A few tips on how to concentrate your mind: Is it possible to develop creativity?

The biggest trait that separates humans from animals is the power of imagination. We imagine what is, what is not, what could be, or what is impossible, and we wish it to happen, even if it seems impossible. We use our imagination to create stories, write books and turn them into films. We create inventions that will make our lives easier. We decorate our house to our liking and design our own costumes. We can count thousands of areas where we show our creativity. In today’s article, I will include quotes and comments from the book (Tomorrowmind), which I enjoyed reading and which I can recommend to anyone who thinks about learning and development. I am sure it will be useful to those who want to grow and develop their creative side.

Creative researchers base the definition of an idea as creative on three main factors; originality, surprise and relevance or benefit to the audience. The latter feature has been highlighted as the biggest factor separating figurative ideas from creative ones, but I think the question of whether this audience is ready to use this idea is also open to debate.

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies and applications that can easily replace the human brain in many subjects, it has become important for us to keep our creative side active and further strengthen it. To do this, we need to understand how creativity works and how we can develop this muscle. The default mode network in our brain allows us to think, dream about the present or the future, and make plans. The network in default mode makes us independent of time and place in our minds. – I wonder what it could be? produces scripts. This makes the network in default mode one of the three main channels for creativity.

The other two main channels in our brain are the Perceptible Network and the Executive Control Network, which work in conjunction with the Default Mode Network. The attention-seeking network observes conscious and attention-demanding cues in the external and internal environment. If it determines the importance and priority of these features, then it allows us to focus on it and activate or deactivate other networks accordingly. The executive control network, on the other hand, is thought to be responsible for external awareness that regulates executive functions that control and mediate cognitive processes, including memory, reasoning, flexibility, problem solving, and planning.

Here’s how this trio works to promote creativity. A creative idea first occurs when the default mode network is active and these very spontaneous and unconscious ideas start to connect with each other. Later, some of them get caught in the attention web and eventually turn into a more logical and meaningful, refined idea with a web of executive control. With this idea, the executive control network gives feedback to the default mode network when a creative problem is solved.

To make this cycle work well, we can do exercises that activate these 3 important networks.

Dopamine, known as the reward hormone, is one of the neurotransmitters that connects to the default mode network and the executive control network. For this reason, dopamine-boosting activities help these networks work better, improve our creativity, and keep us open to new ideas. Good sleep, healthy eating, protein intake, regular and frequent exercise, spending time in nature, sunbathing, and meditation promote the natural release of dopamine.

There is no denying the importance of trying to relax our minds (mindfulness) in many ways, but research shows that mind wandering is very important for creativity. In order for these thoughts passing through our minds to turn into a creative product or idea, we first need to perform a purposeful activity. Activating the executive control network by focusing our attention on solving the problem allows this network to then connect with the default mode network, which is very important for the default mode network to come up with the next creative idea. Of course, when we do this throughout the day, such as going to meetings, working non-stop at a busy job, our mind activates the executive control network and completely disables the default mode network, creating the main channel that we need to work. generating creative ideas that are unusable. Therefore, after such work that keeps us in problem-solving mode in the mind, time spent on activities that will relax our mind, such as hiking, reading a book, exercising, and free writing, will provide the active area that the default mode network needs. . Mindfulness, on the other hand, will undermine the creative process as it still requires concentration (our feelings and emotions). Remember that in order to activate the default mode network and the creative process, our mind needs to wander more than focus.

In addition to these three important networks, it is important to pay attention to the characteristics of creative people because these behaviors support three important networks. According to the study, creative people have the following five important characteristics:

1. be open to experience
2. Have a sense of responsibility
3. extraversion
4. Don’t be friendly
5. emotional instability

When I looked at these five, question marks about myself popped into my head. But if you look at the core, all of these traits are, in essence, about openness to experience. For example, the main goal of extraversion and friendliness is to communicate with as many people as possible, that is, to be open to new acquaintances. This will help you learn something new and therefore expand your vision and come up with more creative ideas.

Emotional instability is another trait that can create a question mark in the mind. The emphasis here is not on being just optimistic or just being pessimistic. While optimism and positive moods evoke creativity, negative emotions such as anxiety, stress, and anxiety are also effective fuels for creativity.

As Rollo May writes in his book The Courage to Create, “Creativity is a meeting of a person with a concentrated consciousness of his own world”. I hope this article has provided you with some tips and resources for focusing your mind.

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