Take a Break from Your Everyday Life (and Improve Your Creative Thinking)

Yeah I’ve heard the story so many times before. You feel trapped in your daily routine. The monotony of your life, the same old stupid things that you repeat day in and day out stifle your creative thinking. There are simply too many things you have to do, so many tasks to finish, goals to accomplish, you have no time to listen to your own thoughts, let alone spare time to engage in some creative activity.

Love Locks - I discovered them during one of my creative walks by the banks of Vltava in Prague

What really happens is that you put everything and everyone else before your own emotional needs. And all the time you have this false feeling that you are doing good things for your career, your family, your community... while you are feeling dumb and unhappy inside. A strange notion that you are missing out on something important haunts you and leaves you physically, emotionally and creatively drained.

I am not pretending to be the wisest person in the world (I am obviously not) but I have a piece of advice that I wish to share here with you.

There is a very simple solution to your problem.

You do not need pills, no psycho-therapy, no expensive trips to spa resorts. In fact, the solution that I suggest may not cost you a cent! It is so simple, yet so powerful that it can add new quality to your life.

All you really need to feel normal and happy again is some time on your own – a simple time out from your everyday life!

You need a time out from everybody, including yourself; a time when you will put all the worries, duties, your everyday roles as parent, lover, professional, etc. behind and clear your mind from the usual thoughts that preoccupy it.

Make a vow to spend two hours every week alone with yourself. It can be some time during weekends, or during weekdays, if you find them more convenient. Decide upon a day in a week when you will free some time and spend it any way you like it. Cherish those two hours and do not let anyone, or anything, take them away from you. If two hours sounds too much at this point, at least start with one hour. You deserve it, do not feel guilty for having it.

If you decide to spend your creative hours in your home, you can find some peaceful spot where you can lounge undisturbed while sipping hot coffee and reading your favourite book. You can spend time working in your garden; or you can take a walk in the nearby park; or you can visit a city zoo. I personally prefer long walks by the river but I also enjoy going to toy shops. (Sometimes I buy a toy for myself.) You can also go to the movies (forget about DVD’s for a moment), or visit art galleries. You can explore a local bookstore, or go to a matinee concert. If you are a sporty type, you can take fast walks, buy a monthly ticket for a swimming pool or take dancing classes. There are hundreds of ways in which you can spend the time with yourself doing things that you enjoy.

If you still doubt that this is a good idea and think that there are more important things in life than idling, you are terribly wrong.

Most of your duties are self-imposed. Things that you do in your spare time, like reading just another report or going through your e-mails again and again, cleaning your house, cooking meals for your family, preparing your kids for school... are the duties that can sometimes prevent you from exploring and looking after your own emotional needs. Sure, these are all important tasks which have to be done but why do YOU always have to do them? Is there somebody who can jump in and take over some of these responsibilities from you? The world is not going to end if you postpone laundry washing for tomorrow and instead do something you enjoy doing. Everybody deserves a time out, so do you!

Sometimes people avoid spending time on their own because they are afraid of their own thoughts and emotions. They would rather watch stupid shows on the TV, read glossy magazines and daydream about the things they will never be able to afford or meet with friends and discuss the same old topics over and over again.

Most of us would rather stay focused on the external things and events, rather than on what is really going on in our mind. Painful as it may be this look inside can also be very liberating.

Time out of your daily routine will help you recharge your physical and emotional energy. You will prove to you that you care for yourself and respect the person that you are. You will feel more alive. You will open your creative chakras and let inspiration flow through your entire being.

Relaxed mind is opened to new sensations, images, sounds, smells... Only in such a state it is able to make new mental connections and create new ideas. In the moments of relaxation you are most likely to experience the ‘a-ha! effect’, a sudden blast of light which announces the birth of a new idea. Neuro-science has proved the connection between relaxation and meditation and creative thinking.

So, enjoy the time with yourself and remember this rule: during your creative hours you have the permission to be adventurous, silly, entertaining, inspired... Do not judge yourself and do not let others judge you. Just dip in and enjoy every second of it.

