Imagine Better

The genius that is Albert Einstein once said, ‘Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.’ I love that someone who was acclaimed for his science, gave credit to the scope of imagination.

At the beginning of this year, I made a commitment to imagine better. I don’t mean this in the sense of doing or being better, but it served as a reminder to imagine what better could look like in my life.

‘Think it through!’ This was a common phrase a former manager accosted me with to encourage me to take ownership of my projects end to end. I came to realise that I often coasted in my work. I relied on another’s experience and took the easy route of asking them for help instead of taking a few more minutes to very simply ‘think it through.’  I blamed busyness as the reason I didn’t have time to think. Looking back—it’s pretty sloppy of me, but it has stuck with me. And that’s a good thing.

“Think it through!”

Now as a writer, my day to day work demands me to think things through to the nth degree.  It’s annoying sometimes, but necessary. Stories hang on every word. And not only do I have to make space to write, I also have to make space to imagine.

Get this, the American Psychological Association did a study in 2014 titled, The Positive Effect of Walking on Creative Thinking. They conducted four experiments and the results were conclusive. Walking enhances creative ideation in real time and shortly after. They stated in summary, ‘Walking opens up the free flow of ideas, and it is a simple and robust solution to the goals of increasing creativity and increasing physical activity.’  That right there is the power of making space to imagine better.

Science has investigated it, Einstein’s an advocate of it and I’m taking note.