Keep moving or How to get creative

The fact that walking and thinking are closely linked is proven by many other geniuses – like Steve Jobs, who walked many miles during brainstorming meetings at Apple.

This is because movement shuts down the front part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, whose job is to direct our attention to the problem and keep it there until we solve it.

But because when we consciously solve problems we use the so-called working memory, which is limited to 3-7 separate pieces of information, we soon start to get lost in the problems and don’t get to anything useful, let alone revolutionary.

Creative ideas begin to emerge the moment we turn off working memory and let our brains dive into the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind works in a completely different way and takes many more aspects into account at the same time. Original solutions then bubble into our consciousness unexpectedly in the form of so-called “aha” moments.

So, next time you get stuck on something at work, or get frustrated, drop everything, go to the nearest park and wander around, or just cruise around on your scooter.

You’ll find that when you come back, you will be in better mood, with stronger muscles and perhaps even a lot of extraordinary ideas up your sleeve. Yedoo!

In writing this article, we drew upon Caroline Williams’ book “Move! The New Science of Body Over Mind.”