I read in a comment somewhere this week that creativity “grows exponentially when you step away from the computer.” I’ve heard other comments about the number of bloggers who are stepping away from writing or creating because they need a break, because their creativity is suffering, because, because, because.
I would argue that they’ve managed to stifle their ability to be curious under the weight of imagined deadlines, self-imposed pressures, and the need to create content.
Where does that need come from? All of us feel it from time to time, but the whole point of blogging is to have fun, to explore, to share, and to be curious, not to feed the beast of a deadline that doesn’t really exist anyway. If I didn’t post today, even though my own little bloggy schedule says I should, would you notice? No. There’s too much else for you to be exploring!
We are, as a species, inherently curious. Whether it’s exploring vast new frontiers or exploring things that are closer to home, we are always looking for new things to discover.
Technology should be used to feed our curiosity, not stifle it. Social media, blogging, and web-surfing should not be used as an end purpose, but as another tool in our kit to explore and discover amazing things that we might not have known about enough to be curious about before. The fact that we can share amazing shots of the universe, renderings of galaxies, a bright idea about space travel, and Morgan Freeman’s silky-smooth voice with a touch of a button is infinitely cool to me. I’m not at all discounting our very primal need to get outside and enjoy nature, believe me {especially with spring starting to show itself!}, but we shouldn’t write off the tech just because we’re not getting what we want out of it.
I’m all about using technology to expand my ability to be curious about the world around me. Integrating great new collaborative technologies, augmented reality applications, and awesome products like Glass, is just the beginning. But doing this successfully starts with using our brain successfully, figuring out where we want to learn, and choosing the right tool for the job.
What do YOU want to learn today?
KCS
