Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/592176
THE WINDOW IS OPEN. AGENTS WANTED | 800-872-5999 PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES. ELIMINATING OBSTACLES. I 've always been a big fan of the highly participatory blues song, 'Boom Boom – Out Goes the Lights' so ably covered by Pat Travers. ere is something magical when he prompts the crowd with a 'Boom-Boom' and they respond with an enthusiastic and very loud 'Out Goes the Lights'. I'm such a big fan that I co-opt this part of the song for many of my keynotes (of course, giving proper credit to Mr. Travers). ere is something inspiring and great about having an audience full of accomplished and successful people yelling 'OUT GO THE LIGHTS!' If nothing else, I am condently assured that the audience is fully engaged. But what does this have to do with creativity? How about an even better question rst? Why does it seem that our best ideas come in the shower, in the dark, when we're overtired or while we're in some sort of sleep mode? e technically correct answer is that when we are distracted, tired and relaxed, our prefrontal cortex has diminished power as the base brain network switches on. Meanwhile, our dopamine supplies are greatly increased while the cerebral alpha waves hold sway. Ironically, during this phase the brain is more active than when we're focused and wide-awake. Considering that most of us are not brain surgeons well versed in neurotransmitter and cerebral passage knowhow, perhaps I can oer a more easily understood explanation; it's the lulling of our active conscious state that allows creative thoughts to more easily bypass the "stupid" lter. Consider the analogy of driving down a dark road while it's snowing. e only light available is from the car's headlights. e snow falling in the light of the headlights creates the illusion that you are zipping through the snow at a very fast pace. Or if you prefer consider the televised rendition of warp speed, with the stars and other points of light zipping by with fantastic speed. Either example essentially captures what is happening in our brains at any given moment. Millions of diverse and disparate thoughts, notions and ideas are bouncing around our brains at any given moment. While we are wide-awake and focused on the day's tasks, our subconscious "stupid" lter stops any thought except for those that are tried-and-true. e net result is a less creative self and the eect of a less active brain. But when we are relaxed, distracted and/or tired, the subconscious and the "stupid" lter are also lulled into a more sedate mode. Once this happens, many more of those millions of bouncing thoughts are able to actually reach the conscious. e moment that they reach the conscious or the moment of realization is the critical moment for creative thought capture. Sometimes, the active conscious and "stupid" lter will kick back in too fast and the thought will be lost (at least for the time being). Other times, the idea will register with the conscious before the lter can re-engage. When this happens we are able to actually "remember" the thought/idea/notion. Are you ready to capture this new found idea? Do you have an idea journal and pen, ready to immediately scribble the thought down for later evaluation? If you are in the shower, do you have a waterproof pad and pencil to write it down? Is your phone handy to quickly send the thought as an email to yourself ? is great thought that fought so hard to make it to your conscious is in jeopardy of being lost if you don't quickly capture it. Whatever you do, do not try to simply remember it for later. By placing the idea back in your head, the "stupid" lter has another chance to render it impotent and leave the idea quickly forgotten. Write it down, capture it and with utmost speed! Boom-Boom! When not flying the friendly skies, Moe Glenner speaks about personal and professional leadership, change management and innovation. To learn more, please go to www.MoeGlenner.com and/or follow him on Twitter: @Moe Glenner. "WHILE WE ARE WIDE- AWAKE AND FOCUSED ON THE DAY'S TASKS, OUR SUBCONSCIOUS "STUPID" FILTER STOPS ANY THOUGHTS EXCEPT FOR THOSE THAT ARE TRIED-AND-TRUE. THE NET RESULT IS A LESS CREATIVE SELF AND THE EFFECT OF A LESS ACTIVE BRAIN." "" Vo l . 9 , N o . 6 TRUCKSTOP.COM 27