Let's start by defining what being creative is and before you read on, I would like you to think for a moment how you would define creativity?
Being creative means to create something that does not exists. What you create is entirely up to you, it could be a solution or a method or an idea that you could work upon in your personal or professional life.
If you think that being creative is for people in art and you happen to be working for big corporations then you may decide that increased creativity is not important for you. But creativity is something far broader than artistic expression and is required in many aspects of life.
If you still think that being creative is for artists, painters, musicians and others who directly belong to any form of Arts, then you need to think again. Don't CEOs and people at various levels in the organization require creativity to conceptualize a new product or create a new idea to sell their product to the market?
They are all working on problems and devising solutions that didn't exist before. These people are using their minds to imagine fresh ways of doing something, putting together existing forms and ideas in new ways.
They may be creating a new idea, a new look, a new product, or new technique. Sometimes the ability to be more creative can lead to personal fame and fortune; sometimes it just provides a deep sense of personal satisfaction.
Can we improve creativity? Yes, of course we can. Read on to find out how.
1. Visualize through Meditation
Creativity is reduced when our senses are dulled. Sleep well, eat well and meditate often. I know many of us don't have the liberty of time available to mediate at home, so apply a bit of creativity. You have a problem with availability of time; use your time while traveling to do so. Just a good 10 – 15 minutes of meditation can put you in the right path towards becoming creative.
During this exercise, learn to breathe softly and try to relax your body completely. Once at this state, try to imagine being in a forest or any place that you like. Try visualizing the surrounding in details. Try to listen to your surrounding and keep strolling around that place and keep discovering new things.
2. Be curious about the world
I would recommend that you start watching the Discovery channel. Watch the programming that you like the best and keep thinking about the why and how from it. Watching such programs help your brain to learn something new. Such learning can be applied to a situation where you would require creative thinking.
3. Do something which does not interest you
If you hate reading, then start reading a book. If you don't like a particular type of music, then start listening to such music. The point here is to expose your brain to as many new things and concepts as possible. You never know what new learning you might use to solve a problem later in life.
4. Keep observing your environment
While traveling to work or anywhere, observe your surroundings. Look at the various billboards and scenery around you. Enjoy what you see and start asking questions of what-if. I personally enjoy reading all billboards and attach my what-if questions to advertisements. I try to dig and understand what the creator of the advertiser had in mind when he/she created the piece of work.
5. Pick up a hobby that you enjoy
Do you have a hobby? If no, then start now by asking yourself what you enjoy. Do you enjoy music? Do you enjoy collecting items? Do you enjoy entertaining people? Do you enjoy writing? Do you enjoy drawing/painting? Do you enjoy crafts?
Having a hobby helps you in many ways and directly helps you in improving your creativity. It forces you to think out of the box during the period when you are conducting your hobby. My only hobby is magic. I enjoy entertaining people and hence learn new moves & techniques all the time and spend some of my time in practicing and mastering them. You might not like magic, but that's ok. Try finding something that you like and devote some time to it. You will see a remarkable improvement in your creative ability.
Closing notes:
There are two sides of the brain, left and right. The right side of the brain is responsible for creativity, whereas the left side of the brain is logical.
How do you find what type of person you are? If you can remember names more than faces, then you are a left brained person and if you can remember faces more than names then you are right brained person. This means that either your left or the right brain has greater impact on you.
Some quotes on creativity:
The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.
Albert Einstein
To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.
Henri L Bergson
There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence transform a yellow spot into the sun.
Pablo Picasso
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