Stop Thinking About It

Anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for an airport bookstore. I don't know what it is about the mini-mart/bookstore/tacky gift shop feel of these places but they make me want to buy every magazine, book and bottle of water I can get my hands on. I had the recent pleasure of traveling alone last week, which allowed me to make several impulse buys in the airport bookstore without judgement.

I bought three magazines for an hour and a half flight (yes, I already had a book to read) and sincerely thought I'd get through them. I guess it's not just my stomach that my eyes are bigger than. The mix of reading material - Outside, Caribbean Travel and Life, and Success magazines - is all over the place, but interesting content can come from where you least expect it.

That's where Success Magazine ("what achievers read" so natch, it's for me) comes in. I honestly don't remember why it appealed to me. Was it the cover of Michael Bloomberg? The headline about J.R. Martinez of DWTS fame (a show I do not like)? I don't know, but it turned out to be a great decision.

There was a great article about creativity and how to put yourself in the best frame of mind to be creative. A list of 17 activities were listed and there are two that I wanted to share to keep all of us running, walking, lifting, swimming and whatever else it might be that we do when we're keeping fit. The article suggests that you play - do some of the things you love to engage your imagination. If you make time to play you'll engage your imagination and allow yourself to have creative thoughts. The other great suggestion was to stop thinking about being creative - take a walk, break up whatever you're working on by stepping away from it for a while. When you let a problem go for a while, your subconscious can work on it and that "light bulb" moment will come.

This article put in print a concept I have already embraced. My clearest moments of thought tend to come when I'm out on a run or swimming laps. I've put my mind on autopilot so some crazy, creative ideas just pop up - some are ridiculous, but some are really good. So keep up with the activities you love and who knows, you might think up the next big thing!