Does Physical Exercise Stimulate Creativity?

It's a new year and we all have made our New Year's resolutions. On my personal blog, for the month of January, I'm holding a contest and to enter all you do is leave a comment with your New Year's resolution. It is interesting to view the comments. Many people's resolutions are to lose weight, be more disciplined in a certain area of life, write something every day, be nicer to people around them.
I think these are all wonderful things. In fact, many of them are my own resolutions! But I had a thought yesterday, and after a bit of research, I stumbled onto something that is worth looking into - or at least thinking about. Not only is it interesting, it could help us achieve almost all of these resolutions!
One of my goals this year is to lose some weight, or in the very least, become healthier by eating better and exercising more. And I won't complain if I lost a couple inches around my waist in the process!
So, yesterday morning, I groggily stepped onto my Wii balance board only to hear the words, "You're overweight!" My brother has cautioned me not to listen too carefully to that because it measures your BMI and not your body fat. But still, hearing those words, and seeing the numbers climbing on the scale, makes one feel a little depressed! And I've been trying to work out!
Now, before anyone gets too excited, I know that muscle weighs more than fat, and I know I'm not fat. But who doesn't want to lose a little weight now and again, or at least see themselves in the 'normal' zone?
After I finished my Wii aerobics, my husband called me from the church and wanted his tennis shoes so he could shoot some hoops. I took them to him and we decided to scrimmage. I haven't played in over 10 years! Wow! I remembered how to handle the ball, at least, and I got better the longer we played. But it was a short game! Needless to say, I certainly got my heart pumping!
When I got home, I felt invigorated! I felt like I could clean my entire house! I had a hundred new thoughts for my WIP tumbling around in my head! I felt younger and much more spry. (Except for my throbbing hip!)
And the difference? For me? A half hour game of basketball.
As a singer, I know that exercise helps me improve my vocal range and breath support.
As a mom, after exercise I have more patience with my children.
As a writer, after I exercise my mind goes crazy with creativity.
A bit of research uncovered that exercise can help with creativity, too. During exercise, blood and oxygen levels decrease in the brain because the blood is needed in the muscles. But after exercise, you feel a rush of energy as everything in your body is rejuvenated. It is believed by many that if you are physically active, you are more likely to increase your creativity level as well.
So that's my new goal. Physical exercise. Then, perhaps, my writing will become easier! I won't have to plot and plan to make things happen. They just will!!

Reaching For Attainable Goals

By Nichole Giles

I’ve been thinking this weekend about goals. With the impending New Year, I suppose it’s a subject that can’t really be avoided.

My husband and I have maintained a gym membership for over six years. While neither of us is able to go every single day, we’re of the “waste not” variety, and refuse to pay for something we never use. So we try to go as often as possible, which usually ends up being three or four times a week. We’ve noticed that every year between January and March there’s a surge of new members who crowd the parking lot and hog the equipment. Then sometime around the end of March, the crowd starts to die out, and by May, gym attendance is back to normal.

Every year we speculate about the whys and hows of this phenomenon. See, to attend the gym for even a few months, you have to sign a contract. Usually, these contracts span for a year minimum, often more like two or three, and require either a large up-front payment, or monthly installments that cannot be canceled once the responsible party signs on the dotted line. So why do people pay for gym memberships and then only use them for a few months?

There are probably thousands of reasons, and each person has a different one, but in my mind I can’t help but wonder if people make goals for themselves that sound great to their ears, but may be impossible to physically attain. Did they perhaps plan to lose fifty pounds in three months? And if that isn’t working out, do they then get discouraged and quit? Or were they planning on having a firm, cellulite free figure after attending twenty fitness classes, only to realize that their goal will require much more effort than just those few classes?

It may sound crazy, but we all do this to ourselves. As the New Year looms, we set goals, planning for our future. And of course we set our standards high, sometimes not knowing what we’re asking of ourselves. That is the only way to get the things we most want in life, right? But sometimes, I think it’s better to set smaller goals that we can actually reach.

For instance, rather than setting a goal to get a big publishing contract, complete with a half-million dollar advance, maybe we should consider making a goal to first finish the rough draft of a manuscript. Or finish the edits and submit to fifty different agents or publishers. Or maybe that’s even too much. For some, a daily goal is better. Perhaps a certain number of words written every day, or every week. Maybe the trick is to set aside certain hours on days when we can focus on just writing—even if it’s only in a journal.Whatever you do, make sure you're exercising your writing muscles.

None of us has any control over whether or not an agent or editor will accept what we send them, but we can decide to how many and which ones we submit. It’s important to make goals over which we actually have control, rather than goals which depend on the tastes, timing, and whims of others.

As you’re getting ready to make your goals for 2010, remember to make goals you can reach along with your highest hopes. Sometimes, it’s the small steps that remind us we’re moving forward.

Good luck with setting your personal and writing goals.

Happy New Year, and write on.

Nichole