Artful on axis: How road trips inspire creativity

a road trip not only means freedom, but also inspiration. Studies show that travel increases creativity by opening new impressions and perspectives. Handic trips help particularly long car rides to get your head free and develop new ideas. Many are afraid of such adventures because they require good planning and some courage. But with the right tips, every trip to the source becomes creative impulses.

Travel as a source of inspiration

Traveling has always been a source of inspiration for artists, authors and thinkers . The intensive immersion in a diverse, unknown culture is personally one of my preferred sources for new suggestions and influences. As a rule, I visit a local antique market, enjoy the atmosphere of a lively café and observe the hustle and bustle of people or stroll through the city's gardens and art museums to return with a fresh feeling for creativity and inspiration.

The attraction of new landscapes, cultures and experiences has the potential to rekindle this creative flame. Let us go on a journey of discovery to explore how traveling promotes creativity and enriches our spirit.

The creative spark through cruising

Longer car journeys have been proven to promote creative thinking processes. Psychologists have found that monotonous movements such as driving on a country road relax the brain and strengthen associations. But some cannot switch off properly, often out of fear or

Tension. Unknown terrain, bad weather or other participants in road traffic - these are all components that are often difficult to assess. However, some preparation helps so that the journey can run really relaxed. In a WAB course Winterthur, for example, participants learn how to safely brake and get along better with unforeseen situations.

Why does it work so well?

Adam Galinsky, professor at the Columbia Business School , discovered that travel promotes flexibility . It also enables you to establish connections between concepts on a much more profound level. However, in order to draw the optimum out of this experience, it is important to get to know different cultures, immerse yourself in them and adapt to different circumstances, he emphasizes.

Adam emphasizes that in this way you improve your problem -solving skills and increase your creative productivity. One reason why adventure stimulates her creativity is partly due to the fact that travel increases people's feeling of happiness.

In 2017, researchers found that overall are happier if you invest money in experiences instead of in material goods. In fact, you feel greater general well -being and joy when you think of an upcoming journey.

Break through the routine

Our daily habits are useful to master all tasks, but they can become monotonous and possibly inhibit our creative streak. Travel forces us to break out of these familiar processes. Whether it is about moving through a lively market abroad or exploring another public transport system, travel leads us to unknown situations.

This departure from the usual activates our brain in a new way, stimulates to think differently and promote more innovative approaches.

Get out of the sensory overload

Traveling enables us to dive into a world that is rich in new attractions, sounds, flavors and textures. This abundance of impressions can act as a drive for creative processes.

In foreign environments, our brain takes up a variety of new information and builds connections between the unknown stimuli. This increased awareness of the senses can lead to fresh ideas or a new perspective on already known things are opened.

Travel reduces stress

The US Travel Association has found that 89 % of the travelers provide information to feel less stressed after a single day of travel. If you escape the usual trott, you will gain a new orientation horizon and feel an increased well -being in relation to your identity. People report an improved feeling for different perspectives, which strengthens their self -confidence.

As soon as you return home, you will be able to manage challenges more effectively. One of the most harmful effects of stress is that it can shrink their brain and reduce the gray substance. This not only affects your creativity, but also has extremely negative consequences for your health and general well -being.

Stress represents a natural, genetically related reaction to life that should protect us. The peak values ​​of cortisol and adrenaline help to speed up their reactions when they are in the state of fight or escape. But sometimes these hormones do not achieve the desired value that should actually be the case that can harm their brain.

Travel opens the mind

The willingness to allow new experiences plays an important role in creativity. This openness manifests itself through curiosity, imagination and perception. Studies show that open -minded individuals often process information differently and may perceive the world from a different perspective than people with less tolerance.

Traveling promotes your open -mindedness because it stimulates her to leave your usual comfort zone. You are ready to collect new impressions with all five senses. Scientists have found a connection between openness and work memory, the latter increasing dopamine activity in the prefrontal cortex.

Travel promotes self -confidence

Sam Huang is a professor of law at the Edith Cowan University Business School in Australia. He interviewed 500 backpackers, to what extent the travel affected their self -confidence. 80 % reported that they performed better in challenging situations, 88 % believed that their capabilities had increased, and 89 % were convinced of improved communication skills.

