First off, you ARE creative. Everyone is innately creative!!
Sometimes things just get in the way of our being creative – like work, others’ expectations of us, deadlines, meetings, appointments, clutter, exhaustion and social media distractions.
Here are some tips for bringing back your inborn creativity and becoming more innovative in your daily life.
Design an environment that promotes creativity. The environment in which we live and work has a powerful impact on how we think and feel, and ultimately our creativity. A boring, cluttered, hectic, overworked environment sucks the life out of us. We need to feel positive, enthusiastic, playful and motivated to be creative and innovative. De-clutter, change things up (the furniture, where you sit, the art on the walls), surround yourself with fun, playful supplies and beautiful things.
Know your biorhythms. Note the times of day when you are most creative and structure your day to maximize your use of creative energy. Are you a morning person? Schedule your creative endeavors then. A night person? Do the mundane stuff in the morning. Modify your schedule to suit your performance and personality preference.
Experiment with different creative techniques, tools, methods, processes, and use the ones that work for you. Listen to music, brainstorm with others, carry a small notebook and pen around so when you are struck by an idea you can write it down, take a break, go for a walk in nature, exercise (it wakes up our oxygen-starved brains), read as much as you can about all kinds of things (books fill us with information and inspiration). Imagine alternatives. Think in polarities (opposites – for example, if you are an extravert, imagine what life would be like as an introvert or vice versa. If you tend to be more analytical, practice trusting your intuition.)
Practice curiosity throughout each day, always asking and wondering out loud about “what if . . . “, “how might we . . .” and “what are some other ways we could . . . “ Allow yourself to be surprised every day (or seek to surprise someone else). Keep a log of what surprised you throughout the week (or how you surprised others). If something strikes a spark of interest, learn more about it. Follow and pursue it.
Schedule creative expeditions for yourself each week, and protect this sacred time. Getting ourselves out of our usual routine sparks activity in under-utilized parts of our brains. Go to a museum, see an art show, connect with others who are different from you, go to a concert or festival, anything different from your usual routine. Go alone, meet new people and have fun.
Journal. Stream-of-consciousness journaling every day can help unblock our creativity. Sometimes our journaling takes the form of getting the negative out. It might come off as grumpy and whining, and getting this out clears the way for more positive, happier, more optimistic thinking which leads to creativity. And sometimes our journaling goes straight to the positive, and we can let our creativity flow.
Tame your inner critic. We all have at least one, and often many. We need first to listen for this inner critic. We all have them. Every moment of our lives, we are engaging in an inner monologue as we interpret our life experiences and create meaning in our lives. This is the voice inside that tells us we’re not good enough, creative enough, smart enough, beautiful, ambitious or successful enough. To tame your inner critic, 1) unmask his purpose (you’re wanting me to be perfect so I might finally feel okay about myself), 2) talk back to him (it’s not about perfection, it’s about making progress, now back off), and 3) render him useless (find other ways to satisfy the purpose of the critic by telling yourself, I feel perfectly okay about myself when I set my own standards for performance).
Free up some uncommitted time to experience novelty. Albert Einstein stated that some of his best creative ideas happened when he was not actively thinking about a problem. Consciously put the current problem or challenge aside for a while, and engage a completely different frame of mind. Play with a child, read a book, watch a movie, put some music on and dance, cook up a new dish, light up a candle and meditate, notice how the sun dances on the pine needles making them look silver, and bask in what it feels like to be in a different frame of mind. Allow yourself to be a “human being” instead of a “human doing” at least part of every day. Attend to and relish what is happening in the present moment.
Overcome obstacles, blocks and hindrances to creativity. Exhaustion from too many demands can hinder us from activating our creativity. Similarly, allowing ourselves to become too easily distracted gets in the way of creativity because we are not protecting and guiding the energy we do have. Laziness or lack of self-discipline can get in the way of channeling the flow of creativity. Fear is another hindrance to creativity (fear of inadequacy, of solitude, of passion, of pain, of failure, of success, of judgment, of change, of the unknown). Other hindrances to creativity include perfectionism, rigid habits of mind, behaviour and action, social conditioning that devalues and represses creativity, and not knowing what to do with the creative energy we DO have. Figure out which obstacles are getting in your way and how to overcome them. Get some good sleep, pare down your to-do list, say no to some requests, free up some time, don’t allow yourself to become distracted, and analyze and overcome the fears. Let go of expectations and judgments about what “should” happen, or about the process and/or results.
Center yourself for creativity. Relax into your creative self. Focusing techniques cultivate relaxed alertness. Paying attention to the breath, a sound or an image calms the body and quiets the mind. Experiment with different focusing techniques
Do a preparatory ritual or chant.
Light a candle.
Offer a prayer or affirmation.
Sing a song.
Stretch your body.
Invoke your muse.
Practice mindfulness.
Sit in silence.
Enjoy yourself!
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