Ten Ways to Exercise Your Imagination

Imagination is one of those concepts that authors and artists and musicians and all other creative peoples have sought out since the beginning of time. There were the people who dared imagine the pyramids, the Muses in Greco-Roman times, and the tech founding fathers of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Zuckerberg and the like. Imagination cannot be created or destroyed. It’s like energy that way. But here are ten exercises to seek out that elusive enchantress, imagination.

  1. Pretend you’re a little kid all over again. Sharks fighting dinosaurs? A superhero named “Um”? If you can dream it, then do it.
  2. Go out into nature
  3. Stay inside if you’re a homebody and meditate. Or if you think meditation is NOT the pastime for you (how do I turn off thoughts? What is this concept you speak of?), then just sit in silence and think for a little bit. It’s always nice to think. But think without worrying. I know it’s tough, but think of beautiful things.
  4. Keep your loved ones or pets or items of meaning close to you. Get a little sentimental. It’s nice to be maudlin when you need the comfortable space to create.
  5. Get in touch with your emotions, but also know your limits and when to stop. Emotions are powerful creatures. Sometimes they turn into demons.
  6. Keep yourself away from distractions. Stare at an utterly boring wall. Dream up all the scenarios you can. Maybe there’s a door there. Maybe there’s a secret world hidden within the cracks of the bricks on that wall. Maybe there are symbols leading towards an underground city.
  7. Don’t go onto the internet. That, my friends, is the point of no return. So unplug for a little while.
  8. Don’t procrastinate. Taking in outside stimuli has the opposite effect. Imagination comes from yourself. Watching a YouTube video might spark ideas, but odds are, you’ll most likely just stare at cat videos mindlessly for five hours. (Or is that a me-only thing?)
  9. If you’re experiencing writers’ block, talk about it. You can talk to anybody really. Just work through all those emotions you’re experiencing. It does no good to bottle things like frustration inside you.
  10. Love your writing, your art, your music, your family, your friends, total strangers, the weather, your home, or even your memories. Love yourself. Love a ton. And, to get even more sentimental and touchy-feely, mooshy-wooshy emotional, learn to find the passion to imagine and to create. If you aren’t motivated to engage in your practice of artistic choice for the right reasons, then how shall you ever be satisfied?

 

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