I will love you forever for sharing this article on Facebook or Twitter.

If you like this and previous posts you can subscribe here and receive my posts by e-mail, or if you prefer, you can subscribe for my RSS feeds.
If you wish to further explore this topic, you can check out the selection of my favourite books about creative thinking.

Key words for this blog post:
creative thinking, finding inspiration, overcoming creative blocks...

Creative Stone

Creative people sometimes get so deeply stuck with their lack of inspiration that no ordinary methods for overcoming creative blocks can help. Sometimes, a little help from above is needed, some creative mojo that will magically unblock their thinking and make their creative juices flow. In this game that the creative people have to play on their own, any method can serve the purpose as long as the final goal of being able to create again is achieved.

My Creative Stone (Fluorite)

Writing, just like any other activity requires constant work and practice. During the past few months I was working on the projects that separated me from my creative thinking blog so much that at one point I felt I completely lost touch with it. When I finally sat down to write, I felt drained out of inspiration and it was hard for me to focus on my posts. The activity that once was pleasurable suddenly became extremely difficult and hard to accomplish.

Something had to be done. I did not feel depressed, I did not become panicky, I new that I simply fell out of practice. If you stop jogging for several months, you cannot expect to run a marathon the first time you step back on the running track.

I was at peace because I know these three truths about creativity:

1. Universe is full of fresh ideas

Just look at the beauty and the perfection of Nature’s work. Think of all those brilliant ideas that make up the world around us. Where did all those ideas come from? Who provided that abundance of forms, colours, mechanisms... and who made them fit together so perfectly? The answer is simple: Universe.

2. Ideas are available to everyone

Some people easily recognize and use ideas, others just let them fly past them. Some find inspiration in everything that they do, others have to try hard to think of new ideas. To most people ideas come randomly and unexpectedly, but some people are able to search and find specific ideas just when they most need them. Ideas are everywhere around us, all one has to do is reach out and grab them.
     

3. I can have ideas whenever I need them

There are so many things which can block my connection to the Universe and the ideas it holds in store for me, like stress, physical exhaustion, all kinds of distractions, strong emotions... If I can learn how to overcome those blocks, I will be able to create freely and abundantly.

Although I knew all this, I still needed an extra something to help me get new ideas, a device that will channel creative energy from the Universe directly to my work. I needed a radio which would catch creative frequencies and broadcast fresh ideas for me.

I though what could that be. What thing has such powers to become my source of infinite inspiration? I new that it had to be a simple, everyday object that can be easily found and carried around. Then it dawned on me. I needed a stone with special powers, a stone which will attract creative energies from the Universe and store them for me so that I can use them whenever I wanted. With such a stone in my possession, I will never run out of inspiration!

Always keep your creative mojo with you!

So I went on a quest to find my own, my one and unique Creative Stone. 

First I went through the collection of stones that I had compiled during my summer holidays. Many of them were marvellously looking but somehow unfit for the purpose. I needed not only a beautiful, but also a mysterious stone - because Universe works in mysterious ways. I realised that I needed a little less ordinary stone, I needed a crystal.

I decided to look for it in shops specialised in selling stones and crystals.

The first shop that I visited offered a vide variety of stones and crystals in different shapes and sizes. The shop assistant was eager to help me find the stone I needed, but I decided not to be the one who will choose the stone. Instead, I wanted to let the stone choose me. I searched through the shelves that contained big, colourful stones displayed on them. I dipped my fingers in wooden boxes containing small gems. I held them in my hand, marvelled at the reflections of light that they produced... but somehow, not one of the stones that I picked up convinced me that it was THE Creative Stone.

The next day I visited another shop and had pretty much the same experience. There were so many different stones of various shapes, cuts and sizes but none of them attracted me enough. Just when I thought of giving up, my eyes caught sight of a small, egg-shaped stone displayed on one of the shelves. It was purple, striped with smoke-like structures that gave it depth and reflected light in such a way that you had a feeling that it contained clouds of star dust inside. The moment I saw it, I new that I had found my Creative Stone.

