Ending 2020 with a Creative Pause...
A couple of years ago I read a story about how to trap a monkey.
It’s slightly unclear where this story originated but Robert Pirsig author of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”, shared the story as follows:
Place rice in the middle of a hollowed out coconut with a small hole on its side. The monkey will inevitably stick his hand in the coconut and try to pull the rice out. But with his fist now clenched tight, grasping for the rice, the monkey can no longer draw his hand back out from the coconut.
If the monkey had relaxed and unclenched his fist, he would have easily been able to remove his hand. But, the monkey’s brain, couldn’t think like that. In his mind there was only one goal and one path to get there that he was familiar with – “when you see rice, hold on tight”. And when it didn’t work, he got stuck.
If the monkey had access to more cognitive options, he might have placed his hand inside the hole and then realised, this isn’t working. If he had at that point, relaxed, paused, and taken a break from working on his goal, he could have perhaps recovered his hand and tried something new when he returned to the coconut. When he came back, he might have explored it with a slower curiosity, rolling it, shaking it, smashing it...and in this process he could have very well extracted the rice without placing his hand inside the coconut even once!
But, we all do this sometimes, don’t we?
When we have a vision, a dream, a big project or a problem we are set on solving, many of us are inclined to jump in and run headfirst towards our goal. We grind. We dig our heels in and just try and “get it done”.
This is how a lot of us have been taught to work and feel productive. It’s an old program that most of us had installed growing up; it’s one in which you’re only working so long as you’re on the clock, at your desk, staring at your work, sweating it out until you get it done.
But after many years of managing fast-paced companies and running my own business and helping others run theirs, I’ve learnt the long and hard way that this approach is not necessarily the most productive, and it’s definitely not the most sustainable. This way of working can actually impede and stunt growth as well as lead to burn out and lasting health implications that can in the long run completely halt progress ( again, learnt the lesson the long and hard way!)
But, this isn’t the only way!
One concept that I’ve found to be incredibly helpful, is something called The Creative Pause.
The Creative Pause has been celebrated by scientists + philosophers alike and utilised since time immemorial by some of our greatest thinkers. Some of the most innovative philosophies, discoveries and businesses have arisen from moments when their creators – paused.
Hugh Garry, a freelance producer and digital creative describes it like this:
“The ‘creative pause’ is a deliberate self-imposed interruption of your conscious flow of thoughts as you attempt to solve a problem or come up with creative solutions. In other words, it’s taking a break, walking away from what you are doing, then daydreaming a little bit. It may sound counterproductive when you are facing deadlines but it’s a proven way of producing insights when it appears that your brain has given up on you. By walking away from the problem you are giving the non-conscious resources in your brain permission to make the connections that your conscious resources are struggling to make.”
Of all the years, 2020 has been an especially hard one for many. But it’s also been a year of rapid learning, adjusting, re-thinking, modifying, and updating the way we live and the way we work.
Over the last few weeks I’ve noticed many clients starting to feel the pressure and a sense of urgency to jump into creating big goals and to-do lists that need to be ticked off in the new year.
But right alongside all of this pressure, a common theme has also emerged. From clients to colleagues, and other small business owners, people are expressing how deeply exhausted and emotionally drained they are feeling. This year has been BIG, and as many contemplate heading into yet another lockdown and our borders are closing again days before Christmas, it just feels like we need a moment to simply, exhale!
Given the challenges this year has brought our way, perhaps part of the rush to get stuck into plans for the New Year is because we would prefer to just sweep 2020 under the rug and move on, quickly. But I really think, that more than ever before, what we need – is a Creative Pause.
We need a moment to digest all that has unfolded, what we’ve learned and how we want to continue to grow as individuals and businesses. But we also need to carve out space and time to simply dream and sit with ourselves, listening deeply, honing in on what really matters to us and what most ignites our fire in life.
These intermittent pauses provide us with powerful insights and unforeseen solutions. But they also revive our spirit, energising us to keep working and growing and setting us up to feel fresh and ready as 2021 arrives.
Of course, it’s not always quite that simple or easy. Old patterns can die hard. A few weeks ago I caught myself beginning to fill my Christmas to New Year holiday period with to-do lists. They were packed with strategies for new projects and initiatives for 2021, interstate trips to make up for lost time and a myriad of other expectations I had of myself. I didn’t get far before the idea of it all started to fill me with dread and even more exhaustion.
The truth is, I really need a moment to breathe, completely switch off and slow right down. I’m acutely aware of how fortunate I am to be in a position where I can do so, and so I will appreciate and honour that instead of trying to push through. Everything that needs to be done will still be here after a break and who knows what new ideas will be flowing after i’ve allowed myself a Creative Pause! Either way, the pause is needed.
This year has, in a lot of ways, and for many people been an excruciating one; it brought us global devastation, accelerated transformation of economies, businesses, and ways of life. A lot was lost and a lot was learned. It’s been bloody hard work.
I really believe we need to give ourselves the space to digest it all and the time to rest, recharge, and reset before jumping into 2021. It wasn’t an easy one but we did it and even though this period is now once again filled with uncertainty and changes, we know we have the resilience, connection and community to get through it together.
I’m wishing you a peaceful, restful, and joyful end of year and I hope that no matter how border closures may be impacting your plans, you are surrounded in one way or another by those you love and treasure. And, I hope that you find some time to give yourself a moment to breathe, to pause… and then linger a little longer in the pause and really enjoy and savour it.