Today we have a simple looking* exercise.
An exercise in really looking.
Looking at things you see every day, in a different way. Creativity requires investigating and observing, and prompts us to view the world from a different perspective. It would be exhausting to always be on the look out. We’ve adapted to skim the world around us, filter information, and access what’s immediately relevant. While this is helpful and necessary, we miss out on potential inspiration. Ack! Let’s experiment with rejecting complacency (just a little bit!), take a quick look around, and see what we can find.
Prompt
Look for something you’ve never seen before.
Sit in a familiar environment, like your office or kitchen. Settle into the space: find a comfortable seat and take a couple long breaths. Close your eyes if it feels safe. When you’re properly relaxed, open your eyes and scan the room. Begin wherever you want- maybe in a corner or with a prominent feature, or look left to right or top to bottom. Make sure you don’t miss any spots as you scan, pay attention to shelves, baskets, piles of mess, etc. Look for something you’ve never noticed before. Focus your eyes…sharpen your gaze…and look. Try to stay seated where you are and see what you can see from there. When you’ve found something you’ve never noticed before, stop! You don’t have to do anything with the new thing you’ve noticed, although you are welcome to consider the debrief questions listed below.
If you’re struggling to find something, here are some tips: Look at words on books, packaging, television remotes, and records. Look at colors on rugs, art, decorations. Look for new leaves on plants, something out of place, the way a wire is twisted.
Debrief
- What did you notice?
- Why do you think you haven’t noticed [this] before?
- How do you think [this] got here?
- Did [this] surprise you?
- How has your perspective on your space changed?
- Where did your mind go when you found [this]?
- How were you distracted?
- How did you maintain focus?
- What did you realize during this process?
- What questions came up?
- What answers did you find?
- How did this exercise encourage you to look at things differently?
- How did this exercise encourage you to to think differently?
*You can also listen, smell, touch, (and maybe taste?) your environment to find more things you’ve never noticed before. All the senses are welcome in this exercise. Do what works best for you!