3226: This is How to Find Your Inspiration, Creativity and Focus by The NeuroGym Team of MyNeuroGym

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Living Daily episode 3226. This is how to find your inspiration, creativity and focus by the NeuroGym team of MyNeuroGym.com And I'm Justin Malik reading articles to you every day to help you live a more meaningful and positive life

[00:00:17] And we're gonna get right to it and start optimizing your life. This is how to find your inspiration, creativity and focus by the NeuroGym team of MyNeuroGym.com Even though we don't know exactly what makes extraordinary people,

[00:00:38] brain science offers us clues as to why some minds are exceptional and have changed the world. People like Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie, John Coltrane, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Ada Lovelace, Nikola Tesla, Elon Musk and Albert Einstein.

[00:00:57] They knew how to find the inspiration to fuel their creative power. But how did they do it? Here's what we know about what makes great minds creative and brilliant. It's well known that having a balanced right and left brain enhances mind power.

[00:01:14] Neuroscientist and research director at the Marcus Institute of Integrated Health, Andrew Newberg, uses diffusion tensor imaging and MRI contrast technique to map neural pathways in the brains of super smart creative people. According to Dr. Newberg,

[00:01:31] there's more communication going on between the left and right hemispheres of the brain in people who are highly intelligent. Quote, there's more flexibility in their thought processes, more contributions from different parts of the brain, end quote.

[00:01:44] So what can you do to balance your brain? Is it possible to access and activate our inner Einstein? And if so, how do we develop the creative genius part of the brain?

[00:01:55] With the development of current neuroscience research came the ability to physically see what happens in our brain when we turn our attention inward. The neuroimaging findings show that when our minds wander,

[00:02:08] there's more room for creative growth because the frontal cortex, the part of your brain that's responsible for being reasonable and self-conscious, goes offline. Dr. Sereniy Bile, brain researcher and author of the new book Tinker Dabble Doodle Try,

[00:02:24] offers great insight on how to unleash your true potential by unlocking the power of your unfocused mind. The top three activities according to Dr. Bile that will help you find your inspiration, creativity, and focus are doodling, daydreaming, and dabbling.

[00:02:44] Pretty cool, right? The idea here is that to get inspired, creative, and focused, you must allow for unstructured free time. Unfocused time and space to let go and let be, to wander off aimlessly into the imaginative corners of your mind.

[00:03:01] Ready to tap into the full creative force within yourself and learn how to find focus? Start by adding these three activities to your list of daily habits for success. Number one, the art of doodling.

[00:03:16] Remember doodling in the classroom when you were 13? It helped you to focus and retain important information, right? It shouldn't have received such a bad rap. This once frowned upon art helped you access brain frequencies that contribute in the removal of obstacles.

[00:03:31] And drawing figures absentmindedly not only gets the creative juices flowing, it creates inspiring opportunities for growth and opens up the neural circuits for memory. Think of it as a tool rather than a distraction.

[00:03:44] Nowadays teachers are encouraging this form of art by having students sketch while reading to them or during a short lecture. Doodling is an excellent technique for training the brain to unfocus.

[00:03:56] By taking part in the art of doodling, you'll help your brain to reset itself to function better and more productively. Use this technique whenever you need to figure out how to find your inspiration, creativity, and focus. Number two, the practice of daydreaming.

[00:04:14] Contrary to popular belief, daydreaming is not an unproductive waste of time. Daydreaming, aka positive constructive daydreaming, PCD, can sharpen your mind. And having your head in the clouds every now and again isn't a bad thing. It can actually build your brainpower.

[00:04:32] Daydreaming usually occurs naturally before you drift off for your afternoon nap, right? Napping is another great way to enhance your creativity and productivity by the way. If you don't have the luxury to take naps now that you're all grown up, think back to your childhood. Such bliss.

[00:04:48] Now that you remember what that felt like, incorporate at least 30 minutes of daydreaming into your workday. Bonus, you may end up taking a power nap too. So if you want to overcome limiting beliefs that keep you separated from your inner genius,

[00:05:03] you've got to start daydreaming more. You never know when your brilliant aha moment might strike. Number three, the act of dabbling. It's okay to be a jack or jane of all trades. That's right.

[00:05:17] Go ahead and dabble in something you're interested in. It may lead you to your masterpiece. And in the interim, you'll learn some new skills along with developing a new cognitive rhythm around the art of balancing focus with unfocus.

[00:05:31] With dabbling in other areas of expertise, you'll begin to think outside the box of your current reality. You'll figure out how to find your inspiration and you'll discover what you need to fuel your true purpose.

[00:05:43] Picasso found his style by studying what Einstein was into. How do your extracurricular activities contribute to your life's work? Quote, Dabbling in a new endeavor, whether a hobby or fantasy, disrupts your habitual and reactive thinking, helping you find new solutions to old problems. Dr. Sereny Pillay.

[00:06:05] It's not necessary to wait until you're well into your golden years to do something that you've always wanted to do. Grow a garden, take up Tai Chi, audit a physics class, turn your doodles into paintings, develop an idea for your dream business. The possibilities are endless.

[00:06:22] Dabbling is healthy cross-training for your brain. The more you use your mind and explore your curiosities, the closer you'll come to reaching our full potential as a human being. When you bring these success techniques into your life, you activate the unfocused circuits of your brain,

[00:06:39] which enhances your creativity. This is how you get unstuck, travel outside your comfort zone and move in the direction of your dreams. You just listened to the post titled, This is how to find your inspiration, creativity and focus by the Neurogym team of myneurogym.com

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[00:08:13] but what this reminded me of is something my childhood friend and I would do every once in a while when we didn't know what to do or were tired from doing homework. We would just doodle on purpose, not actually draw something for the sake of drawing,

[00:08:28] we did that too, but doodling for the purpose of letting our minds go somewhere else. We actually talked about that. So this article really took me back. I used to draw circles. That's it. It'd actually be six circles clumped together,

[00:08:43] one representing a body, one for the head, then two arms and two legs. A sort of like marshmallow man. I would cover an entire sheet of paper with these tiny marshmallow men.

[00:08:55] Probably took hours, and if anyone looked at it, it'd be like why on earth would you spend time doing that? Like what a waste. Well now I have an answer for them. I found it beneficial back then,

[00:09:05] and I'm sure it would be beneficial now. And while it's unlikely I'd do that exact exercise now, I definitely still dabble in daydream, but possibly adding some structure or making sure there's time for it could be a really good idea.

[00:09:21] So if any of the ideas struck you today, or you just needed an excuse to daydream, try it out today, even if just for a few minutes. And have a great rest of your day in the clouds, and I'll be back tomorrow, where optimal life awaits.