The stone I chose was a fluorite. Later that day I searched the Internet for more information about it and I found some interesting facts that only proved that indeed I did not choose the stone - the stone choose me.

The name fluorite was derived from the Latin verb ’to flow’ (Remember, I needed the stone to stream my creative energy!). It is believed that fluorite increases our powers of concentration and self-confidence (Hmmm, writers need lots of concentration and self-confidence!). It encourages positivity, helps in decision making, improves physical and mental balance and coordination (Some positivity and balance will also come in handy!). One website even wrote: ’Purple Fluorite increases mystic visions and aids spiritual balance.  It helps the intuition to connect to the rational mind.’ (Ha, just how good is that!) Fluorite is the stone of the Pisces (Can you guess my Zodiac sign?) and purple fluorite is the stone of the third eye Chakra (Wow!). Fluorite is fluorescent under ultraviolet light (UV) and thermo luminescent – it glows when heated.

My Creative Stone (Fluorite)

My Creative Stone is small in size but great in powers. I always keep it on my desk whenever I write and I never seem to run out of ideas. It is small enough to fit my pocket, so I carry it around with me to accompany me on my creative journeys.

You can also look for your own creative helper. It need not be a stone, it can be any other object containing special powers that only you can recognize. My very good friend Divna, philosopher and writer, has a small Troll doll which she always carries with her. This Troll is her creative friend who always jumps in and whispers new ideas in her ear whenever she needs some inspiration.

So be imaginative, look around you, and search for interesting objects that can become a source of your inspiration. It can be a hairpin that you made when you were a small girl, a toy, a dry leaf with beautiful and inspiring colours or a sea shell that you picked up from the sea bed the last time you went on a vacation.

Creative people are playful, they like to daydream and they recognize hidden meanings in objects and events around them. Allow yourself to be wacky and eccentric and use any tool available that can boost your creative thinking and help you grow your creative powers.

I will love you forever for sharing this article on Facebook or Twitter.

If you like this and previous posts you can subscribe here and receive my posts by e-mail, or if you prefer, you can subscribe for my RSS feeds.
If you wish to further explore this topic, you can check out the selection of my favourite books about creative thinking.

Key words for this blog post:
creative thinking, overcoming creative block, lack of inspiration, creative mojo, crystals... 

Problem Solving – Choosing the Best Strategy by Using Creative Thinking

You have a problem! You are not alone. Everybody has problems. Life is a continuous series of problems. The good thing is that every problem has a solution, though it may not be very obvious from the start, or easy to achieve. This is why problem solving can turn out to be such a puzzling and frustrating process. I will share with you two creative thinking techniques that should help you tackle your situation and open the roads towards reaching your desired goals.

Photo by woodleywonderworks. Please visit woodleywonderworks' photostream. Thank you.

 

Today we are going to write scenarios of futures.

According to the dictionary, ’a scenario is an imagined or projected sequence of events, especially any of several detailed plans or possibilities’. Scenarios are very useful creative tool because they can offer an insight into potential situations and environments that you may encounter while solving a particular problem. They can also indicate which environmental factors to monitor over time, so should the environment change, you can recognize where it may be heading. You do not need to be a skilled script writer to be able to write future scenarios. You just need to gather as much information possible about the problem and its potential solutions and then use your experience and imagination to create your own versions of future events. Good thing about writing scenarios is that they are less risky than standard action plans and more flexible because they do not rely on standard business forecasts and trend analyses. The best thing about this problem solving technique is that you can use scenarios in business - when deciding upon future strategies, but also in your personal life - to help you define your life goals and the paths towards their realisation.

