Today is Blue Monday, supposedly the ‘most depressing day of the year’ and I’ve already noticed an upsurge of ‘self help’ solutions and positive affirmations across our social media platforms urging us to be more ‘mindful’.
When I run my workshops, either for those of you who are considering embarking on performing or writing comedy, or for business communities who want to improve confidence and communications in the workplace, the word ‘mindful’ often comes up.
Thinking is when your mind is full of thoughts and essential to the creative process. Like a lot of people, I often do far too much thinking, however, it’s how I plan and come up with ideas or solutions. As a child I was often chastised for ‘daydreaming’ so even today when I spend a little too long thinking and staring into space the process is still tinged with guilt.
When I really want to switch off I busy my mind with ‘crap telly’ or read a book (not enough these days) because it’s an easy and available distraction. I’ve tried the various mindful apps like Calm and Headspace but I find them more difficult to engage with than listening to a favourite podcast. As long as my mind is full of something other than spreadsheets and schedules then I’m distracted and focusing on something other than my work.
The wrong stressful kind of overthinking is definitely overrated so we shouldn’t underestimate the brain’s ability to keep on processing during our downtime or bodily functions. Use thinking time as positively as you can – some of my best ideas have been formulated while I’m sitting on the loo or taking a shower. Don’t knock it!
The trick is, I think, to trust your brain to organise your thoughts and learn to rely less heavily on or writing notes or dictating into your phone. A healthy brain has a huge storage capacity and houses most of what we need to access on an everyday level, even if we have to ‘search’ for the information occasionally. We have to trust that what we need is there nestling in the layers of grey matter.
We can also learn to mentally filter and record our thoughts and musings. Comedians have cracked the code and built up their mental muscles to remember hours of material that they can access as needed and when the occasion requires. Yes, it’s an art and we can all do it – we all know our material because it’s part of us.
In respect of memory and brainpower, one of the regular conversations I have is about whether to use a paper diary or a virtual one on a computer or phone. I was resistant to this at first but now I have fully converted to virtuality and for the first time ever in my life have not purchased a new ‘hard’ diary for 2020. Hoorah!
This has been made possible because I have a strong visual memory and my brain has adapted to envisage the diary in my mind’s eye when it’s not easily accessible. I am not infallible but it amazes me how much I can remember now that I don’t reach for pen and paper!
Never underestimate the power of the mind and don’t be side-lined into thinking you can’t do something. While modern technology helps us to recall information and navigate our way through life, it’s also a big distraction and discourages us to use our memories or sense of direction. Those of us old enough to be brought up using an A-Z or an Ordnance Survey Map (Google it!) may still have the confidence to risk an impromptu short cut based on a visual memory.
Then there is the anxiety of remembering to do stuff without our phones. What did we fill those long days with before we were addicted to checking and updating our social media profiles? Oh yes, we had time to think and talk to people. We phoned each other on the off chance of a conversation or imparting some vital news – now we have to book calls like we do meetings. There really isn’t much mindful joy in any of this.
I was running a workshop recently and one of the participants seemed very anxious about being parted from his mobile phone for two hours. After the initial anxiety and mild protestation, the phone went away and his creativity soared. This was because he was free of distractions and his mind was full of what he was doing in the moment.
I am as bad as anybody else when it comes to being distracted by technology, phones and social media but have learned that there are times when you have to ‘live in the moment’.
Read a book, watch a film or go for a walk. Look at the language, listen to how the music reflects the imagery and observe the architecture, landscape or wildlife. Don’t take pictures and start texting your friends while or during the experience, wait until you have time to process so that the pictures, sounds and words remain meaningfully in your mind’s eye.
True creativity is powered by your own experiences and memories which can be as mindful as you choose to make them. Use them, embellish them, cherish them and enjoy them. To my knowledge, nobody ever died of a bit of daydreaming.
Funny Women runs regular public workshops – check out the programme here. Check out our workplace offer over at www.herlarious.co.uk.
