When you begin to pursue your passions, you may find it difficult to keep thinking of new ideas. You may have aspirations for where you want to end up, but lack strategies for how to build your practice day by day to get that end result.

Remember that the new life you are pursuing will take work. Each day will present new challenges, but it is up to you to push through and continue to work on your passions.

Here are my…

5 ways to Train Your Mind for Imaginative Design and Practices, and to Improve your Skills in your Artistic Practice

Use an inexpensive medium for your sketches and ideas.

My favourite medium for my ideas is to use a very sharp #2 pencil. I find it enjoyable to write down my ideas in a “stream of consciousness” with a pencil (as opposed to using ink).

I will take my pencil and my notepad to a quiet place, and simply write what I am thinking about. It is important to do this without putting too much judgement on yourself. Be open and honest when performing this exercise. When I make errors, or go off track, I can easily erase the pencil mark without much fuss. However, I rarely erase my ideas once they come out of my thoughts.

Read something new every day.

Depending on what you set your goal at, (say 500-1000 words), you can reach this first thing in the morning by checking a news website, or scholarly article. When you set a commitment to read every day, you will surprise yourself by how many new thoughts will emerge into your conscious and subconscious mind.

Say hello and be friendly!

When you are about to leave your house and enter the public sphere, ready yourself by bringing your mood level up and putting a smile on your face. You will be more approachable and it will be easier to obtain the services that you want.

When things go your way, you will feel like accomplishing more things which will in turn help you imagine more positive outcomes. Positive outcomes are the life blood of creativity and imagination, so it is important to see the connection between your outlook and what you hope to achieve in your artistic pursuits.

Focus your mind, then rest your mind.

Depending on what you hope to improve in your skills, it is helpful to focus your mind on related concepts by looking at photos, videos, and reading books. After you have absorbed related media, give your mind a rest. In rest, your mind will organize what you just learned and ideas will begin to flow when you return your mind to those concepts later on.

The rest period is one that many people often overlook because sleeping is an activity that seems to be in decline; however resting your mind can take the form of meditation, sitting quietly for a few minutes without being on your phone, or just going out and watching people in public for a little while.

Exercise and eat healthy!

There is nothing better for your body than to take good care of it. If you want your mind to run a marathon, you had better train it and fuel it properly. Don’t skimp out on the nutrients!

 

Imagination is not an easy thing to train yourself to develop, but it is possible. It will take time, but the pay off you will gain from conceptualizing unique and novel ideas will be immensely beneficial to the pursuit of your passions, and in furthering your artistic practice.

Do you agree with my list? Leave comments in the section below, and as always thanks for stopping by.

 

Stephanie