Do you do your best thinking when you’re driving in traffic, taking a jog, just before you nod off or while you’re taking a shower? It’s a fact that many people seem to encounter their brilliance when their minds shut off from thinking about the here and now and simply wander. The challenge is that your moment of peace is often interrupted by this intense desire to escape from your solitude or find something to write on, lest you forget your winning idea.
At least once a week, every entrepreneur should make time to do ‘relaxed thinking’. This is the time when we create great ideas, work through problems and crack codes. Although it’s seemingly when your conscious mind turns off and your subconscious mind awakens that you spark ideas, it’s important to understand that you can use your conscious mind to frame and shape the ideas you come up with. As Dr. Joseph Murphy states in The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, “The conscious mind is like the captain at the bridge of a ship. He directs the ship and signals orders to men in the engine room… The men in the engine room do not know where they are going; they follow orders. They would go on the rocks if the man on the bridge issued faulty or wrong instructions…”. Recognize your power to create ideas and make the time to think them.
6 Tips for Shutting off your Mind
1. Frame your thoughts – Identify what type of ideas you want to come up with. This helps steer your subconscious mind in the direction your conscious mind wants to travel in.
2. Schedule – Clear your calendar for at least 30 minutes. Make sure others know that you can’t be interrupted.
2. Remove all distractions – It’s important to understand what helps you relax and what distracts you. For example, some people find music distracting, others find it soothing.
3. Get comfortable – Wear comfortable clothing and sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
4. Breathe – Focus on your breathing – deep and slow breaths.
5. Have a pen & pad nearby – If you have a great idea, give yourself the ability to record it so you don’t spend the remainder of your relaxation wound up, trying to hold on to the one idea you thought up.
6. Don’t have any expectations – Be prepared for a good idea, but don’t expect one. After all, this kind of defeats the purpose of relaxing. If an idea comes, great! If not, don’t sweat it. You just got 30 minutes of peace and tranquility.
The Importance of Spontaneity
Spontaneous thoughts will continue to happen, even if you’re training your mind to work in a relaxed state. So be prepared for these thoughts. I have notepads on my bedside table, in my living room and in my car. I’ve also downloaded some voice recording apps (Evernote is my favorite free app) for my iPhone to capture ideas when I don’t have a pen and paper handy. The key is to be prepared so you don’t spend the following few days wracking your brain trying to remember your great idea.
Bonus: For those of you who get your best ideas in the shower, here’s a great product for you…an in-shower notepad.
My question to you…
Where do you do your best thinking? And how do you harness those ideas?
Blog Post: take more showers . and drive more http://www.ready2spark.com/2009/12/take-…
@ready2spark I can’t get the link to work? It goes to your homepage (and I LOVE the new site by the way.)
@beevents That’s strange – just tried it & it works… http://www.ready2spark.com/2009/12/take-… <–let me know if this 1 doesn’t work. PS – thanks!
@ready2spark I get page not found (your homepage). I search for “showers” and find the article but there is no text there. just a title.
What a wonderful post. Its funny because I have several moments that help my creative thinking.
While taking shower is one of them, the other is after a great surf session … Im so relaxed !
You mind is saw and ideas are trees. Take some time to sharpen your saw.
sparkitup!
What a wonderful post. Its funny because I have several moments that help my creative thinking.
While taking shower is one of them, the other is after a great surf session … Im so relaxed !
You mind is saw and ideas are trees. Take some time to sharpen your saw.
sparkitup!
YES! Finally a note pad for the shower. It is inevitable that the best ideas hit my head the minute I am unable to write anything down (shower, car, falling asleep etc…) In many ways I think it is true that the minute the mind wonders the ability to have ideas happens. (And if it is in the moments before I fall asleep, I won’t be able to sleep until I get up and write everything down.) But one cannot underestimate the power of the subconscious to have the great gut ideas an entrepreneur needs to noodle about. For more on the subconscious, check out Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink. Absolutely fascinating.
There is also something interesting here in terms of creative thinking. I don’t know if it is bad behavior or bad training, but I have yet to learn how to think creatively on command. I have to be inspired. My gut has to know. My body has to decide it is ready to be creative. It happens when music is playing and a deadline is looming. But foreseeing a coming deadline, it amazes me how often I am “incapable” of being creative, of writing the article in advance or putting together the proposal if my being is not telling me to be creative.
YES! Finally a note pad for the shower. It is inevitable that the best ideas hit my head the minute I am unable to write anything down (shower, car, falling asleep etc…) In many ways I think it is true that the minute the mind wonders the ability to have ideas happens. (And if it is in the moments before I fall asleep, I won’t be able to sleep until I get up and write everything down.) But one cannot underestimate the power of the subconscious to have the great gut ideas an entrepreneur needs to noodle about. For more on the subconscious, check out Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink. Absolutely fascinating.
There is also something interesting here in terms of creative thinking. I don’t know if it is bad behavior or bad training, but I have yet to learn how to think creatively on command. I have to be inspired. My gut has to know. My body has to decide it is ready to be creative. It happens when music is playing and a deadline is looming. But foreseeing a coming deadline, it amazes me how often I am “incapable” of being creative, of writing the article in advance or putting together the proposal if my being is not telling me to be creative.
On the drive into work, definitely. My mind is fresh and has nothing to do but wander and scheme. Great post!
On the drive into work, definitely. My mind is fresh and has nothing to do but wander and scheme. Great post!
Blog Post: take more showers . and drive more http://www.ready2spark.com/2009/12/take-…
@ready2spark I can’t get the link to work? It goes to your homepage (and I LOVE the new site by the way.)
@beevents That’s strange – just tried it & it works… http://www.ready2spark.com/2009/12/take-… <–let me know if this 1 doesn’t work. PS – thanks!
@ready2spark I get page not found (your homepage). I search for “showers” and find the article but there is no text there. just a title.