☛ Break Time --- Enjoy a Mini-Vacation! ☚

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☛ Break Time --- Enjoy a Mini-Vacation! ☚

Ever experience a "Creative Block" in operating your Etsy Shop and Business?

Please consider this article: "The Value of Taking a Productive Pause" and many others regarding the value, benefit, and wisdom of taking a productive break, pause, or just a few moments to reflect on something different . . .

http://99u.com/articles/7283/the-value-of-taking-a-productive-pause

Use the natural wiring of your brain to your advantage and wrangle that illusive problem-solving insight by taking a break and being open to serendipity. --- By Art Markman

Stories about creative insight often involve some kind of “productive pause,” or what psychologists call an incubation period. Archimedes, who was given the task of measuring the volume of an oddly-shaped golden crown, had his flash when stepping into a bath. Kekule was said to have thought of the structure of benzene while riding on a bus.

And chances are, you have had some issue plague you that has resolved itself while you were away from the problem taking a walk, sitting in a bath, or lying on a couch.

There are several reasons why this time away from the problem is helpful, but let me start out with a brief description of what is not happening.

Many people have a strange model of what our unconscious mind does. We assume that there is some army of smart thinkers that are working hard on our behalf while we are occupied with other pursuits. Eventually, one of those thinkers comes up with a great idea and sends it up to our conscious awareness and we have a flash of insight.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work that way. Incubation helps, but not because we have our own army working for us to solve problems. Instead, there are several other reasons productive pauses are valuable.

☛ Resetting the Mind.

Your memory is competitive. When you start thinking about a problem, certain ideas jump to the forefront. They leap to mind both because they are related to the description of the problem, and because they successfully tamp down (or inhibit) competing memories. Once memory has been inhibited, it has a hard time reaching your awareness, even if the information from that memory might be crucial for solving a problem.

Incubation helps, but not because we have our own army working for us to solve problems.

When you walk away from a problem and think about something else, your memory resets. The ideas that dominated your thinking recede from your thoughts. The memories that were inhibited before gradually become more accessible. If your thoughts return to the problem after a pause, those other memories now have a chance to influence your thinking.

☛ Changing the Description.

Think about vegetables, and your memory will be filled with situations in which you encountered vegetables. Think about birthday parties, and memories about birthday parties spring to mind. The way you describe a problem you are solving influences what you are thinking about.

Often, when you start solving a problem, the description you begin with is fairly specific. You frame the problem in terms of the domain in which the problem is set. If you are trying to build a better vacuum cleaner, you think about bags, suction, and dirt.

When you take some time away from the problem, some of those details fade away, and the description of the problem gradually changes and becomes more abstract. You may shift from thinking about suction and bags to separating dirt from air. As those details change, the memories you pull up change as well. That leads to new insights.

The way you describe a problem you are solving influences what you are thinking about.

☛ The Role of Serendipity.

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you can’t come up with a good way to think about the problem. You are just stuck. In those times, the productive pause brings you into contact with lots of things in the world. And one of those chance encounters can lead to insight.

There is a lot of research on opportunistic planning demonstrating that when you have a goal you need to satisfy, you notice things in your environment that will help you to solve the problem. When you need to mail a letter, it increases the chances you will notice a mailbox that you pass on the street.

Similarly, when you are stuck with a problem that needs a creative solution, it will increase the odds that you will notice something in your world that can lead to a problem-solving insight. Archimedes had likely stepped into a bath hundreds of times, but only when he was puzzled about measuring volume did the rise in water level capture his attention.

So, the next time you are stuck on a problem, take a break. Even though there isn’t an army of problem solvers working behind the scenes, you still may find value in that pause.

—

How about you? Has taking a “productive pause” helped you solve a problem?

The purpose of this is thread is solely for the reason of helping you take a "mini-vacation" or a "mental break" or a "just because" to help you gain some knowledge of places around the world and come back freshened up to your challenges of operating an Etsy Shop!

☛ Let's start by taking a mini-vacation to New York City where perhaps the most thinking in the USA takes place as this city is the largest city in the USA in population . . .

New York City Vacation Travel Guide | Expedia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtCMtC50gwY

8 million people call this city home and over 50 million people visit this city each year

Enjoy your mini-vacations and come back fresh to work on your Etsy shop(s)!

Thank you!

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Serendipity --- From Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serendipity

Serendipity means a "fortunate happenstance" or "pleasant surprise". The term was coined by Horace Walpole in 1754.

In a letter he wrote to a friend, Walpole explained an unexpected discovery he had made by reference to a Persian fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip. The princes, he told his correspondent, were "always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of".

The notion of serendipity is a common occurrence throughout the history of scientific innovation. Examples are Alexander Fleming's accidental discovery of penicillin in 1928, the invention of the microwave oven by Percy Spencer in 1945, and the invention of the Post-it note by Spencer Silver in 1968.

