By Todd Henry
Discipline simply means making an agreement with yourself, and keeping it.
Read on accidentalcreative.com
CLEAR ALL
As a writer, I am in constant search for inspiration. Sometimes it comes to me out of the blue, but for the most part, I have to work hard for it. If only the solution were as simple as flipping a switch! Having creativity exercises on deck might just serve to unleash your creativity.
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Taking a modern look at a millennia-old concept. We experience the "flow state" when a given task becomes effortless and time slips by without our noticing. The concept has appeared in many ancient philosophies like Stoicism and Taoism, and modern research has confirmed this experience is real.
Many of us know what it’s like to be in a state of creative flow. Do you have to wait for inspiration to strike, or can you hack ‘the zone’?
You have what it takes to make art, if you make the choice to take what it takes. None of us knows whether our work will end up being great or not great, remembered or forgotten.
The concept of the flow, or being in the zone for an artist, is very much like the state an athlete achieves (or strives to achieve) for peak performance. It’s that place beyond all the effort, where time is meaningless and everything just flows.
As we peer around the corner of the pandemic, let’s talk about what we want to do—and not do—with the rest of our lives.
Creative people are able to juggle seemingly contradictory modes of thought—cognitive and emotional, deliberate and spontaneous.
Rather than looking to the usual sources for life hacks — you know, famous CEOs, world leaders, cult leaders — It’s time to look to a profession that often gets a tough rap (yet requires more grit and determination than most): Artists.
“I believe that collaboration is the solution and may bring us the harmony which would liberate art from its boundless confusion” - Jean Arp
Many professions require you to think flexibly and improvise all day long—but constant pressure to be inventive could be holding you back.