Although the travelers have gained self -confidence, they also show a tendency towards modesty. These properties form an excellent basis for creative work.

Travel increases empathy and compassion

Travel enriches your perspective and opens your heart for new experiences and perspectives that change your perception of the world, the innovation architect Carla Johnson in her blog at Carlajohnson.co . We are naturally sensitive as infants and toddlers. But despite the numerous challenges and setbacks that life brings, empathy and compassion are sometimes not our immediate reactions.

Travel supports them in first of all to establish deeper relationships because they discover themselves on a more intensive level. It enables you to grasp yourself in a way that is often difficult to achieve in other contexts. As soon as you have obtained this ability, it will be easier to understand other people and their motives, which promotes cooperation and stimulates creativity and effective problem solutions.

Time on the way makes it a better problem solver

If you venture out of your familiar surroundings, you open up the opportunity to look at the world physically and psychologically from fresh perspectives. By distancing yourself from your difficulties and taking them into the background, you can discover new and unexpected approaches to link different aspects.

For example, scientists have given subjects a creative task and told them that they come from a distant region and was not locally. The results showed that this differentiation stimulated the participants to formulate more efficient answers. In the event of tasks that required creative thinking, people ultimately achieved better results.

This means that if you suffer from a creative standstill, travel could help you find additional solutions for your problem.

How nature inspires the imagination

Open landscapes such as the Scottish highlands or the endless streets through the American desert offer perfect scenes for new inspiration . Such places not only invite you to photography, but also help to let thoughts wander. Artists often report that they were able to develop new ideas for paintings or sculptures during their travels in the wilderness.

Tip: Experience the landscape consciously

Nature has countless details available that are often overlooked in hectic everyday life. In order to use the landscape as a source for artistic inspiration, it helps to take out and process certain elements in a targeted manner. A proven trick is to deal with materials or structures from the surrounding area.

One way to consciously experience the landscape is to take a closer look at small elements such as wood, stone or even wall structures. A piece of weathered wood can provide fascinating inspiration for paintings or sculptures due to its grain and color gradients. Artists often take materials in hand to better understand their structure, feel and peculiarity. The grooves of an old tree trunk or the rough character of a stone can serve as the starting point for new works.

The colors of the landscape also offer creative approaches. An example would be to observe the different green tones of a forest or the ocknuances of a desert landscape and to transfer it to a color palette. If you want to go deeper, you can capture the colors through a camera or directly with sketches, so that you can later use them as the basis for working with brushes and canvas.

Connect traveling with your passion for photography

Regardless of whether you hold impressive landscapes or write down your experiences in a travel diary - creativity becomes a loyal companion on the trip. These artistic forms of expression are not just memorabilia; They offer an authentic way to make the creative energy that penetrates the journey visible, to give them a feeling of pride and give them space for self -development.

Road trips offer perfect opportunities to deepen photography. The constant change of landscapes creates ideal conditions to test different techniques and perspectives. The golden hours, shortly after sunrise and before sunset, make landscapes more impressive.

A road trip along the Italian Amalfi coast or through the Norwegian fjords is an ideal route to explore the game of light and shadow. With the right camera and an eye for details, even apparently banal road sections can be transformed into works of art.

A road trip is like opening a unique door to deep understanding of life. ”

While the school is ideal for expanding knowledge, the knowledge that you win on the street has a truly heartbeat quality. Certainly history lessons can sometimes appear a bit dry, but if you actually visit the sites where significant historical events took place, this awakens the past in a way that cannot convey a textbook.

Road trips can like a treasure hunt and make learning an even more exciting adventure. And let's be honest: remembering historical facts is much easier if you have stood in the places where these remarkable events actually happened.

Discover writing while traveling

Writing during a road trip is another creative way to use the trip. Authors report that they are particularly productive on the way. A diary not only helps to capture memories, but also to transform spontaneous thoughts into stories.

Well -known writers like Jack Kerouac wrote big works during their travels. His famous story "On the Road" was inspired directly by the experiences on road trips.

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and managing director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor and passionate blogger in the field of art, design and creativity since 2011. Successful conclusion in web design as part of a university degree (2008). Further development of creativity techniques through courses in free drawing, expression painting and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market through many years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with actors/institutions from art and culture.

www. kunstplaza .de/