Recently, I went on a camping trip with a group of friends as a sort of retreat. It was a time to relax, but also to find ways to reflect on the work we had done as an organization over the past year. Now, I’m no stranger to camping, having been a Boy Scout for the better part of my childhood, but it had been a while since I have spent any significant amount of time in the woods. Immediately, my thoughts were filled with how this experience could be out of my comfort zone, and how I would rather stay in the confines of the modern world. Obviously, I didn’t hold on to these notions, as I decided to go and enjoy what ended up being a very relaxing trip.
Among the many activities that we did, there were a few times for reflection and some moments to think quietly. It was during these moments that I found myself thinking of how I could revolutionize an already well-developed camping industry. As I talked about camping with a few others in my group, we were all able to find ideas on how improvements could impact the environment we were sitting in.
It was a great experience, and it reminded me of something I have stated many times over: stepping outside of your comfort zone can have amazing results. Not only did this trip allow me to refresh and make new friendships, but it also stimulated parts of my creative self that can fall dormant. It helped push my thinking beyond the daily drudgery I sometimes experience, and into the realm of new possibilities.
Does this mean that I discovered the next million-dollar business idea? Probably not. Even if what we came up with was great, this doesn’t mean that I am actually going to pursue it and make a new business out of it. That’s a whole different thought process and evaluation that would include market sizing, prototypes, and a very strong commitment to the idea, but it’s the creativity process that counts.
“Flexing your observation skills” is a terrific turn of words, Ryan. That’s the key: being able to see something differently. Many good things begin with that fresh perception!
You make me want to go camping, Ryan. It has been far too long. I’m like you in that it can now not be as comfortable as it once was, but getting out of the environment I am always in and stepping into something different is so important. I’m now interested to hear some of the ideas that you all had. Great post!
I spent most of August in a luxury resort home in upscale Naples, Florida (about the furthest thing from camping, and I should note that it was generously gifted to me by appreciative parents of a young man I mentor). The point is that it was not my usual environment; and so, in that way, you and I had similar experiences, Ryan. And, not surprisingly, my creativity and problem solving went into overdrive while I was there. I was able to conceptualize and implement many ideas that have already proved useful.
About halfway through my stay, I felt the ideas weren’t coming as fast; so I moved my computer to the other end of the table. That might seem strange, but just having this new physical perspective, even within the same space, jump started my creativity again.
Creativity is essentially making new connections. If we see and do the same things every day, then, this “predictable patterning” becomes the antithesis of creativity; without new stimuli, it is very difficult to make new connections. This is why I advocate, as you have here, trying something new continually: sampling new food, taking a different route home, listening to music by artists outside your preferred genres, going into stores you’ve never been in (whether you need their wares or not) – something. It breaks that mind-numbing predictability of auto-pilot mode, it keeps new data flowing – and it allows the brain food for generating those new connections that result in creativity.