Alternative Scenarios

To be able to write alternative scenarios you will need to identify major environmental factors that might influence the future, and consequently, the choice which problem solving idea to implement. These factors can be different forces, drivers, trends, limits... that could influence the conditions for the implementation of a particular idea or strategy. Then, you should develop four scenarios based on the principal factors, including the most important and most uncertain factors (those completely outside of your control). These four scenarios are:

Status Quo Scenario – a future in which current key conditions persist (e.g. legislation, social trends, cultural complexity, economic conditions...);

Sustainable Scenario – a resource-based or values-based scenario, the one that takes into consideration most preferable cultural trends and values;

Disaster Scenario – the one in which at least some conditions change for the worse, or some critical system fails;

Evolutionary Scenario – as opposition to Status Quo Scenario – the one comprising new values, new thinking, new social and cultural conditions (i.e. breaking away with the tradition, current patterns...)

Life is unpredictable and no matter how clever and creative we might be, it is likely to surprise us with unsuspected circumstances. It is possible that several, even all four scenarios occur in some form in the future. Also, certain issues and predictions from different scenarios might combine and become a part of our reality. With these four scenarios in hand, we will have a rich set of alternative futures and possible actions that we can execute according to a chosen scenario, or we can combine them depending on the current environmental conditions.

Alternative scenarios can also be developed as personal life scripts exploring different futures that might happen to you:

Status Quo Scenario – I live my life as it is; I am happy with where I am right now; my lifestyle, values, interests will not change significantly;

Sustainable Scenario – I am ready to change and accept the values, conditions, trends... that the modern society will impose on me;

Disaster Scenario – my life might turn ugly due to some personal, economic... problems that I might encounter;

Evolutionary Scenario – I am the master of my own future. I create my reality. I will live a new life and break all the ties that connect me to the Old Me.

Choose your future, voilà!

Photo by woodleywonderworks. Please visit woodleywonderworks' photostream. Thank you.

Perfect Scenario

This time you are required to think of the situation where all your problems are solved and you have reached your desired goal. Write down a detailed description of the perfect situation for your business, project or your personal life. Use as many details as you can think of - make your vision as vivid as if it would appear before you the very next time you blinked your eyes.

By visualising the perfect future you will block negative thinking and motivate your mind to think creatively about the possible problem solutions. Besides, by thinking about the (distant) future you will be less burdened with the immediate obstacles that normally tend to block your creative thinking. The process of writing the perfect script will reveal to you numerous important factors that constitute your idea. By modifying the constituent parts of the idea you will later be able to make it more feasible so that even if it turns out to be less perfect, the end result will still be very satisfying.

In the following days return frequently to your Perfect Scenario and write down all the actions you need to undertake in order to achieve the desired future. Allow yourself several days to come up with the most comprehensive list of actions and ideas for their execution. List all the actions and ideas chronologically, from the present day to the desired future. If it is a complex project with the overlapping steps, or if there are certain actions that require more time and resources to execute, draw a table chart to help you distribute the actions chronologically. Start executing those actions. What are the things that you can do this month to get closer to your goal? What are the things that you can do this week? Today? Right now?

Problem solving requires lots of courage and energy, but if you make a good strategy and divide your final goal into many small tasks that are easy to accomplish, with every new task finished, you will be one step closer to your goal.  

I will love you forever for sharing this article on Facebook or Twitter.

If you like this and previous posts you can subscribe here and receive my posts by e-mail, or if you prefer, you can subscribe for my RSS feeds.
If you wish to further explore this topic, you can check out the selection of my favourite books about creative thinking.

Key words for this blog post:

creative thinking, problem solving, creative thinking technique, scenario writing, script writing, life scripts...

End of the World Thinking Exercise

According to the Maya calendar, the end of the 13th baktun (400 years long time cycle) falls on December 21, 2012. Some historians believe this day should mark the end of the Maya calendar and at the same time, the end of time.

Planet Shopping Centre
Photo by billaday. Please visit  billaday's photostream. Thank you.

The world has already gone through the hype of cataclysmic predictions connected to this day, none of which was supported with a clear evidence that some huge geological or astronomical catastrophe is going to happen and wipe out everything on the Earth. After all, this is the end of the 13th cycle and nothing of the sort happened at the end of the previous 12. On the other hand, we witness tremendous social and political disturbances everywhere in the world, so it seems to me that if there is going to be a change, it is more likely to take place in our minds. The shift in our thinking might mark the beginning of the next time cycle. However, December 21, when Earth, Venus and the black hole in the centre of the Milky Way will align is coming soon, so, we will see what will happen.

