Being creative is essential not only for artists, writers, musicians etc., but also for business people, students and many others. Cultivating this quality takes time and effort, but it can be a lot of fun. Be open-minded and curious and hopefully you'll end up becoming a creative genius!
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Developing Habits That Stimulate Creativity
Step 1. Expose yourself to new ideas and information
Only then will you be able to externalize your creativity. Seeing people's work can inspire you to face challenges, promote change and explore the environment around you further. Try it:
- Read lots of books;
- Keep up to date with the news that travels around the world;
- Subscribe to one or more magazines that deal with interesting subjects;
- Watch documentaries on topics you don't know about;
- Visit museums.
Step 2. Live prepared to write or outline your inspiration as it hits
So always have a notebook or the like with you.
- When you have an idea, write it down immediately in your notebook. Then reread it and make the necessary changes.
- Get into the habit of writing or drawing in your notebook daily, even if you don't have any new ideas. Over time, you'll get more creative.
Step 3. Allow yourself to get bored
In today's world, it's very easy to get distracted by things like television, cell phones, social media, etc. Anyone who wants to be creative, however, must also dive into moments of boredom - when the brain starts to operate in different ways, seeking stimuli and bringing new ideas.
- Set aside an hour a day (or one day a week) to get away from technology.
- Set aside time each week to hang out.
- When you start to get bored (waiting for the bus or subway, for example), resist the need to see cell phone notifications or other distractions. Look at the world around you.
Step 4. Play
Activating this sense of fun can improve your mood and stimulate different parts of the brain and creativity. Here are some examples:
- Use children's toys like blocks.
- Use a favorite board or card game.
- Make riddles.
Part 2 of 3: Learning from New Experiences
Step 1. Start taking action
Even something simple, like changing your position or going to a new environment, with different views and stimuli, can bring creativity. For example:
- If you are indoors, leave (and vice versa).
- If you're working in a spacious room, move to a smaller location (and vice versa).
- Visit a museum, take a walk, go bowling and discover interesting new places.
- If seated, lie on your back on the floor.
Step 2. Search for new experiences
Creative people are interested in sights, sounds, places, etc. new. Just leave the comfort zone to gain new perspectives - and when you take up the problem or project at hand, you'll be refreshed.
- Have lunch at a new restaurant or try a dish you've never eaten.
- Take a walk in a place you've never been before.
- Watch a movie in a language you don't understand.
- Read a book about an unfamiliar subject.
Step 3. Acquire new skills
Constant learning is one of the characteristics of creative people. Seek new knowledge, especially in areas other than the one you work in, to expand your perspective and bring new ways of thinking into your life.
- Learn to play some musical instrument.
- Start studying a foreign language.
- Try preparing something from another country's cuisine.
- Cultivate a new hobby such as knitting, carpentry and painting.
- Learn to play a sport you've never played.
Step 4. Talk to people and find out what they do
Knowing more about others and their way of life is great for anyone who wants to enrich their worldview and creativity. Take time to talk to a variety of individuals, ask questions about work and ideas, or just chat.
- Have lunch with a co-worker you've never really talked to. Take the opportunity to ask him what he does at the company.
- Strike up a conversation with a stranger on the bus, subway, plane, etc.
Step 5. Have imaginary conversations
Your own imagination can be a beautiful source of experience. Pretend you are talking to someone you admire, such as a celebrity or an influential historical figure. Close your eyes and talk about any topic with this individual.
Part 3 of 3: Seeking inspiration
Step 1. Be open-minded
Creative people stop making judgments and take risks. If you start to doubt your ideas right away, it will kill your creativity. Let your plans flow and only worry about changing them when you're putting it all into action.
Step 2. Write about what you want
Record on paper everything that comes to your mind, without stopping, for a specified period (ten minutes, for example). After a few minutes, you'll start to access fresh ideas - which you wouldn't otherwise have.
Step 3. Map your mind.
With this strategy, you can explore your ideas in freedom. Through it, you can make a visual and logical organization of the brain and, in this way, stimulate creativity.
- To get started, get a pen or brush and a piece of paper. Write down the concept you want to develop ("clothes", for example) in the middle of the sheet and make a circle or square around it.
- Draw lines from the center of the sheet to create new shapes and concepts that relate to each other. For example, draw a line that goes from "clothes" to one space for "hats and caps" and another space for "shirts and t-shirts".
- Draw new lines from these subcategories to further increase the split. For example: create a line for "flannels" from "shirts and T-shirts".
Step 4. Gain new perspectives
Challenge the way you see and understand everything around you to make your creativity flow. You can use simple exercises to prepare yourself to think creatively about a problem or project. For example, choose any object, such as a paper clip, and think of ten new ways to use it. We generally use this item to hold sheets, but it also has other uses:
- Put clips on the ends of a cob to eat corn straight from it.
- Make a necklace from clips.
- Use a clip to open a tightly closed seal, such as a medicine bottle.
- Use a clip to apply nail polish with a detailed design.
Step 5. Try free associations between different things
This strategy is for stimulating creativity or for times when you are working on a project. One of its aspects works like this:
- Think of any word like "potato".
- Think of another word, which is related to the previous one, but not exactly the same (in this case, not a plant). For example: " chips " ("potato chips").
- Then make the connection between the last word you thought of and a new one, such as "ink" ("paint chip").
- Repeat the same step to find another word, such as "wallpaper" (an alternative to paint).
- Keep repeating the technique, always trying to find related words in different ways.
Step 6. Try to form analogies
They also serve to form connections between different things. Think about the similarities between objects and concepts - preferably something that is not obvious. Generally, analogies look like " X is/is to Y, just as A is/is to B ". Start thinking about analog objects and relationships.
- "The potato is to the potato chips what the tree is to the tables" (French fries are made from potatoes, just as tables are made from parts of trees).
- "The tree is to the forest what sand is to the desert" (forests contain thousands of trees, just as deserts contain billions of grains of sand).