How To Catch A Brilliant Idea Everyday

“A creative idea will be defined simply as one that is both novel and useful (or influential) in a particular social setting.”– Alice Flaherty

I have a brilliant idea every day. They don’t always work out exactly how I had hoped, but at that particular moment, it is the most fantastic thought I have ever had. It does often seem to be in the shower, and this is rather annoying, because, by the time I get out and have dried myself, the brilliant idea has often evaporated.

Here are 3 ways to increase your creativity and to seize your fleeting brilliance.

Relaxation

Why does the brilliant idea often show up in the shower? The simple answer is because I am relaxed. My shower routine is usually first thing in the morning and to say my brain is relaxed is an understatement. I’m not a morning person, and before my first coffee, I am not firing on all cylinders.

I’m not trying to solve any significant problem or think about anything important. In the shower, I’m enjoying the warm water and trying to wake up. This mundane activity is the perfect time for brilliant ideas to erupt spontaneously.

Neuroscience demonstrates that reduced cognitive control or purposely ‘letting your mind wander’ is important for creativity. When we are idle, relaxed or engaging in leisure, our brains are at their most active (source).

The relaxing activity increases the brain’s dopamine flow, and the higher levels of dopamine in the brain lead to greater levels of creativity.

Of course, I’m not the only one to have this revelation.

Actor and Director Woody Allen encourages his own creativity through long showers, and believes insights and ideas can come into consciousness much more freely — “I’ll stand there with steaming hot water coming down for thirty minutes, forty-five minutes, just thinking out ideas and working on plot,” he says. (source).

Psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, found when researching this occurrence that 72% of people globally get their best ideas in the shower.

“Showering insulates us from the external world so that we can focus all of our attention on our inner desires, daydreams, and memories — thereby increasing the likelihood that our mind will come up with creative connections.” — Kaufman

Although, you don’t always have to be in the shower. Any activity that relaxes your mind, while distracting you with a routine task, will help to generate your next brilliant idea; Such as going for a walk, driving home, exercising, listening to classical music or the therapeutic experience of being in nature.

“Stillness is where creativity and solutions to problems are found.” — Eckhart Tolle

Immediate Action

What do you do when you are standing in the shower and inspiration strikes?

Write down the idea quick! Sometimes I have rushed out of the shower only wrapped in a towel, just to write down my plan. It is worth the effort, even if it is only a word or two, just enough to jog your memory.

Don’t believe it when you try to tell yourself that you will remember it later. Capture the moment immediately.

In an article by Tim Denning, he suggests writing on the shower door. What a great idea, I can see my memoirs drafted up the wall. Just don’t use a permanent marker!

Another way to catch those brilliant ideas in the shower is with Aqua Notes. A waterproof notepad that can write underwater. It’s recyclable, environmentally friendly, and the notepad is printed with soy-based ink, (I don’t get paid to promote this product).

Having a way to capture the moment will increase your expectation for ideas.

Expectation

Expectation can either work for you or against you. If you are stressing out with anticipation and desperate for something to materialise, then it will work against you. Pressuring yourself to perform will decrease your creative energy.

However, believing in yourself and trusting that you are a creative incubator with unlimited potential will help you to expect great ideas continuously.

Expect the next great opportunity and when it arrives you would have seen it coming.

After many sprints through the house draped in a towel, I now take my iPhone into the bathroom to record the brilliant idea before it can evaporate with the steam. I have come to expect an idea, and this has increased the frequency of producing them.

“High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.” — Charles Kettering

“Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being. Creativity requires passion and commitment. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness: ecstasy.” — Rollo May, The Courage to Create

Find what action or experience inspires you. When you go for a walk, take a notebook with expectation for fresh ideas. New experiences will stimulate your creativity.

Some days I haven’t been so diligent and persuaded myself that I would remember the idea later. Foolish choice, I have forgotten many brilliant paragraphs that should have been captured at that moment.

However, if I do forget the immediate idea, it will come back, and it will bring friends. Creativity inspires creativity.

Trust yourself; where there is one brilliant idea, there are more.

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have.” — Maya Angelou

If you are worried about when your next great idea is going to strike, stop stressing about it and relax. Trust your inherent creative potential and do something fun; it’s the best way to catch your brilliant ideas.

Froyle Davies
I’ve been a visual artist for over 25 years and now I tell my stories.
Let me inspire you with this beautiful free print, ‘Above the Stormy Waters.’

Cheers Froyle