The Power Of Mindfulness In Creative Endeavors

Creativity isn't something that can be achieved through simple luck, nor is it something that can be created with great effort alone.

One of the most common misconceptions that people have about creativity is that it’s something that comes out of nowhere – a stroke of genius. The truth is, true creativity isn’t something that hits you all at once – it’s the result of a long process of trial and error.

Creativity needs to be nurtured and cultivated over time.

And one of the few tricks you can use to help improve your creative flair is - mindfulness. The question arises - how and in what ways can mindfulness help in your creative endeavors?

And to answer that question, you'll have to keep reading this write-up. But first, we shall understand the concept of mindfulness in detail.

Mindfulness In Simple Words

Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment and paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judgment.

It can be attained by practicing meditation, yoga, and other mindfulness-based therapies. The goal of mindfulness is to reduce stress and improve overall well-being. When you are mindful, you can observe your thoughts and emotions without reacting to them.

This allows you to respond to difficult situations more constructively. Mindfulness also helps you to appreciate the good things in life and be more present in your relationships.

In a nutshell, mindfulness does good in more than one way. But the question remains how does it help in your creative endeavors? What are the effects of mindfulness on your creative streak?

Positive Effects Of Mindfulness On Creativity

Creativity is all about exploring new ideas and bringing them to life. No creative endeavor can be successful if it’s based on preconceived notions or rules.

But how does mindfulness help with that?

Well, here are a few answers:

1. Frees The Mind & Increases Creativity

The liberating quality of mindfulness has been demonstrated to enhance creativity.

Our minds are usually scattered in multiple directions - worrying about the past, anticipating the future, or brooding over things that didn’t go right. This can be detrimental to creativity, and one of the best ways to overcome this is by practicing mindfulness.

Mindfulness helps you to put aside your assumptions, fears, and beliefs, thereby liberating the mind. Studies, for example, the one by A Berkovich-Ohana, 2016 suggest that mindfulness helps you gain a deeper understanding of your emotions, and as a result, frees your creativity.

2. Improves Divergent Thinking

Divergent thinking is the ability to come up with many different ideas by exploring new avenues and possibilities.

And we all know that a creative mind can only be achieved by having a high degree of divergent thinking. Studies like Dietrich & Kanso, 2010, have found that mindfulness enhances divergent thinking, a key component of the creative process. With divergent thinking abilities, you also get better at brainstorming.

Coming up with outside-the-box, uncommon ideas, and trying to discover new perspectives becomes easy.

And through activities like meditation, you can unlock mindfulness, and improve your divergent thinking abilities. With divergent thinking unleashed, it becomes easier to come up with new ideas and solutions that can be implemented in your creative endeavors.

3. Facilitates Better Focus & Attention Span

Creative endeavors require great focus and attention.

And mindfulness can help you achieve that. Mindfulness helps to improve your concentration levels by reducing distractions. This enhanced focus and attention can help you maintain high levels of concentration during your creative sessions.

Studies like the one by Chiesa & Serretti, 2010 explain that mindfulness can help improve your attention span. It states that mindfulness helps you reduce the frequency of multitasking and increases your attention span by helping you to focus on a single task.

By improving your focus and attention, mindfulness can help you stay more present while working on a creative project.

4. Helps You Find Quick & Unusual Solutions

When you are working on a creative project, it is essential that you find quick and unusual solutions.

That’s where mindfulness comes in.

Mindfulness helps you to free your mind from preconceived notions and well-established ideas. It allows you to look at any problem from different perspectives. During creative endeavors, unforeseen situations crop up when you need to find uncanny solutions for them.

And mindfulness helps you find unconventional solutions to these problems by allowing your mind to explore new avenues, ideas, and viewpoints.

Mindfulness is a state where the mind is completely open and receptive. Experts explain that the open and free-thinking ability of mindfulness allows the mind to discover novel solutions by breaking out of the shackles of ordinary thinking.

Be Mindful and Start Seeing Enhanced Creativity

By now you know that creativity is the key to breaking conventional norms and coming up with unusual and unconventional steps. And in this process, mindfulness can play a key role by freeing you from preconceived notions and other mental blocks.

Attaining mindfulness through meditation, breathwork, and other mindfulness practices can help you unlock your creative potential. With mindfulness on your side, you can experience greater freedom and creativity in your creative endeavors.

So the next time you are working on a creative project, hobby, or matters related to your business, take a few moments to clear your mind and enter a mindful state. You may just find that unique solution you are looking for!