( p.s. *Everyone* has these thoughts) Photo: Denise Jacobs
“If your demons are such that they fill the room the instant you contemplate creating, your studio will be too dangerous a place to enter.” Eric Maisel, author of Fearless Creating
How to ID your Inner Critic http://www.flickr.com/photos/lambdachialpha/203904103/
“The goal is to manage anxiety so that our energies are used for the productive and satisfying (act) of creating, rather than the destructive and debilitating art of self-torture.” Clare Warmke, Idea Revolution
“The parts of your brain that are responsible for self-monitoring are literally turned off during creative endeavors….Creative people have mastered the art of turning off [the inhibitive] part of their brains to let their ideas flow more smoothly, unleashing their imagination.”
Tina Seelig, InGenius
Hack >> Say NO to Comparisons http://www.flickr.com/photos/suvodeb/2559017400/
“You cannot compare your insides to someone else’s outsides.”
(Btw, this your new mantra…) http://www.spunkysapphire.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/photo-1-e1406074730116.jpg
Hack >> Know the Impostor Syndrome Paradox
http://www.flickr.com/photos/x1brett/2279939232/
You will only experience impostor syndrome when you are competent and skilled.
“Our bodies change our minds, our minds change our behavior, and our behavior changes our outcomes.” Amy Cuddy, Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are TED talk
Hack >> Cop a Power Pose
Stand up. Assume a pose that embodies a sense of defeat, can’t do it, it will never work, “I suck/I’m no good/an impostor”, etc. Make yourself as small and powerless feeling as possible.
Then, strike a power pose. Imagine yourself as a superhero looking off into the distance seeing your destiny of major creative butt-kicking.
Alternate several times. Hold the power pose for as long as you can so that you can feel the change.
13-30 cps/Hz Waking alert conscious thinking, external sensory focus, concentration. Computing, arranging, organizing, make sense of external world. Prolongation of beta can lead to exhaustion, anxiety and tension.
Beta
8-12 cps/Hz Alert and lucid but relaxed thought, daydreaming, light meditation, internal focus, receptive state, visualization, creativity, accelerated or super-learning, increased serotonin levels.
Alpha
4-7.5 cps/Hz High states of creativity, subconscious creativity, deep relaxation/meditation, intuition, long-term memory, vivid visual imagery, creative inspiration, free idea flow, REM dream and deep sleep.
Theta
0.1-4 cps/Hz Intuition and insight, transcendental meditation, physical rejuvenation and healing, expansive awareness. Most often found in deep dreamless sleep and unconscious states.
Delta
31-120 cps/Hz Hyper brain activity and alertness, aha moment, super clarity, above average integration of sensory information, euphoria, sometimes anxiety.
Gamma
Alpha: the gateway to creativity
Close your eyes and relax. Breathe through your nose. Now place your tongue at the roof of your mouth,
turn your eyes towards the ceiling underneath your eyelids.
Take several deep, long breaths. As you relax, you are changing your brainwaves from
Clean up your work habit field by following the suggestions in the article “Habit Fields” by Jack Cheng. Create your equivalent of a “distraction chair” and move to it when you feel like you are inclined to surf the web, email, Tweet, Facebook, or engage in any other computer-related distraction. When you are ready to work again, come back to your desk.
Rinse and repeat until your work habit field is clear again and no longer fuzzy.
“…the confidence that, when given a difficult problem, we have a methodology that enables us to come up with a solution that nobody has before.” David Kelley of Ideo
Practicing different habits >> Transform your life
“Creativity makes day to day experiences more vivid, more enjoyable, more rewarding. When we live creatively, boredom is banished and every moment holds the promise of a fresh discovery.” Mihali Csikszentmihalyi, Creativity
Let out all of your great ideas http://www.flickr.com/photos/anieto2k/8156999698/
Get your creativity hack on!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bibi/5448158773/
The End…? (or is just the beginning?)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/imuttoo/232100469/
My upcoming book!
Banish Your Inner Critic
DeniseJacobs.com/InnerCritic
26 Effective Techniques for Unleashing Productive Creativity
THE CREATIVE DOSE A Creativity + Innovation Collective