UNPLUGGING
3300
FOR CREATIVITY
Who can relate to this scenario: It’s a busy
morning, you grab your purse, gym bag, papers
from your desk, keys and rush out the door. Ten
minutes into your drive you realize you left your
cell phone at home. Immediately there is a wave
of panic and the internal conversation with yourself
over whether to go back or live without it for the
day. 99% of the time we turn the car around at the
next exit. This happened to me just yesterday – on a
Sunday – when no one needed to get a hold of me.
Yet I still turned back.
When was the last time you unplugged? I mean
really unplugged. Turning off the TV, taking out
phone. This week, month, year? If you are like most
of us, you likely don’t remember the last time. And
we are all paying the price for it in creativity and
innovation.
Psychologists from the University of Utah and
the University of Kansas found that creativity was
improved 50% after backpackers spent four days in
nature without any electronic devices.
David Strayer, a co-author of the study and
professor of psychology at the University of Utah
By Melanie Hicks PhD.
have been made over the centuries from nature
writers and lay people alike that there seems to
be something special about going out in nature,”
Along with stunting our creativity and keep us
important factor in successful entrepreneurship.
Although we love to immerse ourselves in the virtual
community of social media and text relationships,
real connection is only made when you move from
virtual to real human interaction.
Envision for a moment a world where your
physical community is your only community, where
access to technology is scarce at best. What deep
connections would you make with those around
you? What creative innovations would you build
together?
Meet a group living this reality. Founded in 2004,
The Well is a community of people committed to
living in direct relationships with the poor, building
a sense of kinship based not on blood but on
grace and hospitality. With dozens of initiatives and
S T A R T U P
“Do more of what makes you forget to look at your phone.”
- Anonymous