Over the Thanksgiving Holiday I did a little noodling around the lake for a nice change of pace. Noodling is always a good way for me to overcome my challenges and focus on what is most important in my life.
Noodling is a powerful creativity tool that supports me in bringing my thought processes into alignment with what it is that I really want to create in my life.
“The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it.” Author Unknown
You aren’t thinking I am talking about the type of noodling that utilizes fingers and hands as bait in an effort to anger hidden and large catfish enough to bite down on these body parts so that I can catch one, were you?
Of course not. I am talking about the type of noodling that leverages your brain as a creativity tool to think up new ideas and reach those Eureka moments. Noodling for me is an ability to be still and think things through in a relaxed and unhurried way.
Our pace of life jams our senses and does not allow us to fully think through what we are doing and in most cases what it is we really want to create in our lives. You cannot force new and creative thoughts. You cannot force solutions. You cannot overcome that which is unresolved by forcing it. You can, on the other hand, overcome and resolve anything when you take the time to let your mind wander, relax and just be.
“It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts.” K.T. Jong
How often do you let your brain rest and just be besides the time when you are sleeping?
Noodling is not something new. Creative people from the beginning of time have been utilizing down time to relax the brain and think new thoughts. Noodling has been used by some of the greatest minds who ever lived and you can too.
Do you want to be as creative as Picasso? Do you want to think more like Einstein? Do you want to problem solve like Da Vinci? Do you desire to build businesses like Steve Jobs? Do you want to make a difference in people’s lives like Mother Theresa? Do you like the idea of becoming an actor like Harrison Ford? You can do anything you set your mind to if you are willing to put in the effort required and let your brain power work for your higher purpose.
The only difference between the people mentioned above and you is that they did not let their inner voice hold them back from meeting the challenges that they faced. They were willing to do the work necessary to move past these obstacles and create something more meaningful in their lives and those around them.
“It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.” Author Unknown
Noodling is one of the common threads with all creative people. Noodling is a way to release the creativity within each one of us. It is also one of the most effective ways of solving and resolving challenges along lives journey. It is one of the most effective ways I have found to support me in turning my thinking into reality.
We are blessed to live on Grand Lake, a powerful place to noodle, as it has an endless number of places to get out into nature and just let your mind wander, be, and rest. Like so many things written in What Box? it takes patience, practice, and perseverance to let your mind learn “the art of noodling.”
You can do it! Go ahead and take a few minutes when you get the chance and find a quite place to let your mind wander. Take a walk in nature, find a quite place to sit and watch the snow fall, to take in the birds in flight, the dew drops sparkling in the sunlight, the water as it ripples towards the shoreline.
When you are relaxed attempt to just let your mind follow its own path. Here is the hard part: don’t allow your inner voice to judge what is being thought. Think outrageous thoughts, think new thoughts, think whatever thoughts come to you. They are your thoughts and when you are open to them who knows what you will think up.
“In response to those who say to stop dreaming and face reality, I say keep dreaming and make reality.” Kristian Kan, Rich By 25
There is nothing you cannot do or be. Noodling is one of the universal keys to unlocking a door to your creative potential which in turn will support you to align your thinking with what it is you want to create in your life.
Go ahead and noodle one of your days away. When you do you will tap into the creative genius of the ages.
“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.” Buddha
Let me know what you think.
Dear Sean
With all the changes going on, EVERYWHERE, I find it hard to know what to think about what tomorrow will bring in my life to say nothing of our country and the world. I don’t know how to begin to think about it all. Where can I start?
Thinking on Monkey Island
Dear Thinking,
The first thing to realize is that you cannot do anything about the future. The future is a dream that cannot be predicted no matter how hard you work to create it. All you can do is live and be in each and every moment of your life working each day towards the kind of life you desire. The challenge is to realize that you can impact your surroundings, that by being positive, engaged, and active you can impact the changes taking place in your part of the world. Here is the thing, the more things change the more things change. It is how we embrace and move through these changes that make all the difference. Remember to breathe and stay positive, you can do it.
Keep on keeping on,
Sean
Until next week, remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create yourself.
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Hi Sean,
I enjoyed the Article…
and grew up on Grand.
Happy New Year!