Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

Leaders in innovative and creative ideas, are likely leaders of everything else where you work. Once you spark more creative approaches, projects begin to vibrate to strokes of your imagination. With the help of art and of your intelligence, you transform the color blue into oceans. There’s no drudgery, war, or barrier that can’t be turned into a mind-bending challenge where creativity touches an idea whose time has come. What ideas are you acting on lately?

Do you see yourself in Henri Bergson’s words… To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.

Surprisingly  the human brain works against creativity for those who fail to use it. When we do the same things repeatedly in the same way, we reinforce old neuron pathways, lock ourselves into comfortable ideas stored in the basal ganglia which stores your many routines – or things you do with little effort. Can you see why too many rigid routines decrease new neuron connections for creativity.  We actually reduce the size and gray matter in the brain simply by doing the same things daily.

New research from the brain specialists affirms Einstein’s warning that… problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them. In fact – this level of innovation, that changed concrete details daily, distinguished Einstein from people who merely follow others’ ideas.

Einstein, and other innovative leaders tend to work more in their working memory which is much like a fine wine glass where new wine is poured daily. Think of your mind’s new wine as exciting ideas you hear, discussions you have or insights you garner from cutting edge blogs … or maybe it’s just a reflection beside a quiet stream. Unfortunately,  a few ounces of wine only … fits into your working memory …  and yesterday’s wine is washed out or diluted by today’s. 

That means, you’ll no longer feel excited by an idea’s possibilities for change unless you move it into concrete action with those creative ideas. That’s how the brain works to lose or gain creative progress … each time you pour in new ideas or actions that are unrelated to the old ones there, the older ones are replaced. It’s also why multi-tasking may not be a good solution unless these tasks relate to change ideas and actions already in your working memory.

Here are smart skills that increase innovation and add creativity to details at work:

1. Deliberately look for and find openings for enthusiasm, excitement, inspiration, and motivation … and you will have prepared your brain to spot a pinch of creativity.

2. Teach a colleague how imagination forms the beginning of creativity, and with that person imagine what can be created today where you work. In the process of teaching the brain retains 90% of what is taught, and so creativity is sparked.

3. Consciuosly let negatives and criticisms go and that decreases cortisol that blocks creativity in your brain.  Then, embrace freedom to find a creative approach for a specific task  you’ll do today, and serotonin will be released by the brain to help you create. If you are unsure how to start, imitate a creative action you observe in another worker, and watch your own innovative skills surface.

4. Build daily and begin to enjoy the process – and since no great thing is created suddenly, it’s best to make creative approaches daily bite-sized pieces. That prolongs the pleasure and leads to excellence.

5. Laugh at mistakes, and take risks for excellence, as mistake-making and risk-taking pave new neuron pathways for creative excellence. Jung added a final word, “If you have nothing at all to create, then perhaps you create yourself.”  Thoughts?