In June 2004, a British translation company voted the word to be one of the ten English words hardest to translate. However, due to its sociological use, the word has since been exported into many other languages.

The serendipitous can play an important role in the search for truth, but is often ignored in the scientific literature because of traditional scientific behavior and scientific thinking based on logic and predictability.

Successful researchers can observe scientific results with careful attention to analyzing a phenomenon under the most diverse and different perspectives. They can question themselves on assumptions that do not fit with empirical observations. Realizing that serendipitous events can generate important research ideas, these researchers recognize and appreciate the unexpected, encouraging their assistants to observe and discuss unexpected events.

Serendipity can be achieved in groups where a 'critical mass' of multidisciplinary scientists work together in an environment that fosters communication, establishing the idea that the work and the interest of a researcher can be shared with others who may find a new application for new knowledge.

. . . and, just taking a break . . . can refresh both the mind and the body and one's life too . . .

Now, let's take a look at the 2nd largest in populations cities in the USA . . .

Enjoy!

Los Angeles Vacation Travel Guide | Expedia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTvr_2v-0HI&t=25s

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While today's news covers Chicago there's a lot about this 3rd largest city by population in the USA that is not known --- please enjoy!

Chicago Vacation Travel Guide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSwvg9Rv2EI

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. . . the most populous city in the state of Texas and the fourth-most populous city in the United States . . .

Enjoying your mini vacations . . . you are also learning about your Etsy customers too . . . where they live and what they do . . . why is this important? . . . knowing who our customers are and what they are looking to buy helps us know what is best for us to sell . . .

Houston Vacation Travel Guide

www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9jWxwpXMPM

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This link identifies the 17 largest US cities by population. Why consider this here?

Because the two most important questions Etsy sellers need to ask and answer the best that they can are:

(1) Who are my customers?

and,

(2) What are they looking to buy?

Taking a mini-vacation travel guide style helps us think about who our customers are and learn a little about them as well as enjoy a little mini-vacation for Serendipity benefits too.

https://img1.etsystatic.com/192/0/16560841/icm_fullxfull.127345463_g8lr5pkneb4sg0coo8g4.jpg

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Phoenix Vacation Travel Guide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAtEodJdK0k

Phoenix is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With 1,615,017 people (as of 2016), Phoenix is the fifth most populous city nationwide, the most populous state capital in the United States, and the only state capital with a population of more than one million residents.

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Power of Serendipity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPTMcSe7mMQ

A wonderful story of pianist Keith Jarrett to help us understand why unexpected changes of plans, unfamiliar circumstances or unforeseen events can help generate new ideas and opportunities.

Focusing . . . and . . . Serendipity Thinking too . . .

https://img1.etsystatic.com/217/0/16560841/icm_fullxfull.127381193_fmrxvng48j4sgsokw44c.jpg

Philadelphia Vacation Travel Guide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHDtG4_Eq_c

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San Antonio Vacation Travel Guide

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifW6I46cIpk

San Antonio officially the City of San Antonio, is the seventh-most populated city in the United States and the second-most populous city in the state of Texas, with a population of 1,469,845.

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San Diego Vacation Travel Guide

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KMZW_zwRfc

With an estimated population of 1,394,928 as of July 1, 2015, San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest in California.

If you find good things without looking for them, serendipity may have brought them to you.

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Dallas Vacation Travel Guide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt7lpqdbNgA

Dallas is a major city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolis, the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the United States. The city's population ranks ninth in the U.S. and third in Texas after Houston and San Antonio.

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Visit City of San Jose California | "The Capital of Silicon Valley"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYd4zyVEV8Y

San Jose, Spanish for "Saint Joseph"; Spanish pronunciation:  is the economic, cultural, and political center of Silicon Valley and the largest city in Northern California. With an estimated 2015 population of 1,026,908, it is the third most populous city in California (after Los Angeles and San Diego) and the tenth most populous in United States.

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Austin Vacation Travel Guide

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZwGHEYT5x8

Selah: from Water to Stone at The Bamberger Ranch

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgkS9yGCLSA

bambergerranch.org/

Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve is a 5,500-acre ranch in Blanco County that has been restored to its original habitat. Our mission is to teach ethical land stewardship.

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Jacksonville City Guide

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS88tRuFgW4

Jacksonville is a major seaport city and the seat of Duval County, Florida, United States. With an estimated 913,010 residents as of 2017, Jacksonville is the most populous city in both the state of Florida and the southeastern United States

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San Francisco Vacation Travel Guide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo6iAxf4si0&t=77s

San Francisco is the most densely settled large city (population greater than 200,000) in California and the second-most densely populated major city in the United States after New York City. San Francisco is the fourth-most populous city in California, after Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose, and the 13th-most populous city in the United States—with a census-estimated 2016 population of 870,887.

