For decades now, the advice to “be in the present” seems to come from every angle. Spurred by New Age thinking and reinforced by gurus from every discipline, this message of presence and “nowness” is everywhere we turn. Is the advice wrong? Absolutely not – it’s just just incomplete, especially when we look at the creative act.
Before we get into the shortcomings of such guidance, It’s important to first acknowledge how difficult it is to be present in the first place. Our brains naturally wander. We daydream, free associate, worry, speculate, or simply check out… These meandering patterns of thought, drifting from notion to notion without conscious control, are natural – but that doesn’t make it terribly useful.
It takes discipline and intention to keep the mind focused, and we all know that focus is a critical part of the creative process. Your mind will want to rebel, to resume its automatic function of wandering, but with practice and sitting with the discomfort of learning something new, you’ll be able to gain some control over these natural tendencies.
Still, even with mastery of being “in the now,” there’s still something missing: a sense of the future.
Presence and “nowness” are great ways of quieting mental noise and developing the ability to focus, but when it comes to the act of creating something new, a sense of the future is just as important… But there’s a catch there too.
Being entirely in the “now” ignores the sense of future you need to imagine and develop something new.
And there’s a parallel principle: focusing entirely on the future denies a sense of the present that provides critical, honest information about where you currently are.
Placing your focus exclusively in the future or in the “now” is about as complete as a table with a missing leg. Proponents will speak about the power of living in the “now,” but what kind of power are we talking about? Sure, you may find some benefits in a stiller, less wandering mind, but what good does that do for the creative mind if it doesn’t also translate into the ability to generate creations?
Once we connect – and more importantly, balance – a sense of the present with a sense of the future, we unleash our creative potential. In the audio presentation below, I dig deeper into facets of attentional awareness and the symbiotic relationship between the present state and the future we wish to create.
In the creative act, we are inherently in two places at the same time: now and in the future… This is not a steady, singular state, but instead a dynamic process that involves adjusting our attention.
The need to change and move is built into the creative process, and this movement – that is, the adjustment of focus – involves not just the dynamic shift from present observation to future outcomes, but within those domains as well.
We can think about four main types of focus: broad external, broad internal, narrow external, and narrow internal.
Broad External
A broad external focus on the present is one of open observation. It’s seeing the world around you as it truly is, right here, right now. It’s an honest assessment of factors outside of yourself, from the current capabilities of your team to the resources you have available, the immediate obstacles in your path to the distractions fighting for your attention…
Turned to the future, broad external focus looks at the general outcomes you want to create, and how those outcomes will affect the world around you.
This type of focus is great for determining the “lay of the land” in the present, and for determining a generalized plan for the future… But is still only a piece of the puzzle.
Broad Internal
This type of broad focus, then, turns inward to examine your present, internal collection of ideas, hangups, skills, and so on. This is an assessment of who you are in the present moment, independent of outside factors.
Broad internal focus on the future is about who you are becoming. This focus looks at the skills you want to develop, the personal outcomes you want to create, and what your life will look like as a result of your creations.
This type of focus also helps determine the “lay of the land” – but for the landscape of thoughts, emotions, fears, shortcomings, skills, and ideas within.
Narrow External
Narrow focus is where the actual creative work resides. Externally and in the present, this means immediate next steps. It’s placing your focus on the next step, unhindered by distractions or big picture thinking.
A narrow external focus on the future is the proverbial “eyes on the prize.” It’s placing your attention on the specific outcome you want to create, and sitting with that attention to determine the specificity and fine detail that will define your actions.
Narrow Internal
Like its external counterpart, narrow internal focus is all about self-assessment, but in this case, it’s a matter of zeroing in on the qualities in yourself that affect your next move.
In the present: what’s the attitude you need to take the next step? Which of your skills are required? What’s your motivation in this moment?
In the future: what are the specific features of your creation? What is its purpose?
By defining these areas of focus, you’ll begin to see that different versions of your attention are required for different components of the creative process. The unfortunate reality is that different people may be more suited to one type of focus than another, and that dealing with our weaker areas can be a major source of stress and discomfort.
If you’re typically a big picture thinker, it might be painful to narrow down your focus to a single idea and the next steps it requires. If you’re hyper-focused and action oriented, it might be difficult to step back into broad external focus to gain a dynamic understanding of the conditions around you.
In any case like this, embracing discomfort as an essential part of the process is key. Creating your vision may require developing new skills, and this too requires this balance of presence and future – you need to stay in the present discomfort of not knowing or lacking expertise, but also keep an eye on the future you’re working toward.
You can, of course, employ the skills and passions of others to help fill in the gaps of your own strengths – and learn from them through observation. Be strong enough to be weak. Be a learner. Be honest enough and brave enough to get things wrong until you find the right way…
Through all of this, you’ll learn more about your attentional strengths, and will be practicing the skills of adjusting your focus AND holding space for both the present and the future. The first step is to just start creating – it could be anything: a song, a poem, a meal, a bouquet, anything that puts your attention on the creative act and not on yourself.
We need to manage this balance of present awareness and future possibility, and that means training the mind to adapt its focus as the creative process requires. We need to know when to observe and when to imagine, when to self-assess and when to trust in the person we’re becoming. Armed with this sense of balance and the ability to dynamically maneuver between broad and narrow, present and future, internal and external, your prime your mind to be a creative powerhouse that can see reality as it truly is AND shape the future as you see fit.
