''Is it good to be busy? Why we all need a prescription for wonder.''- Kate Campbell founder at Wonderlust

Kate Campbell is the founder of Wonderlust, a business on a mission to enable personal, professional and worldwide changes through joyful education, innovative training and playful implementation of creative thinking for everyone.

Kate has kindly written us this article to reflect on why and how to best bring wonder and creative thinking into your every day, career and life goals.

I wonder how many people in the world, right now, would answer the question ‘How are you?’ with the single word ‘Busy!’.

And how many people would see this as a good thing? 

But is it good to be busy?

I suppose it’s good in some ways, but it’s often just another way of saying that there’s not enough hours in the day; not enough time in the schedule for anything other than what is at the very top of our to-do lists.

Does that sound like you?

Are you constantly ‘busy’? Work, kids, pets, family… the list goes on… with hardly any time left for YOU? 

And when does ‘fun’ happen? Only when scheduled? (And even then it’s at risk of being cancelled?)

If only there was something which could ease up that ‘busy-ness’, but which didn’t take up any more time, but actually HELPED our wellbeing and our work-life.

It would be a ‘wonder-drug’ if it could be prescribed, right? Everyone would want it. Supply would not be able to meet demand.

But what if I told you that you already have it. In abundance! Would you be curious to learn more?

*********

Remember when you were young, when the world felt like a simpler place, but also more exciting? Each day was an opportunity to learn something new - experience something new - and we did so through an innate curiosity, and the sheer joy of wonder.

Do you remember how that felt?

Play was the main vehicle which took us through this unknown world, pausing to wonder, pausing to feed our inquisitive nature. We’d try things out, experiment and make mistakes. And all without the slightest bit of worry that we were getting it ‘wrong’ or ‘wasting our time’ (because neither were even possible!).

How can playing and exploring the world ever be anything other than worthwhile? How can pausing to wonder, ask questions and learn new things, ever be anything other than beneficial?

So what changed?

When did we lose our enjoyment for play and, crucially, for creativity? Because that’s what all of this leads to. Wonder, curiosity, play, experimenting, getting things wrong, learning from mistakes, and having adventures, all contribute to our creative thinking: A skill so under-valued in today’s society that we let it slip through the fingers of our younger generation when they have it in abundance; when they are still eager to use it to learn, to use it for enjoyment and to better themselves and the world around them. 

And then it’s gone.

********

 The London Arts in Health Forum comment that: “There is a growing body of research that shows what a massive positive impact creativity can have on our wellbeing.”

And in a survey by IBM: “Creativity was ranked as the number one factor for future business success.”

So why is creative thinking not utilised more to future-proof both our professional skills and our wellbeing? The answer, in my opinion, lies in the fact that we simply believe we don’t have time to be creative. And perhaps we don’t know how to be, because it is that long since we were.

Well I’m here to tell you otherwise! 

YOU CAN BE CREATIVE.

YOU DO HAVE THE TIME.

AND IT’S HUGELY BENEFICIAL FOR YOU AND YOUR WORK! 

When we reframe our understanding of ‘creativity’ away from the actions and the ‘doing’ and focus more on the cultivation of our creative THINKING skills, that’s when we get the lightbulb moment. “I can be creative, easily and quickly!” You just need to know how.

So take this PRESCRIPTION FOR WONDER - the precursor to creativity - and change your THINKING as well as your work prospects and your wellbeing.

So how can you ACTUALLY inject wonder into your working day in order for it to have a positive impact on the growth of you as an employee or business owner, AND the business itself? Here’s one way (and it’s easier than you think!):

1. On your route to work (or when you’re out on your morning dog-walk if you work from home!) turn it into a ‘Wonder Walk’...
2. Consciously NOTICE your surroundings…
3. Use all your senses… 
4. Then ask yourself, with a child-like curiosity and playful freedom of thought, how can you take what you’ve noticed and use it in your work. 

For example, if you noticed the criss-cross aeroplane lines in the sky, can this relate to the different directions your customers are pulled in, and how you need to find the sweet-spot where they all cross? Or if you smelt the fresh bakery on the corner, could you use a story about a nostalgic smell to bring your clients into line with your way of thinking? (Or maybe just treat them to a doughnut!) Or finally, how about if you noticed someone helping an elderly man across the street - could the care and attention they gave for those short moments be translated into how you care and pay attention to your team?

It is in those snatched moments of ‘in between’ time when we can start to notice what we’d otherwise miss, and use this to THINK more creatively. The cumulative effect leads to great benefits and a much more innovative, forward-thinking and growth-focused business. 

Gifting yourself a regular dose of WONDER resets your equilibrium; it brings you back into balance and provides a fresh new perspective on whatever you’re struggling with - be that work or personal issues. 

It’s also a hell of a lot of FUN! Something else which should be prescribed more often, don’t you think?

So if you do nothing else after reading this, I would LOVE you to take a moment to simply wonder about when you can wonder - and then realise you’re already doing it!

If you’d like to know more about the benefits and joy of living and working with more creative thinking and wonder, you can find out more at www.thisiswonderlust.com or find me on Instagram @this.is.wonderlust. 

Now take that prescription and run with it! It will be wonder-full!

Thank you so much Kate!

If this has got you full of wonder you can take a look at all of our live jobs!

Check out our latest opportunities in:

You can also read our latest blogs on industry news and advice!