Often times we fly through our day responsible and serious. We are too preoccupied with what we have to do that we don't give our creative minds a chance to play.

We have tons of great ideas but we don't have access to them because we aren't paying attention. Sometimes we have to dig a little deeper..

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Creativity Challenge #4:

Mining Your Mind

I'll admit, I haven't tried this challenge recently, but I have used it in the past and can attest to it's effectiveness in clearing brain fog and improving creative output, at least for me. Today I'll share it with you because I believe you will get similar results if you stick with it.

Two things you should be aware of before we get started. 1) This Creativity Challenge, unlike past challenges, actually requires more than a 24 hour commitment, but also unlike past challenges, it doesn't require you to participate throughout the day. 2) You will need a notebook and a pen.. probably good idea to keep a few replacement pens handy in case you run out of ink..

Ok, have I piqued your curiosity yet? What is the challenge??

Let me know if this sounds familiar? You wake up out of bed, groggy and a bit dazed. Pretty soon a rush of questions, worries, and to-do lists start populating your every thought.. Those thoughts and preoccupations consume your day, not ceasing until you shut out the lights and go to bed.

All that mental chatter is actually one of the reasons you might not feel as creative as you'd like. We need a to clear a playground for our subconscious mind to create. Today's Challenge is designed to help you do just that.

Your challenge is to keep a journal beside, or by the kitchen table, wherever you find yourself first thing in the morning. What you want to do is set a timer for 5 minutes, or give yourself a page count of say, three pages (depending on notebook size). And as soon as you can in the morning (ideally the very first thing you do), start stream of consciousness writing.

Don't think, just write. if you have nothing to write about, just write that. over and over.. I had one entry with three lines of "Bubblegum and Shoelaces" over and over for some reason.. it doesn't matter.. the challenge is to keep writing non-stop until the timer goes off or you reach your page count. With that in mind, it's very important NOT to judge yourself or the quality of your writing.. just trust that the simple act of doing this exercise is cracking open that creative walnut you have up in there every day, on chip at a time..

You'll be surprised at what will bubble up after a few days of trying this. Also, you might find your mind is a lot more acute throughout the day. Often times some of our most fantastic ideas come to us in our sleep.. So many great innovations and inventions are never made because we don't take the time to unearth our subconscious thoughts..

Stream of Consciousness Writing is the key to unlocking that door and unleashing your creative best. Don't take this lightly. Integrate this practice into your morning routine, prioritize it to the top of the list and guard it fiercely!

Because it's such a powerful exercise, and it's effects are best when compounded over time, I'm going to make this a month-long challenge! That's right, I Challenge you to write non-stop stream of consciousness every morning for five minutes when you first wake up, for a whole month. July is just around the corner, but you can start tomorrow if you'd like.

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