Taking the time and putting in the effort to develop your creativity can improve your life in ways you may have never thought possible. Maybe you thought, “Who has time for creativity, I’ve got to pay the bills”. Or maybe you thought, “Oh that creativity stuff is only meant for singers, dancers, musicians, or painters”. The truth is that creativity goes far beyond arts and crafts, it is a skill set that you can develop that can change your life and those around you.
I believe we all have some form of creativity within us. However, we are a society that loves labels and definitions, and boxes. Unfortunately, if you can’t seem to find a box for your particular brand of creativity it is easy to overlook it and never develop it.
Creativity is something we all possess in some form, but many believe the lie that they aren’t creative. You are creative and your creative mind can be developed. One of the best ways to do that is through practice. The more you practice, consistently, the more you will develop a natural ability to be creative.
Developing your creative muscles helps reduce stress and improve your problem-solving ability. Experiment with these 10 tips to get started.
10 ways to develop and enhance your creativity:
1. Be More Observant: Be mindful and observe what others are doing around you. The way we see our surroundings and our environment helps build our creativity. Notice and appreciate everything and everyone around you. This opens your mind to new possibilities while helping you build on a collection of experiences to draw from for inspiration.
2. Start Taking More Calculated Risks: Be willing to take risks in order to develop your creative skills. While you might fail a little bit, you will be boosting your creativity and building skills you can use later.
3. Notice Your Progress: Every time you make progress with using your creativity, you are building your confidence. Reward yourself for your creativity.
4. Think of Multiple Solutions: I never liked being told that there is only one way to do something successfully. You are a unique individual. What might work for someone else might not be the best option for you. When you approach a problem remember there are usually multiple solutions. Look for a variety of solutions instead of going with the first one. This helps build problem-solving skills and creative thinking skills.
5. Journal Your Results: Keep a creativity journal. Use it to keep track of your creative process and any ideas you come up with. Go back and reflect on what you have accomplished. Use it to try to find other solutions to any problems you may have solved already.
6. Experiment with Mind Mapping: Use a mind map or flow chart to connect ideas and look for creative answers to any questions you are facing. For the mind map, write down the central topic or word then link the related ideas around the center word. This gives you a visual for seeing ideas and how they are linked. The flow chart can be used to track what needs to happen when brainstorming a project or event. They can also be used to visualize the final product and what needs to happen to get to that finished product.
7. Try Switching Up Your Environment: Develop your creativity by changing your environment. This can as simple as clearing your desk, painting your walls, or repositioning your furniture. Or you can try taking your laptop to work in a different setting such as a restaurant or park.
8. Befriend Your Fear: Learn how to make fear your friend, instead of your enemy. Why? Because it is always with you. It never goes away. Learn to embrace your fear of failing and do it anyway. If you allow fear of making a huge mistake or failing when you try something new, it can stop you from being creative. Mistakes are inevitable. Mistakes must happen. The trick is to not give up and to learn from them. See your creative endeavors as an ever-evolving experiment. Reframe your mindset around “failure”. Instead of seeing mistakes as permanent failure, see them as learning and evolving. This is one of the best-kept secrets of creative people. They “fail”, I mean learn a lot.
9. Get out of your comfort zone slowly: I believe that sometimes taking your time and getting out of your comfort zone slowly is more sustainable in the long run. By all means, try new things. But maybe not 10 new things all at once. Behavioral change is a process. The person who is able to jump in headfirst is an exception, not the rule. If it takes you a little longer to make adjustments then so be it. There’s nothing wrong with taking baby steps to change your entire life. Do this on a regular basis to develop your creativity. Consistency is far better than speed when getting out of your comfort zone. After all, it’s called a comfort zone for a reason. Changing up your routine and trying activities outside your comfort zone boosts creativity. Remember, start small if you aren’t ready to climb a mountain cliff.
10. Allow Yourself How to Daydream: This might be my favorite. I was the typical “rushing woman” most of my adult life. I was so busy doing all the things that I barely had time to breathe and just dream. The creative process skyrockets when you make time to daydream and let your mind wander. Daydreaming leads to creative problem-solving while boosting your creative thinking. As your mind wanders, it accesses memories and emotions as well as those random bits of knowledge you’ve forgotten. Focus on the area where you want inspiration and let the process begin.
Final Thoughts:
Creativity can enhance the quality of your life in so many ways. It can lift your mood as you allow yourself to play again. It can lead to better relationships because you are happier and more fulfilled, suddenly, you are easier to be around. It can cause you to be more grateful as you learn to embrace and savor the present moment more easily. You start to feel better about yourself as self-esteem rises and confidence soars. Creativity can improve your cognitive function and reduce stress and anxiety. If that isn’t enough to convince you, there are workplace benefits of improving your creativity. Improving your creativity can enhance your problem-solving abilities at work.
So you see, improving your creativity can be explored through almost anything from creating works of art to finding creative ways to improve your physical and mental well-being. There are many ways to develop your creativity. Just find the ones that work for you. The sky is the limit. Whatever you decide to do, do it to your heart’s content and by all means, have some fun!
Be well + prosper,
Elaine xx
Read More on Creativity: