News »Browse Articles » Slow down to go faster! - Creativity Consultant

Unhurried MiND is more KreaTivV *

Sometimes, it is not the circumstances, but our own mind which pushes us to come up with a solution quickly. Our mind is rushed perhaps because it is lazy (or efficient!). It wants to stop working as quickly as possible or maybe because it wants to reestablish the feeling of being effective and in control as quickly as possible. It wants us to choose the first good option. It wants to take decisions quickly.
Being patient allows us to use our unconscious mind’s resources in a better way.

In a research done by Milton Rokeach, it was shown that many people’s creativity was enhanced when they were asked to slow down. When they were prevented from delivering their first answer to a problem, they usually came up with a better answer later.

So the lesson is, when we are not clear, delay the decision and enjoy the options that will seemingly start popping out from nowhere!

In another interesting study by Daniel Goleman, 4-year-old children were left alone in a room (one at a time) with a candy for about 10 minutes. They were told that if they did not eat the candy while they were alone, they will be given 2 pieces of the candy later. In a follow up done many years later, the children who were able to resist temptation in this exercise scored higher on intelligence tests, were emotionally more stable, had better relationships!

Even though our culture today encourages instant gratification, practicing the ability to wait has its own benefits.

• Being comfortable without an instant solution makes the mind welcoming and spacious, taking away the feeling of strain and urgency.
• Accept that there will be times when you will not be able to solve a problem by trying to solve it. Sow the seed in your mind and let your subconscious mind work on it for some time.
• Let the ideas percolate to the top on their own.

The voices of intuition, hunches and insights are at most times not too strong. By being patient, we allow ourselves the best chance to be able to hear these voices which may have valuable ideas.

Source:
http://tickledbylife.com/index.php/slow-down-to-go-faster/

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