In the meantime, let us have a more personal approach to the December 21 phenomenon. Let us imagine for a moment that something cataclysmic IS going to happen and that in an instant moment our lives ARE going to end! My life, your life, lives of your friends and family, they will all end! Bank accounts, careers, houses, boats... they will all be gone! We tend to think about the end of the world from the Hollywood and TV perspective - for us, natural disasters are just some dramatic pictures taking place somewhere far away - rarely do we think of it as something that could REALLY happen to us.

So imagine for a moment that your life is going to end on that December 21 and that you have some 180 days to live. What would you do in those 180 days? How would you spend them? How would you like to leave this world? As an unhappy and angry person or a calm and happy one? Is there anything that you would like to say to someone before everything ends? Would you like to do something that you have always wanted to do but you never had time? How many unfulfilled dreams will you leave behind?

I am inviting you to play a mind game - let’s call it the End of the World Exercise. Imagine that YOUR WORLD is about to end on December 21. I emphasize: your world because I am referring to the way you live right now and to everything that surrounds you right now. Imagine that you have 180 days to make certain things in your life right, or at least better, before everything ends. Are you happy with the life you live? Is there something that you think you can change right now? Are there some things that are already within your reach that you can work on to make those last days more meaningful?

Here is the hint of what you might do. Make a Top 5 List. The list will consist of:

5 activities that you enjoy most doing;

5 things that you would like to learn;

5 silly things that you would like to do but you never had courage to do them;

5 places that you enjoy visiting;

5 situations when you felt proud of yourself;

5 items in your closet that you feel particularly comfortable (and sexy) wearing;

5 things you enjoyed eating when you were a child;

5 ... the list can go on forever!

You will have 180 day to think about the things you mentioned in your Top 5 List and to actually do some of them. If you’ve always wanted to paint - paint your first painting. Learn 100 words in Japanese. Build a tree house for your children. Visit a favourite place from your childhood. Adopt a pet. Go bungee jumping, eat your favourite banana and ice cream salad (forget about calories for a moment)... Step out from your comfortable (but unhappy) reality and do something for yourself! The clock is ticking, the deadline for the termination of the project is approaching!

Planet Plum
Photo by b.e.n. Please visit  b.e.n.'s photostream. Thank you

Think about your relationship with the people and the things around you. Be present. Pay attention to details. Remember that there is an armchair in your living room that you particularly love? The view on the tree canopy from your bedroom window is very romantic! Don’t you think that the drawing you child just completed is very cute? The coffee in the morning tastes particularly nice! There are planes flying over your house, you can see their silver tails from your back garden. There are so many things around us that we can enjoy daily, we are just too busy to notice them! We only become aware of them once we are about to lose them!

In the next 180 days you should be particularly kind to the members of your family and your close friends. You will enjoy every moment of being together. When they talk you will look them in the eyes and concentrate on what they are saying to you. You will try to understand every single point they are making. You will find the way to tell them, or show them, that you love them! You will hug them and kiss them. If you are stressed out, you will think twice before speaking to them; you will not use harsh words. You will stop noticing their faults – nobody’s perfect! Even if they do something that you do not approve of, you will find the way to speak your mind without hurting or judging anyone. If these are the last days that you are going to spend together, spend them in harmony!

Here are some additional things that you can do:

Call a friend you have not heard from for ages just to say hello;

Write an email to thank someone for something they have done for you long time ago;

Send someone flowers;

Forgive someone;

Praise someone;

Smile;

Do someone a favour;

Donate a small sum of money;

Think of other things that could make you and people around you happy, and do them!

