Life is going to be boring sometimes and we will have problems that challenge us. As they say, it’s not really the problems themselves that make or break us, it’s the way that we respond to them. Some people will give into it and find little things to fill the time, and they surely lose a lot of potential for personal growth. There are also those who hold their head high and face the issues head on, coming up with solutions that get them through.
While they don’t always win or reach the goal that they were aiming for, problem-solvers almost always have important takeaways after a challenging experience. They grow, they mature, and they gain new perspectives in life. But how much of the good things they get depend on the kind of problem-solvers they are?
You see, not all those who face and formulate solutions are created from just a single mold. There are conservative problem-solvers who mostly rely on age-old strategies. Then there are those who come up with novel solutions. They are the creatives.
Now, creativity can be a talent. There are individuals who are born more creative than others. But talent is always beaten by hard work, and even very little natural creativity can be actively stimulated so that it intensifies, even just for a moment. One good way to stimulate creativity is through taking psychedelics, and in this article we demonstrate how exactly this class of drugs works.
Promote openness
The world is only as wide as what we allow our eyes to see. If we limit our attention to what’s near, then we will only think in those terms. Openness to experience not only adds more memories to our life, it also adds to our reservoir of “raw materials” or those inputs that we use to formulate strategies and solutions later in life. In other words, the more open we are, the more fuel we get for our creative sides to play with.
However, not everyone finds themselves easily opening up to new experiences. Many are crippled by fear of the unknown and the newly discovered. Instead of being amazed by novelty, they are instead intimidated by it. Studies done on psilocybin mushrooms, a known psychedelic, show that those who are administered certain doses of this organic compound exhibit higher levels of openness. In a way, they become more willing to explore and discover more about the world around them.
But it is worth noting here that openness is not always good. Being too open can lead to non-conformity and risky behavior that may hurt you or others around you. Professionals such as those from Tario & Associates can help when non-conformities or open experimentation lead to personal injuries.
Openness is good, just as long as we remain considerate and conscious about the things that we open ourselves to.
Suspend self-criticism
The self is oftentimes our greatest enemy. The doubts that we have and even the demons that we ourselves concocted can all work against our advantage. They hinder us from fully living our lives.
Psychedelics have been found by at least one study to have disabling effects on self-criticism. This means that we tend to become more forgiving of our imperfections and less attentive to our doubts when we function under these substances’ influence. This is great because a more headstrong approach is really what creativity needs to fully unfold.
Being creative is a talent, but this surely doesn’t mean that those who are not gifted cannot anymore do something to enhance their creativity. There are interventions, and one of them is taking microdoses (and JUST microdoses) of certain psychedelics. So it’s best that we only regulate but not criminalize the use of these natural substances.
