Learn Why Connecting With Problems Heightens Your Creativity

written by Nina Cashman

Read the rest of this article at personalgrowth.com.

Why do the things we call problems tend to drain us so much? It seems that more often than not, we view our problems as circumstances that reside outside of us, which allows us to disconnect from them.

And, this conveniently provides us with the opportunity to spare ourselves from the pain our problems often invoke, such as worry, fear, anger and frustration.

Yet, when we completely disconnect from our problems, we also fail to see the solutions and possibilities that actually exist all around them. And in doing so, we neglect to harness much of any creativity for generating innovative solutions. After all, it is virtually impossible to connect relevant ideas to the very things, from which, we actually feel so disconnected.

A common theme amongst many ancient philosophers and spiritual leaders is the concept of connectivity as a pathway to creativity. In other words, when we feel deeply connected to something, then we allow it to inspire and empower us at the same time. Yet, when we separate ourselves from these same things, we instead, exacerbate our own feelings of isolation and dis-empowerment – a tough space for anyone to experience much of any creativity.

A great spiritual leader, Hildegard of Bingen, who was well ahead of her time as a female visionary in medieval Germany said, “we cannot live in a world that is not our own, in a world that is interpreted for us by others.” This suggests that everything we experience is a part of us, due to the fact that our own filter of interpretation, allows us to know the circumstances in the first place.

Now, just think of how differently we might show-up in both our personal and professional lives, if we made an effort to actually view our problems as a part of ourselves, instead of trying to separate ourselves from them? Better yet, how might the world start to look if we fearlessly chose to step inside of our problems?

Quite often, when the things we are experiencing invoke any sort of discomfort and pain, we’d prefer to trick ourselves into thinking that they are somehow different or separate from us. We then craft the well-known labels we like to call problems, and this only causes us to focus more of our attention on everything that is wrong with the world around us.

Of course, this disconnects and demotivates us from seeking any sort of solution. Instead, we simply continue focusing on the problem, or possibly turn a blind eye to it all together. So, again, how would these “problems” look if we began to embrace the idea that they are, in fact, our own experiences, and therefore, a part of us?

For starters, we might begin to see the bigger picture of our issues by looking past the impacts that they have on us, as mere individuals, while beginning to see how they affect the collective whole – involving everyone and everything.

When we do this, we begin to transcend the need to be right, and we open ourselves up to work with the resources that are available all around us. We begin to see the people, places and things that we might have once viewed as adversaries, instead, as valuable resources that could aid us in our pursuits towards innovation.

This is the space where competition begins to inspire us, and we begin to welcome confrontation and challenging circumstances, as a way to open-up our eyes to a vaster perspective and a heightened awareness. In fact, when we make an effort to go inside of our problems, as opposed to keeping them far away, our focus actually pivots from the challenges themselves, and begins to see the myriad of solutions that exist everywhere around us – at every single angle.

Imagine for a moment that whatever you’ve labeled as a problem, is actually a physical bubble. When you look at this bubble as a separate outsider, all you see is a problematic bubble, right? Now, imagine that you are stepping inside of this problem-bubble. And, in doing so, you’ve accepted your complete connection to its issues. At this point, you aren’t just a part of the problem – the problem, is in fact, a part of you.

As you stand inside this bubble, your vantage point shifts completely. You can no longer inspect and criticize every angle of the problem, because from inside of the bubble, all you can really see is everything all around you. So, your focus and attention begins to shift from your individual ego, to the collective world, in which, you too exist.

You might even begin to see the world as the very bubble in which you stand! Suddenly, it dawns on you that the world does not revolve around you; but, it is actually a part of you, and you are a part of it. In fact, it’s within our great big, collective world, where all solutions reside – right?

So, true creativity is born when we are able to look past ourselves, and form deep connections with the world around us. And, this concept’s greatest impact seems to apply to how we choose to deal with our own problems – whether at home or at work.

Instead of disregarding opposing points of view, we might open ourselves up to listening. Instead of writing off our challenges and other people, we might begin to collaborate with them. Instead of ignoring the things that bother us, we might start to pay attention to the parts of ourselves that are getting triggered. And, instead of disconnecting from an infinite potential that comes from tapping into creativity, we might actually begin to connect ourselves with every single part of the world that we experience – exactly as it is.

Tapping into our creative potential through connection will help us to transcend our problems – they will no longer exist outside of us, because we will merge with them. And, when we do, we might motivate ourselves to muster-up the spirit, courage and determination to begin creating brilliant solutions.

After all, connection forms the bridge to true understanding, which enables us to create things, versus simply pointing our fingers at the things that bother us. So, what might change for you, at this very moment, if you chose to connect with your problems, and step inside of them, with full acceptance that they actually aren’t really problems, but really just a part of you and the life that you are creating?

 This article is also published at: PERSONALGROWTH.COM