We’ve all experienced those moments when we sit to work on a project and find our mind lacks the energy and focus to get anything meaningful done. In these moments, we often need a boost to our creativity to get us through. Wouldn’t it be nice if a simple hand gesture could do the trick?
Maybe it can! Years ago my mother learned these two tricks at a work conference. Since learning them from her I’ve used them myself to boost energy and creativity on the fly.
The following tricks are no panacea, but they’ve been helpful to me a time or two.
1. Push Button Energy
Feeling low on energy and need a boost? This little trick might help clear the mental fog.
Run a finger along your collar bone until you reach the part in the center of your body where the bone dips to connect with the sternum. Search lower from there and your fingertips should pick up a series of small bumps.
These are popularly called the brain buttons. They’re connected to nerves that, when stimulated, encourage blood flow to the brain. Massaging the brain buttons when you’re distracted or otherwise low on energy is a simple way to re-energize yourself and get your sense of focus back.
2. Crossing the Line for Creativity
You’ve probably read about the differences between the two hemispheres of the brain, but if you haven’t been, here’s a brief explanation.
The right side of the brain is your systems, or big-picture brain, designed to look for patterns and form connections between things. The left side of the brain is your specifics or single-pixel brain. Its job is to examine details and break things down on an individual level.
We need both halves of the brain for most tasks. But, hemisphere harmony is necessary for artistic endeavors most of all.
While the popular cliché holds artists and creative writers are right-brained, both hemispheres are at work when an artist hits the flow state.
Lucky for us, a simple exercise exists to help us get to that state of brain hemisphere harmony a little faster.
Draw a figure eight in the air with your finger, so your hand crosses the midline of your body. Repeat as needed until your creativity activates.
That’s all?
Yep! That’s all.
Why does something that easy help with getting our hemispheres in check? Well, turns out our brains compartmentalize more than just systems and specifics duties.
Our brain hemispheres divvy out the duty of controlling our physical movement. Which half of the brain controls a part depends on which half of the body the part we’re trying to move is located. Anything on the right side of our bodies the left brain controls and vice versa.
So, when a body part crosses the midline, that part switches operators. Your left brain controls your right arm until the moment you put it on the left side of your body. At that point, the right brain takes control of whichever parts cross the line.
Midline crossing requires sophisticated electrical communication between the two hemispheres of the brain. Each must control a different part of the arm simultaneously. And they must do it without looking like gray matter idiots.
By drawing the figure eight, you’re forcing the two hemispheres of the brain to talk to one another. And, by opening the lines of communication, it makes it much easier for the brain hemispheres to talk on other topics. Things such as that blank canvas in front of you, or the chapter you’re working.
Have you used either of these techniques or similar ones? Tell us about it in the comments!
