Brains Don't Dream Well During Storms … Give Yourself Time to Imagine

Our highly-connected culture has come to demand immediacy and brevity so much, that we often lack the time-proven benefits associated with soaking in thought.  We have become much more comfortable going wider in terms of information and ideas instead of going deeper.  Now be honest with yourself, how much of your schedule is carved out so you can mentally go places that you have not gone before?

The best things out there are not instantly downloaded, but grown as kernels of creativity developed over time and through process.

It was Einstein who said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”  He also said, “Logic will get you from A to B.  Imagination will take you everywhere.”  And he said this too, “Imagination is everything.  It is the preview of life's coming attractions.”[1]  I absolutely love that last quote.  Do you think that you can let your mind go places and paint a picture that will, one day, become a wonderful reality for you and your kids to enjoy and remember?

You might be thinking, “I am definitely not an Einstein.”  Well that’s perfect!  If you were Einstein, you wouldn’t have the ability to create and invent as only you can.  You need to lock into the fact that you bring something to the table that others don’t have.  You bring “you” along for the ride with your miraculous mind in tow.

And please remember that the creative brain probably enjoys a sustained gentle breeze on a sunny day over an intense stormy interlude.  Innovation happens when you can linger over the less obvious and almost-out-reach fringes that quietly move around on the edges of your thoughts.[2]

Now put that brilliantly-designed, bountifully-capable, ultra-super-computer in your head to work and give your creative self an abundance of time to think!

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[1] “Albert Einstein Quotes,” ThinkExist.com, accessed January 5, 2013, http://thinkexist.com/quotes/albert_einstein.

[2] David Rock, "Leadership on the Brain," Harvard Business Review Blog Network, April 28, 2010, http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/04/leadership-on-the-brain/.