This article was mapped out in a Starbucks and executed in my home office, then edited in 3 different cities; and that is the theme that runs through the words written below. 
There have been many articles written about environment and how to infuse creativity into your workspace to maximize creativity, but today’s article isn’t about judging your cream coloured walls and lack of creative stimuli around the office. Your office is meant to help you accomplish the task at hand, whatever the task may be. Just because colourful walls are meant to spark creativity doesn’t mean you need a new paint job to create an environment of success.
Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others.
California State University recognizes only three reasons why humans have the need for creativity. All three of these can encompass any situation you may personally recognize yourself in; whether you are a marketing intern needing to create custom solutions to problems, or a doc needing to communicate the value of chiropractic through adjusting subluxations.
Three reasons why people are motivated to be creative:
- need for novel, varied, and complex stimulation
- need to communicate ideas and values
- need to solve problems
If everything is energy and we are just vibrating at different frequencies than essentially all we need to do is match the vibration of the task to the environment needed to solve it. Our needs for creative expression could be vastly different from our peers, so there is a disconnect with what I have read on creating an environment of success as these authors blanket the world with one set of solutions.
SO Here is what we propose:
- Look at the task at hand that you are looking to solve, whether that be solving problems or seeking complex stimulation and cross reference to your vibration and your core values.
- Find and/or create the place that is aligned with the frequency in which you need to accomplish the task. Let your inner voice guide you on this.
- For some people, creativity is heightened in a messy environment and for others a clean desk is absolutely paramount to clear the mind.
- Some people work best with ambient music in the background, if so coffitivity, or focus at will is a perfect creative music source. On the other hand, others will need absolute quiet; in which case a coffee shop will just not do.
- Smell is trigger for some people to truly focus, most specifically essential oils like mint or eucalyptus. Just as a smell can trigger emotion like “grandma’s house,” you want to illicit a smell associated with the focus needed for the task.
- Temperature can be more important than you previously knew. A study from Cornell University tested different office temperatures at a large Florida insurance company and found that when temperatures were low (68 degrees or 20 degrees Celsius) employees made 44% more mistakes than at optimal room temperature (77 degrees or 25 degrees Celsius).
- Drinks. Ernest Hemingway was quoted that he would write drunk and edit sober. Maybe that doesn’t resonate with you, but find what does. Tim Ferriss, 3-time NYT bestselling author stimulates his writing by having baroque music, an action movie muted in the background, a Yerba Mate tea, a glass of red wine, and does so between the hours of 1 – 5 am. This is very specific and it works for him.
If your environment is not getting you the success you desire, question as to whether it is in line with your values, and what small changes you can make to be inspired in that domain. A small change can make the difference between good and great, and the people in your life deserve you at your best.
Take a look at your core values and what they say about your environment by downloading this list of values, or investing in yourself with our 2 part Core Values E-course.
Cheersing my Cortado to your environment of success,