Just Do It!
Get your brain in the right state to be creative, think up ideas and then.... most importantly - Bring them to life!
Anybody who’s been to the pub, had a shower, gone for a run, a bike ride, a walk in the park, meditated or spent 10 mins not looking at their phone with a cup of tea (Yorkshire Gold) will know…. it’s easy to come up with ideas. This is because when you are in these situations your brain frequency will spend most of the time in alpha state. This is the preferred state of just being in the moment and of having freedom of thought.
So why do many of us find it so difficult to make these ideas come to life? The eureka moment buzz that envelops your entire being as you either order your third IPA, squelch through the muddy woods or reach for the shampoo is exciting. But once your mind starts to focus back on the mundane schedules of work, family commitments and laundry loads – the inquisitive flashes of ‘imagine ifs…!?’ and positive ponderings of ‘what ifs…!? Suddenly become subdued.
It’s always intrigued me why most people (myself included) find it so difficult to bring even simple creative thoughts to life. We’ve all been there. You think of an idea, you write it down. The end. Why? Mostly because we convince ourselves we are all busy. It’s nice to have an idea but to follow it through? That takes time. That takes extra effort and there’s already so much to do right? Hmm…sorry, that’s bullshit.
If you want to bring an idea to life, simple or complex, you have to devote time to it. Don’t watch that footy match, don’t watch that film, don’t watch that TV show on the couch, don’t endlessly scroll down your newsfeed. Set aside some time. It doesn’t matter if you work long hours. Do it before work. Do it after work. Do it at the weekend. Do it before you meet your mates on Saturday. Do it on a Sunday evening. Just (Please/F***ing) do it!
Why? Because believe me if you follow through with just the simplest brain wave on your ideas list, you might not change the world, but you’re going to feel really good. Creating something from scratch is enormously rewarding. The initial uncertainty of not knowing if your idea will work, the process of following it through and then bringing it to life makes you feel alive! You can also expect to feel:
- More connected with your imagination
- Present in ‘the moment’ in a world of constant distraction
- Challenged (your problem solving skills will get a work out)
- More confident in your future ideas
The picture at the top of this article is ‘The Republic of Bowl’ a simple idea of having word association within the shapes of fruit. I wrote down the idea, I doodled it. I then spent a couple of Sunday evenings drawing and cutting out words and shapes. I gave the idea some time and had fun making it. It’s now an original piece of art that’s framed and hangs in my kitchen. It exists in the real world, not just in my head. That feels good! That feels empowering as it gives me impetus to come up with and follow through with more ideas. After all, isn’t that one of the things that makes us humans..human?
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Matt Webster Co-Founder Media Bounty: A Brand Entertainment Agency