By Neil Tepper, The Creativity Doctor -

When I give a talk in Atlanta, I like to pose this question: “How do you get to Macon from here?” Usually, hands go up and everyone says: “Straight shot, down I-75.” Indeed, Macon, Georgia, is a 90-mile/90-minute drive, straight down the freeway from Atlanta.

While nodding my head in agreement, I remind the audience that there are, of course, countless ways to get to Macon. The freeway — the “straight shot” — is just one of them.

And so it is, when we consider the route to the goals in our lives — business success, meaningful relationships, happiness and well-being … Each of them an ambition to be pursued. Like Macon, a destination to be reached.

Although there are many ways to achieve our objectives, the fact is that in our 24/7/365, hurry-to-get-there lives, we usually opt for the quickest, most direct, straight shot to get there. It makes sense doesn’t it? I mean, with time ticking and competition lurking?

But what if, in passionate pursuit of our life’s desires, we pause for a moment? What if, for just a moment, we take a breath and consider the options, the alternatives — the many routes to our goal that exist in the moment — in addition to the fastest one?

So, what if … on our journey to success and fulfillment, we don’t automatically speed down I-75? What if we were to slow down and carefully consider the nature of our current circumstance? Not what was the case yesterday or might be the case next week, but what the conditions are in this moment?

Is it really a money issue that is facing us? Is it really a matter of not having enough time to accomplish what we seek? Is it really the other person that is blocking our way?

When we pause … and take an honest look at where we are now in our lives and where we’re headed, lots of ideas can occur to us. Choices open up. Alternative roads appear. Previously-hidden paths are revealed.

While the thinking mind is an amazingly effective tool, it is strict and logical, left-brain and linear, like I-75. Driven by what it thinks it knows, our thinking mind calculates the direct, business-as-usual, most predictable route to the goal. A straight shot to success and happiness.

On the other hand, the creative road is a curvy, meandering sort of right-brain ride, along the arc of the changing moment. It’s more experiential than intellectual. More steady flow than get-up-and-go. More scenic than ex-speed-ient. An unpaved path to new possibilities.

So, let’s go for a ride right now. Let’s take the creative road to Macon — to our goal —  for a change. The first thing we notice is that it’s quieter, slower, more winding than the freeway. It’s rich with sounds and scenery we’ve never experienced before. Rolling along on this ribbon of here and now, we come to appreciate the peaceful, easy feeling. No hurry, no anxiety: a relaxed ride.

Around the next bend, we see a little country store and turn towards it, oblivious of the time, ignoring the thoughts that remind us about the race to achieve and attain. We shut off the hot and overworked engine and pause to take in the cool breeze, the fragrance of wild flowers, the sounds of birds. Experiencing the moment through our senses.

We go into the store and buy a Coke. As we’re savoring the cool, sweet, fizzy drink — not even looking at our watch — an alluring woman introduces herself to us. Her name is Serendipity. Our senses tingle. A moment later, a genteel fellow shows up. His name is Synchronicity. It’s an exciting rush. And, on the way back to our car, we meet Lucky, who totally charms us. We’re soon on our way again, still headed towards our destination, but refreshed and renewed.

Now, couldn’t we have met these aspects of Creativity at Exit 39A on I-75? Of course. But, when we take the fast lane, we’re more focused on the goal ahead, the destination. We’re less aware of the present moment, the experiences on the road itself. We’re less inclined to notice the subtleties of Serendipity; less patient about spending time with Synchronicity; too rushed to see Lucky beckoning.

In freeway mode, it’s buzz in, fill-er-up and buzz out. On cruise-control. When we slow down our process — take the side roads to our goal — we’re more able to feel what’s in the moment. Our creative channel opens wide, allowing more time and space for unexpected possibilities to show up on the way to our objective.

When we tune into the moment, trust the creative process — beyond logic and history and the predictability of what we’ve always known — we free ourselves to experience new things, new people, new opportunities, along the way. In each new moment of every new day.

Of course, some circumstances in life require us to move quickly. Deadlines and payment schedules; other people and their circumstances sometimes need attention and action from us, right NOW. And, so sometimes it’s prudent to take the freeway, the highway, straightaway to our goal.

But, not all circumstances are so pressing. Not all the time. Being creative means making decisions based on an array of choices in the moment. Choosing what feels right, right here, right now. Right-brain. By pausing and feeling the moment, we can override our automatic thinking mind and use our senses to feel what’s between this and that choice. Perhaps we can choose this and that. Take the freeway for a while and side road for a few miles. There’s more than one way to Macon.

As hurrying humans, we get caught up with speed and straight lines and forget the universe is drawn in circles and curves. We forget that we have a choice in winding our way through the curvature of the world. We can choose to meander on lesser-traveled roads sometimes. When we do, we’re more likely to encounter Serendipity, Synchronicity, Lucky and other new, high ways to possibility.

So, next time you face a challenge, pursue a goal or set out on a destination you yearn to reach, remember to pause before lurching towards your been-there-done-that way of getting there. Let your senses do the driving and hear what the moment speaks to you. Open your creative channel to feel all the roads that lead from the here and now of where you are.

Many “roads diverge in the wood.” When you allow for that — when you realize that it’s the journey, not the destination; that it’s the process, not the outcome; that, it’s the road, not Macon — well, that will make all the difference.