Finding The Sweet Spot

In 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow published A Theory Of Human Motivation, a paper on developmental human psychology which theorized that we have five basic levels to achieve on the way to "self-acualization", or fulfilling our highest potential. He later expanded his theory to include other innate behavior, such as curiosity. His work became known as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, represented by a pyramid such as the one at the head of this article. For those interested, you can read an extensive wikipedia article here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs

At the bottom of the pyramid are items needed for physical survival, such as food, water, shelter, sleep and homeostasis. On the next level, security, safety from harm including threats from humans, other animals, and natural disasters. Then comes our relationships, love and sense of belonging. From there, the pyramid moves into the areas of our psyche which define us as individuals and give us the sense of accomplishment we need for healthy self-esteem. Arriving at this fourth level, we might think we have everything necessary for a great life experience, but there is one more level on the original pyramid that includes an aspect of our nature that we need to exploit in order to realize our full potential.

Creativity.

We don't arrive at its importance in the overall scheme until the fifth and final level, above prestige and accomplishment in our work and other life areas. The creative force in humans is innate and essentially rampant in all of us, whether we recognize it or not. I'm sure you've heard people say they don't think they're creative. Nonsense. Whether it's writing a song, fixing an engine, figuring out how to pack the car for a trip, painting a landscape, devising a new play in sports or inventing the next big technological advance, we're in the intellectual and emotional vortex of creativity from the cradle to the grave.

Some would argue that the creative process continues in the subconscious level of sleep. Writing for the American Psychological Association in 2003, Tori DeAngelis said, "Popular literature abounds with examples of famous people who have used dreams to aid their creations. Billy Joel reports dreaming the music to his pop tunes in orchestral form, novelist Stephen King turned a recurring childhood nightmare into the book Salem's Lot, and Salvador Dali was so obsessed with the creative potential of dreams that he deliberately fell asleep with a spoon in his hand. When he nodded off, the spoon would clatter to the ground and wake him up, providing fresh dream images for his surrealistic paintings." While scientific research into the neurological aspects of the phenomena have failed to produce hard evidence that there is a connection between dreams and the conscious world, the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming that we never stop creating, whether asleep or awake.

Behind the studio monitors, there is a place known as the sweet spot, so-called because it is where everything is balanced. There is a sense of clarity you don't experience standing at some random point in the control room or sitting left or right of center. I've seen a lot of people smile when I've told them to sit down in the sweet spot and listen to their music. It's the culmination of the creative process, and the top of the pyramid. Finding your sweet spot doesn't have to be sitting behind recording studio monitors. It's just the same no matter where that moment of realization comes that you are at the top of your personal Everest.

Here's to dreams and sweet spots.