Having a health mind is the top priority if you have any intention at all to stay creative year after year. So.. prioritize your well being first and foremost!!
SLEEP to gain energy and give your mind some much needed time for restoration and reflections. EAT good healthy food and EXERCISE several times a week. Science have proven that running is a really good form of exercise, but doing something is better than nothing! The brain is a bit weird in that way.. when you want to have strong arms you naturally lift weights using your.. arms. When you want to run fast you focus on your.. legs.
But the brain gets stronger when your body as a whole get stronger!
Solving sudoku and playing chess to exercise your brain is a myth that isn't really helping. The only thing that happening is that you become better at those games and that type of problem solving.
Get out there and run! Then your body will get hungry and you will start to crave good food, and running will also make you tired and your sleep problems will solve themselves!
There you have it! Your magic silver bullet for staying creative! Run! :D
When you have started to shape up your life, then you will have an way easier time to deal with all the shit that might come in your way!
Being positive is really important when communicating with your colleagues.. But being happy and positive is reeeally hard when you are hungry and tired..
But everything is of cause a little bit deeper than that. The human mind is as complex as it gets and human psychology and well being isn't something easily solved.
Psychologists are mapping these things continuously and ONE way to look at this well being and creativity thing is brought to you by Abraham Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs. He believed that in other to become truly creative you have to fulfill all the previous basic needs neatly stacked in a pyramid shape.
It goes something like this;
5th step: Self-actualization. You are at the top of the pyramid and all the other basic needs are fulfilled and you can fully concentrate on being creative.
4th step: Esteem. You are confident and are achieving things in your life that make you feel proud (and maybe earns respect from others, but not a requirement!)
3rd step: Love and belonging. You have friends and maybe a loved one that you can have relaxed intimacy with.
2nd step: Safety. You have a place where you can feel secure. It does not necessarily have to be your home, but the safer it is the better.
1st step: Physiological. You have air and can breath. You can eat and drink. you have somewhere to sleep and become warm if you are cold.
The theory goes that you cannot climb to the 5th and final step if you have not fulfilled the other steps first. Modern science and psychologists thinks that there is a bit more to this, but it still holds a lot of truth.
Take care of yourself! It is a rough world out there!
/Tommy Norberg
All drawings are doodled by yours truly.
Follow me on twitter if you want semi-continuous tips and tricks about level design and gamedev. :)
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