"An Englishmen thinks seated;
a Frenchmen standing;
an American pacing,
an Irishman, afterwards."
-- Austin O'Malley
Pacing is something that I have found highly beneficial in helping me think about things and find new ways of looking at something. I think most people might think of pacing as an activity of worry, but I love it and the activity of slow methodical pacing back and forth is soothing.
As I pace, I'm brainstorming, allowing any and every idea to come in and let it roll around with the others in my head. Sometimes, a fearful thought, or worrisome thought will appear and I can immediately tell by how I feel. As I feel that anxiety, I immediately let it go and go back to the possibility thinking instead. I cannot allow myself to have worrisome thoughts when I am brainstorming.
It is something about the activity of the slow walking that helps ideas to flow. I've tried sitting quietly in a chair and that is way too comfortable and I find myself fading. . . It is so much more effective to walk about. Sometimes if the weather is warm, I'll go for a long walk and that works well too, yet the pacing in my office or other smaller area seems to work best. The pace is important to me and it is approximately counting each step as one thousand one, one thousand two and so on, although I just figured that out to share with you the rhythm of my pacing.
As each idea comes in, unless another idea comes in right afterward, I will play with that idea and run visuals of how it might work, look, feel. I don't want to adhere to anything in particular, just play with it. It has really become very effective for me. It is quite amazing how it works and how fast it can work. Many times I have procrastinated on something, then I am up against a deadline of some kind. I do my pacing and within a few minutes, the ideas just flow in.
How do you get your best ideas?
Brainstorming Is Fun! It's Great Exercise Too!
Spread Some Joy Today--Letting go of worrisome thoughts and looking for new ideas will bring joy. As that joy settles in to you, others see it as a billboard. There is always a better way, no matter how many ways you've tried.
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