Your Ideas Are Gold by Suzanne Scheideker Cook
“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them and pretty soon you have a dozen.” - John Steinbeck
One of my favorite stories that illustrates this quote is about Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. He was trying to sleep but couldn’t because four bars of music kept repeating in his mind. Richards finally got up and hummed these bars into a tape recorder he had next to his bedstand. He then went back to sleep. The next morning, Keith Richards played these four bars again and they became the basis for the Rolling Stones’ hit “Ain’t Got No Satisfaction.”
Most of us have been stymied about how to move forward with a project or how to resolve a problem. When we least expect it, insight on how to move forward comes to us. Usually, we think we’ll remember it instead of taking the few seconds to capture our idea. Then once we try to recall it, it’s either too fuzzy or gone completely.
Other times, a book, quote, photograph, picture, or a piece of music sparks our creativity. We dismiss it by telling ourselves “we aren’t artistic.” Here’s the secret – you are unique and have an imagination and perspective that is yours alone. Instead of spending time putting yourself down, spend it on sketching, jotting, or recording the ideas that come to you. Then you can come back later and refine them.
Practicing your creativity daily has other benefits which includes improving your mind’s adaptability, strengthening your ability to see details, and seeing objects in a different light. To get your creative juices flowing, here are three challenges to choose from or better yet, do all three.
Draw 30 circles on a piece of paper. Then give yourself 10 minutes to draw a different item in each circle, i.e., 30 circles – 30 different objects.
Sketch the same object every day for a week. You can sketch your coffee cup, a notebook, or a vase of flowers. After the week is done, compare your drawings and see how they differ and what details you have added or deleted each day.
Start a journal. Write for five minutes daily with no judging and no editing of your work. Just let the words flow freely. Free form journaling on a regular basis can be transformative.
As John Wooden said, “Make each day your masterpiece.” You’ve got this!
