Stress is a perceived lack of options.

As we continue to age in life, reaching 50- and 60-year-old milestones, there should always be one thought on our minds: What else do we want to accomplish? We tend to have more time available to participate in the creative problem solving process, and time is wonderful for creativity because it allows for the emergence of additional ideas.

Like I told Andy Asher on his Bloomer Boomer interview, risk and stress levels decrease with more ideas and that’s the goal of the creative process. But all ideas don’t necessarily have to be breakthrough ones. Thoughts and visions that are incremental, making a system or process more efficient and more effective, are sometimes just as powerful.