You and your creativity deserve to be in tip top shape for your next creative adventure.
now, if you've enjoyed today's episode about how you can revive your creative energy, don't forget to subscribe or hit that follow button so you can join me next time as we explore the next stage of the going four words creative process.
And [00:24:00] that word is realize.
Until next time. Take time to creatively revive. Light some candles for dinner.
Listen to the birds sing. Dance to your favorite song. Plan your next creative getaway. Remember, it's incredibly important to revive your energy so that you can stay creative, my friend.
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