Inspiration can come from a myriad of places, but often we don’t take the time to cultivate it. The author Gretchen Rubin encourages us to understand more about our five senses, and which ones we might be neglecting, as a key to unlocking more inspiration in our lives. She says, “When I started work on my book Life in Five Senses, I hoped that by tuning in to my five senses, I’d find a new source of energy, love, luck, mindfulness—and creativity. But I was unprepared for just how sparked my creativity would get! I found that when I paid greater attention to seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching, I ignited my imagination and my desire to create.”
By making intentional direct contact with the world through our range of senses, we can find more inspiration. Sometimes to the key to the mind is through the body. In an extreme case, some folks experience synesthesia, where stimulating one sense can trigger a seemingly-unrelated sense. For example, a sound creates a specific a color. An article simply titled Sensory Inspiration in Avant Arte explains how some artists throughout history have had almost superhuman sensory inputs and responses.
But you don’t have to be super human or call yourself an artist to solicit more inspiration from your five senses. Gretchen Rubin makes the case that just determining your most neglected sense and leaning into it can unlock inspiration. She’s created a 5 Senses Quiz to help folks identify their most neglected sense, and then provides novel ways to engage it. For example, if your neglected sense is smell, maybe find a flower shop to literally stop and smell the roses, or if it is hearing, change up the tone of your phone alarm.
Enhanced inspiration and creativity is not just for those in the design field. Creativity helps with problem solving, cultivating a growth mindset, and empathy - all traits any product team can benefit from.
STAND-UP EXERCISE
Ask your team to take Gretchen Rubin’s 5 Senses Quiz. Compare results. Were you surprised by which sense was most neglected? Do you agree with the results? What are some ways you can “awaken” this sense more in your day-to-day?
Then just share sources of inspiration with each other. Where do you typically turn when you need a boost? A specific site / substack / podcast? A place like a museum or library or park? A person? An activity? Is that with people or on your own? Create a mini-catalog of inspiration for each other.
