Good day, Purposeful Hearts! Are you one of those people who take a few minutes in a new environment to look up and around you to take in all the details of the architecture and ambience? Do you like wandering through stores just for the visual inspiration? If so, chances are you’re high in the Absorb brain set. (As a reminder, we’re on the “A” in the CREATES model of creative thinking by Harvard’s Shelley Carson!)
The Absorb brain set, according to Carson (2012) consists of three major characteristics, including attraction to novelty, delayed judgment, and “cognitive disinhibition.” Attraction to novelty simply refers to how observant you are, especially when it comes to the small and unexpected details around you. You’re drawn to the new, bright, half-hidden, way up high, way down low, and off the beaten path, and you can’t help but explore and find out more about what your eyes behold.
The second characteristic of the Absorb brain set, delayed judgment, is a real blessing during the creative process. While many of us are way too critical of our early ideas, crumple up the sketch paper, and fling the mangled ball toward the wastebasket, the Absorb brain set is willing to play a bit longer and perhaps find some redeeming quality that makes the idea worth saving. The Absorbing mind is much more patient and waits for a full-detail picture before deciding if an idea is worthy or not.
The final trait of the Absorb brain set is “cognitive disinhibition,” which means that we “fail” to filter out sensory information that comes our way. (With the number of stimuli in our environment in a typical day, we block out WAY more information than you might think; it’s really for our own protection so we don’t get overwhelmed!) With the Absorb brain set, however, more information makes it into our brains than if we were being harsher gatekeepers at the doors of our mind. More information in the mind means more raw material to play with!
So, how can you begin to have a little fun with the Absorb brain set? Start with your daily routine. What new objects or signs can you find that you just haven’t “seen” before? What might you see if you took a different route to work or the gym? Sharpen those powers of observation, Purposeful Hearts!
Carson, S. (2012). Your Creative Brain: Seven Steps to Maximize Imagination, Productivity, and Innovation in Your Life. Jossey-Bass.
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