Using New Environments To Foster Creativity And Critical Thinking
Happy Labor Day! Since you are probably trying to enjoy the long holiday weekend, I’ll keep this brief.
My family and I spent the weekend out of town at a friend’s house, in an area that in no way resembles the neighborhoods and communities we are used to.
It’s refreshing to be in a new place where you are forced to notice the small things and ask a lot of questions. Contrast this to your normal environment where you probably operate life on autopilot.
Among all the fun we had, one key observation I noticed about myself is that I was thinking about new and interesting business concepts and how cultural differences in a community can define so much about the area.
My mind was swirling with ideas like I wonder if this type of business would do well here, or I bet the demographics of the area will look like such and such in five years, or why would these set of companies decide to do this here.
For me, arriving at the right answer is less important than asking the questions.
Over the last six months, we haven’t traveled a ton, so I try to be more mindful of each experience we have and how to get more value out of each one.
As you may be starting to venture out of your environment a little more often than before, it’s worth considering how you too can use new surroundings to keep you more creatively acute.
I would go further than that and challenge you to put yourself in new environments whenever possible to create a space for you to not be on autopilot and for you to ask yourself more random questions.
This doesn’t have to mean a trip out of town, but rather just somewhere you don’t normally go.
This can help rekindle a level of critical thinking that will serve you well, as a working professional, manager, aspiring entrepreneur, or just someone who wants to get more effective with creative thinking.
Enjoy the rest of your day!