I personally don’t like to think negative and pessimistic thoughts, I even struggled to find the title for this game because the End of the World Exercise sounded too terrifying to me. But then I thought that sometimes we need to be confronted with negative experiences only to discover our true nature and make a step forward in our personal development. So I thought, what the hell, let’s call it the End of the World Exercise. Let it sound scary because it should make us wake up to our reality, think about our lives and find courage to start making changes for the better. Whenever you are hesitant about something, whenever you are procrastinating REMEMBER THAT YOU HAVE LIMITED TIME TO FINISH THE MOST IMPORTANT PROJECT CALLED – LIFE!

Use this mind game to prepare yourself for the next bactun, the world beyond December 21. Let the End of the World Exercise help you define what makes you unhappy in your present world. Start making small changes NOW - they will lead to bigger changes in future and to creating NEW, BETTER, HAPPIER, MORE CREATIVE, YOU!

 

I will love you forever for sharing this article on Facebook or Twitter.

If you like this and previous posts you can subscribe here and receive my posts by e-mail, or if you prefer, you can subscribe for my RSS feeds.
If you wish to further explore this topic, you can check out the selection of my favourite books about creative thinking.

Key words for this blog post:

creative thinking, thinking exercise, creative technique, Maya calendar...

Why Can’t I Be Leonardo?

In the normal course of events many men and women are born with remarkable talents; but occasionally, in a way that transcends nature, a single person is marvellously endowed by Heaven with beauty, grace and talent in such abundance that he leaves other men far behind, all his actions seem inspired and indeed everything he does clearly comes from God rather than from human skill. Everyone acknowledged that this was true of Leonardo da Vinci, an artist of outstanding physical beauty, who displayed infinite grace in everything that he did and who cultivated his genius so brilliantly that all problems he studied he solved with ease.

Giorgio Vasari, in the enlarged edition of Lives of the Artists, 1568,

Leonardo's Ornithopter
Photo by dou_ble_you. Please visit  dou_ble_you’s photostream. Thank you.

The genousness of Leonardo’s thoughts and work have fascinated his conteporaries and people throughout centuries. He was a true polymath, a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In his notebook diaries that he was keeping almost his entire life he left us amazing drawings, technical and scientific sketches and observations that prove that he was indeed a man before his time. As human civilisation progressed our knowledge expanded but the number of polymaths like Leonardo decreased. Why is it so? Why is it so difficult for a modern person to become a Leonardo?

There are numerous factors which made Leonardo - Leonardo. Here are some of them.

Lack of formal education

Leonardo was a bastard child, his father was a legal notary and mother a peasant girl, and was therefore denied formal education. He did get some informal education in Latin, geometry and mathematics but most of his knowledge he started to receive upon entering the art studio of Verocchio, a famous Florentine artist, at the age of fourteen. The initial educational drawback, proved benefitial to Leonardo’s creativity because his thinking did not get boxed into specialized segments. Instead, Leonardo developed a holistic approach in everything that his intellect was occupied with. This and the diversity of his interests led him to undertake all kinds of different projects which intrigued his mind and imagination.

Lack of formal education helped Leonardo develop cryptic thinking – willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox and uncertainity, something that modern educational system usually does not encourage.

Lack of professional expertise

Leonardo was a professional paintor but he was not a professional doctor, engineer, matematician, geologist, cartographer, botanist... Yet it did not prevent him from doing serious research on human anatomy, constructing machines, studing perspective and earth’s tectonic plates, drawing maps and detailed cross sections of plants... In Leonardo’s time one did not need specialised knowledge in a particular area to be able to do scientific research.

Leonardo often experimented with painting techniques and that did not always work well. This is the reason why many of his works were lost during time. Although he was a master paintor, it seems that he was not such an expert in developing new painting techniques.

In 2003 a British television station Channel Four commissioned a documentary Leonardo's Dream Machines, and they built and tested Leonardo’s machines in the programme. Some of them worked well while many fared less well when practically tested.

It is doubtful that a modern man could gather enough knowledge to be able to make major discoveries in different subject areas. Or even if he did try to do so, he would probably get discouraged because most of his inventions would not be good enough, they would not work properly and would need time to develop. It is obvious that Leonardo was creating without having to worry whether his designs would ultimately work or not. In the abundance of ideas and designs that he left us, there were some that were unsuccessful but also some that were simply genial.

