Wellness Wednesday: National Senior Health & Fitness Day

Today is National Senior Health and Fitness Day, consider reaching out to your folks and encourage them to get going while showing your loved ones some gratitude as they were your  first coaches, who encouraged your very first steps in life.  Over 100,000 older adults across the United States will participate in health promotion events.  Consider taking a walk or getting some exercise with a mentor, family member or friend.  Encourage the elders around you to stay active.   I think it's extraordinary that after a long battle with illness, my mom is recovering and resuming her active lifestyle while taking on new habits to improve her health.  She's riding her bike to work today. I've already gone for a 3 mile walk today.  How about you?  

What's on your wellness agenda today - be intentional, make up your mind to take 30 minutes for a walk, run, yoga, stretching or go for a swim.   May there's a Zumba class with your name on it.   It's Wellness Wednesday.

Creative Space: It's in Your Brain

Everyday life requires creativity
Creativity involves a mental process that allows you to generate new ideas. While we think of artists as the creative experts of our time, everyday life requires creativity. Seeing a persistent challenge with new perspective may offer a new reality takes creative effort. Your time, energy and brain can be consumed with tasks on to-do lists, everyday routines interruptions and then there are the distractions brought on by this new world of social media.


If you want your creative energy to flow you may have to give up time-consuming unproductive efforts. You'll have to make the decision to allow time in your day when you can awaken the centers of your brain. Not easy. Yet, if you pay close attention the reward of freeing your brain to be creative will yield dividends like solving problems by generating new worthwhile ideas.  You may become an asset in your workplace, family and improve your own life by using the power of creativity.

Lessons in Creative Innovation
Recently, I listened to Steve Jobs, founder of Apple and Pixar Animation discuss his creative process.  Steve learned early on the power of connecting to creativity in shaping his life.  

The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico spreading from the coasts of Louisiana and moving toward Florida will in the days ahead require creativity in the cleanup, restoration and renewal in these waters.  Furthermore, the floods of Nashville will need creative expertise from city planners to rethink infrastructure while others will work to find solutions for those who have been devasted.  In the same manner, new health care reform legislation demands that physicians think about the implementation and delivery of better medical treatment and healing using the tools of creative innovation.

Creative Innovation: A Scientific Understanding
Throughout time scientists and physicians have been innovators using their imaginations and curiosities in making new discoveries with or without laboratories. As described by Herman Helmhotz in 1826  the stages of creative innovation involve four stages: incubation, illumination, preparation and verification.   In short, you should know that your thought processes activate pathways or circuits in your brain that empower creativity whether you are a musician, writer, medical student, business executive, physicist, graphic designer or running a household. You have pathways for creativity in the core of your being.  Creativity is a life force for your well-being and health.  Creativity is meant to help you be the best person you can be and also allows you to have an impact in the world.


Here are a few of my suggestions for your creative time:

• Declutter your brain - write down your to-do list 
• Take "down time" everyday to allow for creativity - no phone calls, twitter, or social networking
• Keep a creativity journal. 
• Create different physical spaces in your office, home 
• Take a creative walk or sit by the water 
• Be persistent - push away distractions and be present in the moment.

Share your suggestions in creative innovation by leaving a comment.