Page 56 - TA Magazine Winter 2022

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power of imagination

Tips for strengthening your creativity, BY JIM KWIK
the rejuvenative

Imagination is powerful.
It allows you to dream, to innovate, and to create. When we talk much as possible. If you’re not sure what

about imagination, most people think of children. After all, children to visualize, ask yourself questions and let
your mind wander through the possible
are the ones pretending the floor is hot lava, visualizing dragons in the clouds, and answers. In fact, asking more questions
turning simple boxes into spaceships, race cars, and time machines. Children are throughout your day can help prompt
encouraged to use their imaginations and to be creative—adults, not so much. Many your brain to anticipate answers, which
people stop exercising their imagination as they grow older, which weakens their gets your creativity and imagination flow-
22 ability to use that muscle. ing no matter what you’re doing. 22 22

Y ANDERSON WINTER 20 Studies show that when you use your imagination, your entire neurological network lights up. You iors. It tries to rely on what it already Y ANDERSON WINTER 20 Y ANDERSON WINTER 20
Another thing you can do to spark your

imagination is to actively seek out new
While not using your imagination puts you at risk of not being able to think outside the box, using it
solving capabilities, develops strong empathy, helps achieve your goals by approaching them in new
machine, which means it’s constantly
53
52 can benefit so many aspects of your life. Using your imagination decreases stress, increases problem experiences. Your brain is an efficiency 53
trying to automate actions and behav-
and innovative ways, strengthens confidence, and improves memory. It also keeps your brain healthy.
knows, and facing the unknown forc-
have approximately 86 billion neurons (brain cells) that are all connected together through synapses,
es you to be engaged and alert. When
brain knows what to expect. But if you
city. From a neurological perspective, it proves that using your imagination is a whole brain experience.
take a new path, you have to be focused

C and as you learn new things, your brain adapts and transforms. This process is known as neuroplasti- you walk the same path every day, your C C
TRA In my recent New York Times best seller, Limitless, we share the research that has shown that neuro- because you don’t know what happens TRA TRA
plasticity is vital not only to learning, but to maintaining overall brain health. Using your imagination next. Your brain will work to try and
plays a key role in improving neuroplasticity, especially as we age. figure it out.

One of the ways you can use your imagination daily is through visualization. A study at the University Reading fiction is another fantastic exer-
of Chicago split participants into three groups and had them do free-throws on a basketball court. cise for your imagination. As you read,
Group A had to practice shooting free-throws for one hour every day. Group B was told to visualize you’re visualizing what the characters
throwing free-throws instead of daily, physical practice. And Group C didn’t practice at all. At the end week in a monastery. Everything in the and asked which photo was younger, look like, the world they live in, and the
¹ https:/ /kwiklearning.com/kwik-tips/three-ways-imagination-
of thirty days, Group A improved 24% and Group C didn’t make any progress. Incredibly, Group monastery—from the television shows, they consistently chose the after photo. actions they take as they move through
B—the participants who only practiced visualizing shooting free-throws—improved 23%. Almost the newspapers, and furniture styles—were These men not only felt younger, they the plot. You’re also trying to figure out
same rate as the individuals who physically threw the ball every single day. all staged to recreate 1959. She also re- performed better and looked younger to what comes next. Fiction immerses you
moved all the mirrors. The men were in- outside observers. in layers of imagination.
That study demonstrates the power of imagination and mental rehearsal in improving a skill, but visu- structed to pretend like they were living
alization can do so much more in terms of our brain and body health. In 1979, Ellen Langer headed the in 1959 for the duration of that week. Both of these studies show the physi- The fact is your brain doesn’t know the
‘counterclockwise study.’ She took eight men out of a home for senior living and had them live for one benefits-brain-health/ ² https:/ /www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7075500/ ³ https:/ /www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6615788/ Remarkably, after one week the men’s cal and mental benefits that using your difference between what you imagine
imagination consistently can wield. One
and what is real. By actively engaging
strength, sight, and hearing improved.
your imagination through visualization
of the best things you can do to exercise
Cognitive testing showed increased
exercises, asking more questions, read-
your imagination is making time to visu-
alize your goals every day. Incorporate
ing, and visiting new places, you can
cognitive ability, focus, and memory.
keep your brain happy and healthy as
your senses, add emotion, and focus on
Even more powerfully, when students
bringing the images to life in your mind as
were shown before and after photos,
you age. TA