Innate curiosity

During Leonardos’s time there were so many things that were unexplored and undiscovered. Leonardo would look at the world around him and ask questions - and there were no answers. There were no public libraries to go to, no Google to consult. To find answers, Leonardo had to work things out for himself. His curiosity and his unrelenting quest for knowledge led him to think of ideas that were unusual for his time and invent machines that were impossible to construct either because there was no technology that would allow their production or readiness to recognize their practical use.

Availability of information can kill curiosity.

Rubbing shoulders with the best

Leonardo lived in the time when there was a strong culture of new thinking. He was surrounded by people who supported creativity and had great appreciation for new ideas.

In his lifetime Leonardo was able to make friends with the most prominent people of his time. He spent his childhood in Florence which was at that time the centre of Christian Humanist thought and culture. Leonardo received his artistic education in the workshop of Verocchio, the same workshop where other famous artists were educated: Domenico Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Botticelli, and Lorenzo di Credi. While he was living with the Medici family, Leonardo was working in the Garden of the Piazza San Marco in Florence, a Neo-Platonic academy of artists, poets and philosophers that the Medici had established. He got to know Marsiglio Ficino, famous Neo-Platonic philosopher; John Argyropoulos, teacher of Greek and translator of Aristotle; Pico Della Mirandola, young poet and philosopher and many other artists and free thinkers.

Leonardo worked for Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan; he lived at the courts of Venice and Bologna; rendered his services to Cesare Borgia, the son of Pope Alexander VI. Later in his life he lived in the Belvedere Pallace in the Vatican in Rome and his last years he spent at Clos Lucé, a home given to him by Francis I, the king of France.

Being near and around the greatest intellectuals of his time must have influenced Leonardo’s thinking and motivated him to constantly create new ideas.

Having strong persistence

In the past people did not live comfortably the way we live now. People used to struggle to survive, they had to persist numerous difficulties that life imposed on them. This persistence is also reflected in the way Leonardo thought. He was willing to experiment and learn from his own mistakes. For him, failure was not a setback but a step toward success. It always offered a new insight into what should be improved.

Modern man does not waste time on endless trials and errors. We live too fast and have no time to be persistent even if we wanted to. In modern society failure is not permitted - if something does not work, we rather give it up than work on its improvement!    

Analytical skills

Leonardo was most famous as a painter, but his thinking was essentially logical and the empirical methods that he used in his work were rather unusual for his time. He possessed great analytical skills that were best put to use in his studies of anatomy. Both his medical and artistic drawings show how observant he was of the subject that he was studying. These skills helped him get interesting insights and reach conclusions that many before him did not make.

Nowadays most people do not stop to think and analyze things surrounding them. We expect things to be obvious and we tend to overlook important information that could lead us to interesting insights which can inspire new ideas.      

No noise in the brain

Leonardo lived in a world that was much different from the world that we are living in. Living at that time was much slower. There were no traffic jams, no TV and radio, no smart phones and other things that would distract people from thinking about things that were important to them.

Those who led ordinary lives thought ordinary thoughts and people like Leonardo thought about things that will still puzzle and fascinate us centuries after his death.

POST UPDATE:

One of my readers, Nelly, wrote to me about an interesting event that is celebrating the spirit of Leonardo da Vinci:

'Since 2002, people in businesses, homes, organizations, schools and communities (106 at last count) in over 46 countries spend the week beginning April 15th (Leonardo da Vinci’s Birthday), ending on April 21st to enliven, encourage, enjoy and express their creative spirit. This period of time is known as Idea Week.'
To find out more information about the event, please visit http://www.creativityday.org or http://worldcreativity.wordpress.com

I will love you forever for sharing this article on Facebook or Twitter.

If you like this and previous posts you can subscribe here and receive my posts by e-mail, or if you prefer, you can subscribe for my RSS feeds.
If you wish to further explore this topic, you can check out the selection of my favourite books about creative thinking.

