Summary:
What is imagination? The meaning of imagination, sociological imagination, why imagination is more important than knowledge and vivid imagination
“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.” ― Albert Einstein
We gain the experience of losing things as we grow in life. Many of us wish we remained as children forever and escape the grind of adult life. As humans, we would love to have control over our lives and enjoy it the way we want. As a child, we imagine how wonderful it would be to become an adult and do as we please. But come adulthood, and we see life as a bed of thorns. So how come kids enjoy their childhood with blossoms and fluffy things?
One of the main reasons children enjoy life at its best lies in the way they see the world. A child’s world is full of fantasies. For children, life is made of attractive colours, friendly characters, and pleasurable moments. They grow in a land fertile with imagination. Their life is happy because they have an imagination that knows no bounds.
As we share our hectic lives through the 9-6 corporate mire, we seldom give any attention to the influence or significance of imagination in our lives. We might be compelled to use it for some problem solving or to imagine what might happen next, but seriously, who is imagining a fluffy pink unicorn during a board meeting?
However, it is worth noting that new born babies do not come with a pre-installed imagination. They only develop it to its full potential through every stage of their growth. In other words, imagination helps us grow up as humans, and therefore it is vital. It is through using imagination while daydreaming did Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz discover the benzene ring.
Similarly, Albert Einstein discovered the theory of relativity through imagination and later proved it through mathematics. But without imagination, neither would have discovered the secrets of the universe. So, imagination and daydreaming are good, so long as your boss does not catch you at it.
This doesn’t mean you’ll now have to invest in crayons and pencils again. We can do simple imaginative activities in everyday life like cooking a meal, doodling, singing a made-up song, or creating our own pocket words that mean nothing. There are even simpler ways to spike one’s imagination like reading a novel or appreciating art. Daydreaming takes you to places you can’t walk to and there are numerous benefits of using our imagination.
The use and benefits of imagination are not strictly limited to the field of arts. It bears more significance in human life. Every single person is blessed with a powerful ability to imagine. Yes, some might look more creative and intelligent than others but that is because they use their imagination more than most. Meanwhile, imagination is not only visual daydreaming, you can also imagine smells, sounds, and anything around you.
Major Benefits of Imagination for Human Life
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Mental Exercise
If you want to be creative then imagination is your steroid! The more you use your imagination the more efficiently you’ll solve problems and also retain the information for a longer period.
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Think Out of the box
I’m sure you’ve heard the term “thinking outside the box”. But even if you haven’t, you’ve used it in your life one or the other time. The ability to think outside the box is heavily dependent on a person’s limit of imagination.
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Imagination Promotes Creativity
Creativity blooms over the fertile land of imagination. Limits and possibilities do not apply to a creative person for imagination have no bounds. Therefore, paint the sky red or put mayonnaise instead of butter on the bread, you’ve created something new only after you’ve imagined it.
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Imagine to Stay Young
Imaginations keep you young. Imagination is a type of barrier that protects you from the turmoil of the world. Besides, one finds happiness through imagination for, in the land of imagination, there exist no rules. Maybe you are having a bad day but sitting under the fan and imagining yourself at the beach or on top of a hill can help bring down the feeling of stress.