Finding Your Space
“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself over and over again.”
- Joseph Campbell
I believe your environment is a huge part of finding your creativity.
When I am outdoors, my mind is open, and nothing is impossible. Of course, this has grown out of thirty-five years in coaching. Every time I could take my athletes outside to work, we were outside.
Because of this “space” that I had created, I could always think and see the possibilities that could happen. For some reason, I felt muted when I was in my office. I started to carry small notebooks in my pockets to write down the things that came to me while watching one of our workouts or practice.
When you are in your element, you can clear your head of what hinders your ability to be creative and think “what if” and “how come” and “why not”.
When we can disconnect from the anchors that keep us tethered to “the problems” we can think constructively about how to solve the issues in new ways.
When we are free to think in ways that are different from the “old ways,” we begin to find new answers to old problems.
Space
I like to be in an open space, but others prefer to be enclosed.
It may be in an office. A bathroom. A bedroom. Or maybe in a coffee shop.
A sense of familiarity, consistency and security will allow them to open their mind to new ideas.
Many writers have their writing rooms. Artists have their studios. CEO’s have the board rooms. Doctors have their examination rooms and their operating rooms. Lawyers have their libraries. Teachers have their classrooms and their small offices.
These spaces provide everything that they will need. They find a consistent hum around them, which frees up all their gifts and talents.
Time
Finding your space doesn’t only refer to your environment. It also can be your time.
What is your best time to be creative? I’m a night person and have had several breakthroughs late in the evening. If I am preparing for a talk, I find that after lying in bed for a while, I won’t be getting to sleep anytime soon.
Instead, I will sit on the edge of my bed and write myself empty. By “empty,” I mean writing down everything keeping me awake. After I have given it a proper amount of time and thought, I find that then, and only then, will I be able to lay down and get some sleep.
The older I have gotten, the quicker I go to my writing mode, rather than wasting valuable sleep time tossing and turning, mulling my ideas over again and again in my head.
By writing them out, I will now remember the solutions I used when I woke up in the morning. Nothing is worse than going to bed with all the answers and then being unable to remember the question when I wake up.
You may be a morning person. A popular book, “The 5:00 am Club, " discusses using the morning to finish work before anyone else. No texts, calls, meetings, or people to stop you from doing your creative thinking.
Some find their time when they are driving to and from work. While half their mind is on the road, the other half mentally juggles ideas and problem-solving.
Sound
I like to have music playing. The genre is very important to where I am at in the creative process. If I am preparing a talk or writing an article, I will surround myself with classical music, meditational music, Gregorian chants, and Buddhist monastic chants.
Why?
Because they have no connection to a memory, they fill in the void of silence. I hate total quiet. It is too sterile for me. I need sound. Maybe it comes from being in a weight room or on a practice field for most of my youth and working life. I think better with a little chaos around me.
I will play my eclectic music range when rehearsing a talk, editing an article, or developing a social media post. I have over six thousand downloads of music on my phone. Most of these songs have a memory attached to them. All of them are good. With these sounds in my head, I am looking at the good side of whatever I do. A free spirit thought in my head that anything could happen, and it would all be amazing!
Some want absolute quiet as they think and stew over the issues. They cannot have one peep disturb their thought process. They need to control everything.
Take It Personally
In the end, finding your individual space is a personal preference.
You need to find what allows you to be the most creative individual you can be.
I suggest you try different environments, spaces, and sounds to see which allows you to think bigger. Just because you have always done it this way doesn’t make it the only way. It’s just one way that you have found.
What happens if you are on the road, out of your normal element, will you sit there and be nonproductive? Or will you have an answer to this problem to keep you moving forward?
That’s the key to success. We must find a way to continually move ourselves forward in what we do, what we think and how we think.
Successful people are always finding answers to potential problems. They think of what might slow them down, and when they find an issue, they begin problem-solving.
When we found our space, we removed 90% of the roadblocks. We can’t resolve everything, but when we remove foreseeable issues, we can continue to move forward with our plans—to get ahead of schedule, solve problems, and live our best lives.
Have an amazing day!
