Why Overthinking Can Boost Your Creativity
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Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a creative genius?
Perhaps you often question whether you’re a creative, never mind a genius!
Well, firstly what’s being a creative supposed to look like anyway?
Arty? Based on the job? Something you’re born with? Only for those at the top?
These are all popular myths about creativity that are completely untrue because creativity actually belongs to everyone and can be developed at any age.
So, being a creative genius simply means to think outside the box and have a vibrant connection to your imagination.
It could be said that the downfall of this is that many creative people develop a tendency to overthink.
If this sounds like you, you’ll be pleased to know that there’s a very logical reason for this.
Much research has confirmed the connection between creativity and overthinking.
The first research to connect these dots was conducted at Kings College London by neurobiologist Dr Adam Perkins.
He discovered that those people with an active, powerful imagination also exhibited extra activity in certain parts of the brain namely the medial prefrontal cortex. This was because they were highly attuned to what they considered to be potential threats.
Their amygdala, the part of the brain that processes emotions was also highly reactive resulting in positive and negative outcomes namely a tendency to not only experience very strong positive emotions but also strong negative ones too.
Simply put, overthinking leads to a heightened imagination that is limitless because you look for as many solutions as possible to reduce the perceived challenges ahead and this can be fuelled by a positive emotional response when effectively managed i.e. confidence and self belief.
So, the more aware you are of potential threats around you, the more imagination you’re likely to have.
This, of course takes some emotional management because not all potential threats are actually real and without understanding and identifying the difference between them, you could spend much of your life living in fight or flight mode.
Many of my creative clients initially regard their overthinking trait as a negative flaw on their character.
If this is you, I would like to challenge this perspective just as I have with them and ask whether you have ever considered overthinking as a characteristic that could possibly work for you.
Overthinking can lead to worry and if you’re a worrier, fear not because it’s not all bad news!
Yes, worry can cause stress, tension, anxiety plus negative thoughts but overthinking can also mean you see clearly what you don’t enjoy about life and the e-motion (energy in motion) drives you to create positive change.
If you tend to catastrophise, you’ll find yourself thinking that the worst is going to happen.
This however is your heightened imagination on speed and doesn’t have to be viewed as negative for several reasons.
What if it also allows you to create vivid day dreams, construct colourful characters, discover new imaginary worlds and think in a non-linear way?
How could you use this to create and constructively direct your focus?
Did you know that your ability to tap so positively into your imagination connects you deeper to your spirituality? This therefore means that your capacity for overthinking can also be an excellent resource to holistically fuel your creativity.
Not only that, it gives you the ability to empathise with others on a large scale because overthinking means you can see different perspectives and put yourself in other people’s shoes.
This is an integral quality to human connection because it allows you to understand someone else’s emotions and in return give them the opportunity to feel understood.
One of our human needs is to be acknowledged and seen so overthinking can be viewed as the conduit that elegantly offers empathy to another.
This is brilliant for writers of film, books, music or stage because you can fully tap into your imaginary characters and bring them to life for the reader or viewer to enjoy and connect with.
As I mentioned earlier, overthinking definitely generates worrying however this is can be a very powerful motivator.
Many of the inventions you take for granted today evolved out of worry, for example protective technology i.e. burglar alarms, industrial food processes to reduce starvation and of course vaccinations which is extremely relevant right now.
Not only does this worry emotion drive your creativity but it can also be an avid motivator for taking action. As a creative, a concern to someone else that becomes forgotten can turn into a project of adaptation for you.
Your ability to overthink means that you can see so many different possible options that the average person might miss and this makes you an excellent leader!
Leaders need to able to problem solve and this is something you’re extremely comfortable with because of your natural ability to think of non-existing problems and your amazing attention to detail.
The increased activity in your medial prefrontal cortex means that you can consider so many more ways to reach your goals.
Unlike those who think linear resulting in only one or two possible outcomes, your overthinking makes it brilliant for all your creative endeavours.
It will ensure you consider all options to determine only the very best outcome for you and those around you.
But perhaps you haven’t framed yourself like this yet especially if your usual habitat is working alone managing your own time, projects and getting wrapped up in instinctive overthinking.
Maybe you’d consider that overthinking is actually the magic elixir that sparks your creativity rather than the vigorous weed that chokes it.