Creativity and Travel

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination with reality, and instead of thinking of how things may be, see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

Having writers block, hitting a dead end and running fresh out of new ideas at work? How do you combat these problems? Creativity. But how can one be more creative?

There is an interesting link between travel and creativity, which, depending on your profession and passions, could help you in the long run.

Giving in to new sounds, smells, language and the overall magnificence of the world stimulates the brain and increases the prospect for creativity. Although you may not become as creative as Steve Jobs, Amy Poehler or J.K. Rowling, your mind will thank you. Your outlook on life will change. Your propensity for creativity will change. All because you packed a suitcase and went out to see the world.

\”Foreign experiences increase both cognitive flexibility and depth and integrativeness of thought, the ability to take deep connections between disparate forms,\” says Adam Galinsky, a professor at Columbia Business School.

And foreign experiences don’t even mean hopping on a plane and spending $5,000 on a trip to Europe. You can experience new sights and culture anywhere, anytime. Get on the subway and go to a neighborhood where you’ve never been before. Take a bus to the nearest city and walk around and absorb the culture. Find yourself somewhere new.

No, you don’t have to quit your job and travel for a year. You don’t even have to travel for a month. But take some time for you every so often to have new experiences, see new things, hear new languages and try new food.

Experiencing a culture different from your own may play an important part in the increase for creativity. When you experience different forms of thinking and different ways of life, your outlook changes as well.

So free your mind and dig deeper. Your capacity to be creative along with your job, your boss and even your life, will thank you.