Throw Back to Move Forward: The Link Between Nostalgia and Creativity in Business
In their study The mnemonic muse: Nostalgia fosters creativity through openness to experience published in 2015, Wijand A. P. van Tilburg, Constantine Sedikides, and Tim Wildschut hypothesized that nostalgia fosters creativity. Long story short, they were right! They could have saved a lot of time though and just asked us here at Catalyst Ranch. “Nostalgia Triggers Purposeful Play” has been one of our founding principles on why creative environments matter since we started in 2002.
Have you ever thought back to the way our imaginations worked when we were young? What about the limitless possibilities and how even the mundane could become fantastical if we just shifted our perspective slightly askew? We spent more time dreaming than worrying and only looked forward to the times when we could let loose and play. Forget class! When is recess? Have you ever wished you could harness that effortless ability of our youth to tackle the world as it is today? This bountiful well of inspiration and excitement isn’t gone. For many of us it’s just buried. But it doesn’t have to be.
Catalyst Ranch has always known that this innate ability within all of us is key to the creative process and just requires that certain spark to be released. Ironically, the goal is to stop thinking about whether or not we’re creative (you never used to think about that when you were a kid!) and just start creating. This idea informed the very foundation our space was built upon. Each piece of furniture, work of art on the walls, toy on the tables, even the vivid colors were selected to coax out the inner child in all of us.
When you arrive at Catalyst Ranch and sit at a vintage kitchen table you’re suddenly transported back to grandma’s house. You imagine the smell of her cooking, the warmth of family, and the wisdom of generations that you’ve forgotten over the years fills your mind and opens a path to clarity. Wisdom that now has guided you to create a new product that your company has been looking for.
At your table you find an Etch-a-Sketch. Do you intricately map out a delicate array of lines to create a cityscape? Do you scribble chaotically to make a storm cloud or a monstrous face? Maybe you’re the type who meticulously scratches up and down until every bit of the screen is clear and you can see the mechanisms working below. This could represent the different work styles at your company, or the visions and missions of different departments, or even how your company approaches the market versus your competitors. Now, what happens if you take these ideas of people and products and shake it up like that Etch-a-Sketch so you can start over or try a new approach? This is ideation in action and you’ve just made a breakthrough!
Your meeting begins and the CEO of your fortune 500 company is wearing a giant colorful hat and a feathered boa. You’re seeing a side you’ve never seen before and it has changed your whole perspective on who they are. Join in and transform yourself into a different person who can now think differently as well. Now you can see a new perspective on your consumers. You feel more comfortable and now you’re ready to play.
“Nostalgia Triggers Purposeful Play” is what Catalyst Ranch is all about and this belies the fact that play itself is nostalgic. We hardly ever give ourselves freedom to play. When we cut loose and believe we have no limits we can make the best breakthroughs. Put on a cape and you’ll believe you can fly. We want you and your company to soar.
It sounds fantastical but this isn’t just a theory we’ve come up with. Look no further than brainstorming sessions that have taken place in our space. Long standing clients have taken a theme intrinsically tied to their meeting’s purpose and crafted entire alternate realities within their room that everyone must traverse. Think back to when you could transport yourself into a giant fort or spaceship to play out an epic adventure. These brilliant facilitators gave their clients the tools to do this as adults.
At first glance, our space is a lot to take in and our guests might wonder why we’ve gone to such lengths to curate this expressive environment. Now you know that there is a purpose and a method behind it. We know that once you set foot at Catalyst Ranch, you’ll be transported to a different state of mind that you’d need a time machine to reach otherwise. If you don’t believe me you need to come see for yourself!
To learn more about Catalyst Ranch please visit our website https://catalystranch.com/ or call 312-207-1710 to schedule a tour!
Lyndon Stewart is the Managing Director at Catalyst Ranch.
Contact us at (312) 207-1710 or lyndon@catalystranch.com.
Catalyst Ranch is a unique meeting and events space located in Chicago’s West Loop since 2002, offering Space to Imagine More and solutions for all your in-person, virtual and hybrid gathering needs.
