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Five Ways Environment Affects Creative Thinking

To think is to change the future. Thinking is crucial to decision making for it is the decisions on choices that allow us to move forward in life. When it comes to work and tasks in daily life, questions starting with how are the ones that pose challenges in front of us. An answer to the hows is the processed outcome of your creative thinking. Creativity is a special ingredient, the glitter, the extra cheese, the extra masala, the “everything nice” which was used to make Powerpuff girls, and in the end, gives a personal touch to your creations.

Ideas are the outcomes of thinking, but a person’s thinking is affected by the environment they are exposed to. How many times have you thought of writing that article, finish reading that book that feels abandoned now, or start working on a weekend hobby? Have you given a thought to how can you reignite the same feeling when you first started on them?

Here are the five ways the environment affects one’s creative thinking and in turn may help find that motivation to work on your masterpiece again.
Challenges are important to understand how your creative thinking manifests in reality

1. Routine

Masterpieces lie in the challenges and changes. Challenges are important to understand how your creative thinking manifests in reality. A daily routine which does not excite you, or tickles your brain or poses a challenge in front of you from time to time is an absolute dealbreaker when it comes to creative thinking. A change in routine could be a simple walk that could allow you to think in different dimensions. Feel the way you think.

2. Illumination

Just the way different colors in an artwork evoke different types of feelings, the lighting around you can also have a huge impact on your creative thinking process. Natural light from early dusk (orange-red) to dawn (blue-ish) can have a significant impact on the creative thinking process. If you are not an early bird, you can simulate the natural illumination. Change the lighting of your place where you mostly do your creative work or thinking. A small start would be taking those diwali lights (preferably bright yellow or orange) and hanging them around the place. Colorful spaces make us feel more childlike and propel the flow of creative juices. Hang up those lights this weekend and let us know about the experience.

3. Sound/Music

While changing the lighting will have a global change in the surroundings, listening to music at a medium volume is a tool to perceive your feelings from the inside. Give a conscious thought to how and why you’re feeling the way you do on a track. Most of the doodles that we create are the outcome of the diverse music choices we have. It is okay to groove a little. Let your body flow into the tunes and the mind will follow. Listen to some natural sounds: wind, raindrops or birds.

4. Exercise

Don’t sit too much. Take a walk or go for a jog. Exercising your body helps you to converge on creative ideas for solving problems. Take a 10-minute walk after every hour of sitting or standing at one place. Give your mind a change of Spatio-temporal context, allow it to breathe in the fresh air and thoughts. A healthy body and mind is key to finding out creative solutions to problems. While taking a walk you’ll also change your surroundings. Add music for a wholesome experience. This concoction of physical activity, change in environment, and music may give you a myriad of ways to explore your thought process. Remember to think about how you think while on the walk. Break down your problem that requires a solution into atomic parts, and think about the atoms of your problem.

5. Attitude and Support

If the problem at hand feels like a big one, chances are there is a gigantic one waiting for you. Your attitude towards the problem and the attitude of the people around you who influence your life have a huge impact on how you evolve to become a creative person. It is always tough to choose between people but to solve problems you need a mix of problem solvers and problem creators around you. Choose the people who support you and constructively criticize your work for your own good. Know that you are an individual and people around you can only give suggestions. Your attitude towards the work at hand is the ultimate maker or breaker.

The environmental factors that affect one can be different for different people. Creating something requires believing in yourself, understanding that you are an individual with unique characteristics, trusting your intuitive thinking, and giving birth to it in the real world. All of these are parts of the inner environment, your disposition. Outer and inner environments affect each other in different ways and a discussion on it will be as complex as a discussion on human beings.

If you try any of the points listed in this post, tell us about your experience on our Instagram.

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Written By: Rahul Sharma

©2020 Doodle Kit Project

Image Sources:
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