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Columbus Ohio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVwmPOquNrc

Columbus is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is the 14th-largest city in the United States with a population of 860,090 as of 2016 estimates. This makes Columbus the third-most populous state capital in the United States, and the second-largest city in the Midwestern United States, after Chicago.

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Creative Bad Habits: Treading The Path of Least Resistance --- Fight the brain's natural impulse to take the easy route and watch your creativity flourish.

http://99u.com/articles/16638/creative-bad-habits-treading-the-path-of-least-resistance

A few years ago, I was asked to give a talk at a conference. Attending were a few hundred people who pride themselves on being at the forefront of the digital revolution. My presentation was after lunch, so everyone was filing back into the auditorium right before I went on. I began my talk by asking the group how many of them were sitting in the same seat they were in that morning. Almost every hand went up, followed by a little nervous laughter.
This incredibly creative group of people returned to the room and did exactly what they had done the last time they were in the room.

The psychologist Tom Ward points out that when we think about anything, we follow the path of least resistance. Without realizing it, we instantly and automatically categorize every situation we see based on our previous experience. So, despite our best efforts to do something bold and new, our memory drives us back to things tried and true. Our efforts at creativity are thwarted before they get on track.

In the context of creative work, that means that our creative output is governed by the information that is in our memory. Ward and his colleagues have asked people to perform creative tasks like drawing aliens. Often without realizing it, most people start with a familiar animal and then modify it to create the new one. As a result, almost all of the drawings have key properties of animals on Earth such as symmetry, eyes, and legs.

The path of least resistance is a central part of the way that our minds are designed, because nearly everything that we have to do in life should be governed by our past experience. Generally speaking, we do not want a creative way to cross the street, brush our teeth, or make dinner that is completely disconnected from our past experience.

The first step in overcoming the path of least resistance in creative situations is to recognize that it constrains the way you think. Every new idea you have is rooted in one or more old ideas you have encountered in the past. So, when you find yourself in a creative rut, you need to start thinking about which of your memories is influencing your creativity. Why are you interpreting the creative problem you are solving in the way you are? What aspects of your experience are driving you in that direction?

Generally speaking, we do not want a creative way to cross the street, brush our teeth, or make dinner that is completely disconnected from our past experience.

Then, you have to change the memories you are using. There are several ways to do that:

Expand the information you have in memory.

Break out of your comfort zone. Read a book by a new author. Listen to music from an unfamiliar composer. Go to a lecture on a topic you know nothing about. These experiences will help you see the world in a new way by offering you new (and additional) memories to pull from.

Re-frame the creative problem.

You pull things from memory automatically when you encounter a new situation, which means you have to do some work to describe every creative problem in a new way. Once you know what aspects of the creative situation are influencing your memory, focus on different parts of the problem. Use other words. Constrain your brainstorming. The people in Tom Ward’s experiments, for example, were generally thinking about animals from Earth (and often intelligent animals) when drawing aliens. If they described the task as drawing a simple a “living thing” or a “being,” they would have been reminded of a wider range of things that would have led them to create something more novel.

Change your collaborators.

Take stock of the five people you spend the most time with. If you are like most people, you seek out others who share your tastes, beliefs, and outlook. Spending your time with people who agree with you is pleasant, but bad for your creativity. If you really want to be pushed out of your comfort zone, find people who approach life and work in a radically different way than you do. Then, try to work with them. It probably won’t be fun (at least at first), but it is likely to force you to consider things from new perspectives.

How about you? --- How do you break out of a creative rut?

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Indianapolis, Indiana - Travel Guide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkMgvdHQ4WU

Indianapolis is the second most populous city in the Midwest and 15th most populous in the U.S.

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Top Tourist Attractions Fort Worth: Travel Guide Texas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TePqkS5KFo

Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. The city was established in 1849 as an Army outpost on a bluff overlooking the Trinity River. The Trinity River is a 710-mile-long (1,140 km) river in Texas, and is the longest river with a watershed entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. It rises in extreme northern Texas, a few miles south of the Red River. The headwaters are separated by the high bluffs on the southern side of the Red River.

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About Charlotte NC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAGh6ZuEqAo

Charlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina. And the second-largest city in the southeastern United States, just behind Jacksonville, Florida. Charlotte is home to the corporate headquarters of Bank of America and the east coast operations of Wells Fargo, which along with other financial institutions made it the second-largest banking center in the United States from 1995 to 2017 and the third-largest from 2017 to present.

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Around the World in 80 Gardens Ep01

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uityVe6OkCk&list=PLhgr_NgfgDb7Ndx0767Ev9_5y...

80 one hour episodes on YouTube that Monty Don brings to you . . .

amazing to say the least

Enjoy!