On journeys, perspective and creativity
As anyone working in a creative field knows, the perspective gained by spending time away from work is invaluable. A vacation, a sabbatical, a layoff or just a run around the block. Whatever your flavor it forces perspective and opens you to new experiences. And, as a result, new connections are made and the elusive spark of creative genius is more likely to find you. Sometimes setting something aside and tinkering elsewhere is the quickest path to personal revelation and/or bringing into existence something genuinely new and valuable.
And sometimes it just lets you catch up on your Netflix queue, which is its own kind of reward. The quote above comes from 180° South, a documentary that’s been languishing undeservedly in my watchlist for several years. It tells the story of Jeff Johnson attempting to retrace the 1968 journey of Yvon Chouinard (founder of Patagonia) and Doug Tompkins (founder of The North Face), who drove a van from California to Chile, adventuring along the way. More meditative than adrenaline-fueled, the film has beautiful scenery, inspiring feats of mountaineering, a strong environmental message, and some epic surf breaks. Well worth a watch.
Beyond stoking my wanderlust, it did get me thinking about the benefits of open-ended exploration, the promise of fresh discovery and how to make day-to-day experiences more vivid, more enjoyable and more rewarding. I have certain obligations. Mortgage, two kids, yadda, yadda. So a six month sojourn to the wilds of Patagonia just isn’t in the cards. But the very tangible psychic benefits of adventure and boundary exploration are essential. My livelihood and sense of personal gratification has depended largely on the ability to stimulate creativity—in myself, in others and within organizations. But the last few years have, for a variety of reasons, taken their toll. And I, like many others, have struggled with burnout and frustration with my job. How can I cultivate creativity and fuel revelation without hitting the road and without leaving it to chance? What’s a creative professional to do?
Recognizing that adequate sleep, regular exercise, and good nutrition are all necessary, but probably not sufficient, I turned to guru for the creative class, Mihaly Csikzenthmihalyi, who has helpfully written about the psychology of discovery and invention. I’ll be trying to put some of his recommendations for enhancing personal creativity into practice in the months ahead.
Curiosity and Interest
Try to be surprised by something every day.
Try to surprise at least one person every day.
Write down each day what surprised you and how you surprised others.
When something strikes a spark of interest, follow it.
Cultivating Flow in Everyday Life
Wake up in the morning with a specific goal to look forward to.
If you do anything well, it becomes enjoyable.
To keep enjoying something, you need to increase its complexity.
Habits of Strength
Take charge of your schedule.
Make time for reflection and relaxation.
Shape your space.
Find out what you like and what you hate about life.
Start doing more of what you love, less of what you hate.
Unsurprisingly, many of these tendencies are in ample evidence among the world-class adventurers populating 180° South. True adventure forces you out of your comfort zone, and that's when things get interesting. Here's to new journeys in 2023…