Catch That Buzz

This is your brain –

(Okay, this is actually a plastic model of your brain)

And THIS is your brain on…

Creativity!

Yes, the hummers have returned to the Great Northwest. As I write this, they’re simultaneously patrolling the garden, terrorizing the cat, and sucking down sugar water like… well… like hummingbirds.

As writers and artists, I think we should all strive to be a little more like these little guys in three important ways:

1. We ought to be tough enough to kick some serious tail – even if that tail is one hundred times bigger than we are.

2. We should be able to eat 8 times our body weight daily and still look mighty fine.

And 3. We should dart from idea to idea, project to project, and book to book just for the buzzy fun of it.

To accomplish that last one, my friend, is to embrace the unsung secret POWER of hummingbird mind!

What?! Darting from idea to idea, project to project, book to book? For crying out loud, Barb, that sounds like a diagnosis, not a lifestyle. Why, hummingbirds are the poster animals for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)!

Exactly!

And isn’t that a beautiful thing?

Well, if you want to be creative it is.

In fact, a couple of studies by White and Shaw in 2006 and 2011 found that people with ADHD scored higher in “original creativity” and “creative achievement” than those without ADHD. 

Sorry, “Normals”, you lose this round.

But don’t take my word for it. Take it from a painter, sculptor, and architect who also advanced our knowledge in engineering, astronomy, anatomy, zoology, geography, geology, and paleontology –

"Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind."

~ Leonardo da Vinci

Hmmmm…Renaissance man or ADHD “sufferer”?

You decide.

PROMPT: Embrace the awesome power of your hummingbird mind! Start a new project and work on it a tiny bit. Take just a little sip and enjoy, then move on to something else. Don’t worry, we’ll come up with a plan for completion on another day. For now, simply take pleasure in each of your mind’s new blooms and realize the potential of that garden within. Trust me, this won’t be difficult. In a world of pop-up ads, tweets, and texts – ADHD is as easy as breathing.