How Can I Tap Into my Creativity?
Some people are naturally more creative than others and are able to think flexibly and outside the box to give birth to various pieces of art, writing, movement, or design. However, most people are capable of being creative and can definitely put work into strengthening their creative capacity. Perhaps the most important place to start is to stop telling yourself that you are not creative. Simply by locking yourself into a fixed mindset, you are stifling your own creativity and preventing yourself from growing your creative potential. Eliminate any unnecessary or unrequired rules that you have attached to your creative goal(s), and eliminate any judgment that you may find yourself having about any of your initial ideas. Now that you have opened up a little more mental space for yourself, lets discuss some tips for working on being more creative!
How Can I Be More Creative?
1. Remember that Being Creative is Hard Work! Sometimes people have an AHA moment or what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihaly calls a state of flow. These experiences are what many people tend to associate with being creative. However, creativity does not present itself to people in these seemingly passive ways. In fact, being creative takes hard work. Regardless of what area of your life you are trying to foster creativity in, you will need to spend time practicing various components of that area, growing your knowledge of that field, and putting in the time to brainstorm creative ideas. Making space and time is what allows for a state of flow and AHA moments to occur. From the outside it appears like these moments come out of nowhere, but the reality is that a lot of mental and physical preparation has occurred to allow for these moments to arise.
2. Meditate & Associate! So often I hear people telling me that they cannot meditate because they cannot stop their thoughts. Lucky for them meditation is actually not about stopping your thoughts but rather it is about following them without getting stuck on any particular one. What a great exercise to practice not getting stuck in a fixed mindset with rigid rules! Meditation is a great tool for being more creative. Creativity can grow when you just allow yourself to follow your train of thought and see where your thoughts take you. You may be surprised by the associations that you make. Two things that you never would think could connect or be related may actually fit together in the creative way you were hoping for. Similar to meditation, psychoanalysis works in this way as well. You just start to follow your thoughts and you will begin to see how various aspects of your life relate to each other in fascinating ways. Let yourself go on the ride whether it is riding the vehicle of meditation, psychoanalysis, or day dreaming.
3. Write It All Down! In line with meditation and associations, carry a notebook around or type into a notes section in your phone any time you have a random thought when thinking about your creative endeavors. No matter how bizarre or insignificant your thought may seem, write it down anyway. You never know, you may look back at it at some later time and it may all suddenly make sense in a way that you could not fully see before.
4. Change your Environment! Sometimes being stuck in the same environment is a physical manifestation of a fixed mindset. It can be very helpful to change environments, and in fact try to expand your environment. For example, rather than trying to work on your creativity within the confines of the walls around you, go outside and remove those physical boundaries. Being in nature or an environment that is different from your usual environment can allow for new associations to arise, can quiet your mind, and allow for you to follow your thoughts to new places.
5. Whip Out Your Old Projects! Did you ever think you may use your 2nd grade art project in your adult life? Go back to any creative works you produced in the past. Childhood ones are the best as children's minds are less fettered with rigid rules and inflexible ways of thinking. You never know, something you created as a child may spark an idea or may relate to something that you are working on now that would not have otherwise occurred to you. If you don't have any projects from your past, just use your memory and try to remember past works. This is also a good exercise for letting your mind wander to places it may not have otherwise traveled to.
6. Make Time to Speak with Different Groups of People! Oftentimes we get stuck socializing with people who have similar backgrounds and experiences. Although this can be comfortable, it is not exactly conducive to being creative. Spending time with people who have had very different experiences from you may result in you asking yourself new questions about your creative pursuit. Maybe what you have been asking yourself so far is not what someone else would ask about the creative project. Asking new questions may result in new associations that may help you expand your mindset and help you be more creative!
If you find yourself struggling to feel generative or creative despite multiple efforts then it might be time to explore professional help and support. If you have general questions about therapy, you may find the FAQ page on my website www.GreenTPsychology.com useful.