Do you have trouble trying to create the next big idea?
Sometimes the answer isn't to just force an idea out of your mind.
Instead, you might want to try sitting back, relaxing and letting your mind wander(走神). Yes, you heard that correctly. If you are in need of a new idea, try daydreaming.
Daydreams allow your mind to run freely and even increase productivity in some cases. Daydreaming develops creativity which is why you have an ah-ha moment and sudden insight(领悟) about a situation. Daydreaming allows you to uncover thoughts and ideas you did not realize you even had and get the thoughts hidden under the surface.
Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, found a connection between daydreaming and creative problem-solving. Their study includes making participants first do an "unusual-use task". They had to try to come up with as many different ways to use an object as they could.
Then, the participants choose to do one of the following four things before doing the "unusual-use task" again; complete a difficult task, complete an easy task, take a 12-minute break, or skip a 12-minute break and move right on to the task exercise again.
Surprisingly, the group that performed best was the one that completed the easy task. Many participants reported that they were daydreaming while performing the easy task. So the researchers believed that this daydreaming might have helped unlock their creativity.
But how could daydreaming help the brain come up with creative ways? The answer is something known as "unconscious thought". Even when you are not actively working to solve a problem, it is still in the back of your mind. Your brain is still thinking about the problem, but in a way that you are unaware of.
When you daydream, your mind is allowed to think in ways it normally would not. Because it is free of control, it can create completely new and out-of-the-box ideas.
Great ideas never come easily, but that does not mean you always have to work hard to get them. Feel free to do what you want and let your mind wander.