Push your creativity - worth giving it a thought!
Hubert Abt, FRICS
CEO & Founder of New Work and workcloud24 AG | Thought Leader for New Work and ESG
This morning I cam along this article,
Steve Jobs had his best ideas while walking—this Stanford study explains why... In 2014, a team of Stanford researchers examined how creativity levels were impacted by walking. They conducted a set of experiments with 176 participants. The experiments placed the participants in different situations: ? Walking inside on a treadmill facing a wall ? Walking outside ? Sitting inside facing a wall ? Sitting outside being pushed in a wheelchair In each situation, the participants were asked to complete a range of tasks that are typically used to measure creative thinking. For example, a test of "divergent thinking" asked the participants to come up with as many uses as possible for a set of objects. The results were incredible: Participants were dramatically more creative while walking than sitting. In fact, one group of participants who took back-to-back tests, first sitting inside and then walking inside on a treadmill, saw a 60% improvement in creative output while walking vs. sitting! Walking, indoors or outdoors, had a similar robust positive impact on creative thinking. The authors concluded, "Many people anecdotally claim they do their best thinking when walking. We finally may be taking a step, or two, toward discovering why." Many of history's greatest thinkers, entrepreneurs, artists, and athletes have believed in the power of walking. It's a simple, free tool we can all use to dramatically improve our lives. Schedule more walks into your weeks. Simple challenge for all of you: Go for a 30-minute tech-free walk every single day this week. ? No phone ? No music ? No podcasts ? No articles ? No audiobooks Just you, your thoughts, your gratitude, and the fresh air. It’s a simple reset that will unlock new creativity and shift your perspective. "Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it." - S?ren Kierkegaard