I’ve heard it said that anything worth doing is worth doing
poorly until you can do it well. It’s
called practicing. We do it every
day. None of us have mastered everything
in life, and most of us do things that require a lot of practice. Perhaps we’re working on developing better
communication in a relationship with someone in our family, a friend or
coworker. Maybe we’re learning a new
skill that requires repetition and patience to master. Or there may be a character flaw we’re trying
to overcome. But progress takes time and
we may need more opportunities to utilize the quality we aim to emulate. Any seasoned athlete, accomplished musician
or artist, acclaimed author, or successful business owner will readily admit
the need for countless hours, even years or decades, of practice—and that with
practice came many mistakes.
One of the ways to improve at a particular thing is to do it
more often. If a child wants to read
well, give him or her more books to read.
To write better, write something every day. To learn a new language, surround yourself
with those who speak the language you wish to master. For most adults, learning imagination also
requires practice.
How do you practice imagination? First, give yourself permission to do
so. By making imagination a priority you
validate the value of it in your life.
Productivity is always increased when the creative mind is allowed to be
a part of any solution, or implemented in the execution of any plan or
project. Second, remind yourself that if
you can imagine it, it’s possible.
Perhaps not with the current status quo, set of circumstances, or within
the three dimensions and five senses we may be most familiar. But certainly possible, according to Napolean
Hill, who said, “What the mind of man can
conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Said another way, man is not capable of
imagining something that is impossible.
Finally, let yourself go!
Literally, get “self”—or the ego—out of the equation. Ego is disguised
as judgment, restriction, fear, hesitation, false identity, and
justification. Ego kills imagination and
creativity. Pure imagination only comes
from a place of pure space or openness.
This is precisely why is takes real practice to master the art of
imagination.
Our lives are so cluttered with demands, appointments,
information, technology, and even survival, little space remains for
imagination. Even our children are
continually bombarded by external stimuli.
They, too, struggle to use their innate imagination to problem solve, or
simply to experience delight. The days
of building blanket forts in the living room or building a rocket out of a
refrigerator box have been replaced with an Xbox, Wii, or ipad. Of course, imagination and creativity were
required to design all of these devices but at what cost, if they rob a person
of the open space needed to create, design, build and imagine?
I’m not against technology.
But imagination is nurtured in an environment free of distractions. This is what we must practice—freeing “self” from whatever distractions may
diminish or hinder our imagination and creativity. Imagination is real. Our ability to utilize the power of
imagination to its greatest capacity depends, in part, upon our willingness to
create the space necessary to allow it to emerge.
Here are a few practical suggestions on how to practice
creating that needed space:
·
Spend some time outside every day.
·
Observe nature.
·
Go to a park and play.
·
Watch a live theatre presentation.
·
Draw, paint, build.
·
Exercise.
·
Listen to classical music.
·
Fly a kite.
·
Crawl on the floor with a child.
·
Dance.
·
Turn off all electronic devices for a day.
Create your space and practice imagination!
