20 MARCH 2024 WorldWide Drilling Resource® The Un-Comfort Zone II by Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. Develop a Creativity Habit and Get More Out of Life Most people are more creative than they realize. The problem is they believe creativity is a gift only a few people are born with. It is actually a skill anyone can develop, at any age. A great way to gain this skill is to develop a creativity habit. With this habit, you'll enjoy many benefits including better mental and physical health. You may also reap financial rewards from it. The main benefit is creativity makes you feel good. It's fun and relaxing. And, when you get so engrossed in it, time just disappears. I discovered this by accident. You see, I have two careers: writing and speaking, both of which required me to do creative thinking on a regular basis. As a professional writer, I mostly write advertising copy. When I first started, I would rewrite existing advertising headlines on a daily basis as an exercise to develop my creative ability. Over time, it became a habit. I still do this today like second nature. If I see an ad with a failing headline, then in my head, I'll revise it how I think it should’ve been written. As a speaker, I like to add humor to my presentations, which means I create jokes relevant to the audience. This is part of the effort I make when I write a speech for a particular organization. To be prepared for when I’m hired, I make it a point to find comedy in everyday situations wherever I go: out to eat, shopping, or the gas station. I enjoy making people laugh so much it’s become a creative habit. Developing a creativity habit teaches you to look at things in different ways, which is a key component in creative thinking. Albert Gyorgyi, the Nobel Prize winning scientist who discovered vitamin C, observed, “Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” In other words, when you get a different perspective, you are more likely to see creative opportunities. The benefits of developing a creativity habit begin with the mental stimulation you’ll enjoy. When you do something for the first time, you lay down new neural pathways in your brain. This is called neuroplasticity, and when you learn or experience something new, you create new connections between brain cells and open new channels of thought. The more you do that activity, you strengthen and reinforce those neural pathways which makes it easier to do each time. In other words, the more you practice creativity - the more creative you will become. Research shows creativity improves happiness and well-being. Here’s how the science of developing a creativity habit will make you feel good: novel experience triggers the brain’s reward system that produces dopamine, a neurotransmitter and hormone which elevates mood, motivation, and focus. You'll be unaware of the science; you'll just notice the pure joy you'll feel while creating something. In my experience, there is nothing more gratifying or exhilarating than being enmeshed in the creative process. Other studies demonstrate engaging Wilson Cont’d on page 22.
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