Key words for this blog post:

Creative thinking, Leonardo Da Vinci, think like Leonardo, cryptic thinking ...

Montreal Students Protest – Creative VS Stale Thinking in the Battle for Student Rights

Yesterday I was watching Russia Today news channel when I saw an interesting report about the Montreal Students Protest. The report was about the perseverance of protestors who have been demonstrating for more than 100 days against the announced hike in the tuition fees at the state universities, despite the constant clashes with the police, pepper spray and over 2,500 arrests (so far). What struck me most about this incident was the apparent difference in thinking between the students and the state officials which is having effect on the course of the events taking place in Quebec, and maybe soon in other Canadian provinces. While students have been flexible and creative in their thinking, the state displayed rigid, non-creative thinking attitude that seems to be backfiring on it.

Marching route of the Montreal protestors (Source: Business Insider)

The Montreal students uprise started in the beginning of this February after the announcement of the plan to increase Quebec university fees by 75% over the next five years. The first student demonstrators were forcibly dispersed by riot police, and on 23 February the police used excessive force - batons and tear gas to disperse the growing crowd. Soon after, the arrests followed and even one member of the press suffered detention.   

Oppression as manifestation of weak and unimaginative mind

In response to the students’ reaction the state officials turned to law in order to curb the protests. The reaction was so utterly traditional, unimaginative and reflective of slow and stale mind - so typical of governments. On 18 May the state passed an emergency law known as Bill 78 which restricts freedom of assembly, protest, or picketing on or near university grounds, and anywhere in Quebec without prior police approval. It restricts public gatherings larger than 50 people, provides fines for protest leaders endorsing unsanctioned events and forbids covering of faces on demos. The law also places restrictions upon education employees right to strike.   

Resistance requires creativity

This utterly stupid reaction of the National Assembly of Quebec and the continued brutal actions of the police have inspired the students to become even more determined and creative in their struggle. They launched Please Arrest Me! web site ( Arrêtez-moi quelqu’un! ) in which they openly protest against the Bill 78 holding the signs saying: I disobey. Furhermore, when asked by the  police officers to submit the map of the route of the following protest, the students provided the map with the route that nicely illustrated their attitude towards the Montreal police. On their daily marches through the streets of Montreal the protestors are waving flags of Quebec and banners denouncing the latest national emergency laws, they are banging pots and pans or playing instruments and whistling, some of them are marching on bicycles, rollerblades, and skateboards, some are wearing Halloween costumes and some no clothes at all!  

Arrêtez-moi quelqu’uren! website

Will creativity win the game?

The war is still vaging but it seems that the studdents are winning the latest battles. Ontario students have pledged to take to the streets in solidarity with their protesting fellows in Montreal and other cities of Quebec. French-speaking students in Quebec are now supported by English-speaking students and international students  The outraged public is giving support to the protestors - there are more and more proffesors, family members, public servants, different activists, people from all walks of life who are joining the youth of Montreal in ther protest. The student uprising managed to mobilize masses thanks to its emotional and joyful approach to the actual act of public disobeyance.

If the students want to win this battle they should go on with this strategy of making the protest honest and creative – this is the best way to win the favours and support of the broad public. They should maintain their enthusiasm and use humor whenever they find the opportunity to do so. Humour empowers people, it gives them hope and at the same time it pisses the other side off. Arrêtez-moi quelqu’uren! website is a good example of this strategy. However, we have to keep in mind that political battles are fought and won on the ground, in the real world, not in the cyberspace. The students should stay united and maintain non-violent discipline because the moment these demonstrations turn into violence, all their arguments will be lost and the other side will get the excuse to use force to stifle their resistance. 

I will love you forever for sharing this article on Facebook or Twitter.

If you like this and previous posts you can subscribe here and receive my posts by e-mail, or if you prefer, you can subscribe for my RSS feeds.
If you wish to further explore this topic, you can check out the selection of my favourite books about creative thinking.

Key words for this blog post:

Creative thinking, Montreal Students Protest, Bill 78, non-violent struggle, public disobeyance...