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The first task in becoming more creative is giving yourself permission
to do things creatively. The second is overcoming your personal blocks to
creativity. For some people, being creative involves trying not to be embarrassed by their
own ideas; for others, it is a matter of being aware that things can be done in many
different ways. Some people are self-aware or confident enough to have fewer inhibitions
and can just let their creative natures work.
Surround yourself with people who love and support you and you will be
even more creative. Spend time meditating on your own worthiness, reading about other
creative people and creative solutions, concentrating on the positive power of your own
creative forces - these activities, combined with a belief in your own intuition and
creative abilities, will help improve your confidence.
Action Steps
Here are a few additional things you can do to improve your creativity:
- Study books on creative thinking techniques and put them into practice
- Attend courses on creative thinking and put the ideas into practice.
- Keep a daily journal and record your thoughts, ideas, sketches, etc. as soon as
you get them. Review your journal regularly and see what ideas can be developed.
- Indulge inrelaxation activities and sports to give the mind a rest and
time for the subconscious to digest information.
- Develop an interest in a variety of different things, preferably well away from
your normal sphere of work. For example, read comic books or magazines you wouldn't
normally get. This keeps the brain busy with new things. It is a common trait of creative
people that they are interested in a wide variety of subjects.
- Don't work too hard -you need time away from a problem to be creative after
periods of intense focus.
It really helps to think of creativity as a skill or set of skills. By
practicing, one can get better at using them. So whenever you have a chance try and do
mundane things in novel ways - it will make them more entertaining and you will get more
used to expressing your abilities.
Practicing at overcoming irrational inhibitions will also help to
improve your creativity.
When you're at a standstill, and you
witness somebody with a vital and flowing creative force, it can be
intimidating. The thing that's easy to miss when you're caught up in the
magic of somebody doing something effortlessly that seems impossible is
that it doesn't happen all at once.
Anything can be achieved by breaking it down into its component parts.
Creativity requires patience and a willingness to work for a creative outcome rather than
simply wait for enlightenment.
Still, it is important to creativity to happen. This can be encouraged
by setting up an environment that encourages creative output, a comfortable space within
which you feel non-threatened and able to create.
A program to improve your personal creativity might include the
following steps.
- First set a measurable goal. Some goals might be:
- to generate 10% more solutions within 6 months
- to come up with an original solution for problem "X" within 2 weeks
- to practice generating ideas by brainstorming (for example, "find at least 100
ideas for a new pen")
- to find a new and effective way to relate to my children that results in them wanting to
spend more time with me
- Second, set up criteria to indicate whether or not you have or are
reaching your goal. Typical criteria are:
- a) the ideas are novel (in that particular context)
- b) the ideas are useful, they solve the problem or meet the challenge
- c) the ideas can be implemented within an appropriate time and budget
- Third, read and learn about creativity techniques which is one of the sections of the
Creativity Web. This information can be gathered from books, conferences, other people,
software products and the Internet. Spend time with people who you believe are creative
and ask them how they did it. There are many paths to creativity.
- Fourth, surround yourself with people who love and respect you; people
who encourage you to take risks.
- Fifth, celebrate your progress in reaching your creativity goals.
- Finally, begin thinking of yourself as a creative person. Surround that identity with
beliefs about your creative abilities. Learn the skills of creativity, act creatively
every opportunity you get and find environments that support creative behavior.
Creativity is increased by acknowledging that it exists and by nurturing
it. Create a sensory stimulating environment, increase awareness of that
environment and provide sufficient quiet time to allow that sensory stimulation to be
translated into external reality ... a poem, a bridge, a meal, a song, a quilt, a business
report, a game, a dance, a garden.
Flood yourself with information in your chosen area of
creativity then deliberately expose yourself to information outside your area. Respect and
care for your creativity as you would a child. Attend to your needs, listen to your
creative inner voice, spend time with yourself. Manage stress in your life as much as
possible.
Practice meditation or some kind of peaceful, relaxing activity such as
handwork or quiet exercise. Avoid becoming too entrenched in your routines.
Don't allow your beliefs to distort your perceptions. A useful
technique is to deliberately and consciously attempt to integrate opposites at every
opportunity within your own mind. Develop the attitude that your creative work is
important even if others do not share your belief; allow such judgmental attitudes to be
their problem, not yours. Practice using affirmations and reframing (seeing things from
another angle or in another context) to de-program your self critical habits.
Creativity is not a gift of some sort, it is a state of being ("un
etat d'ame", as they say in French). Learning a creativity- increasing technique of
some sort will give you some tools and help you, but will not automatically change your
point of view about yourself and your creativity; your belief and value systems about
creativity and creativity myths must change as well. |
