From Lost to Found: Small Practices for Rediscovering Your Creativity
June 21, 2023
|
3 minute read – “Global surveys have revealed that organizational leaders are mostly satisfied with their employees’ content knowledge or technical skills. However, what they complain about is the lack of creativity in many otherwise qualified graduates.” [Source]
We often hear, “I used to be creative, but my creativity has disappeared.” Lucky for you, unlike Amelia Earhart’s airplane, the Fountain of Youth, or that second sock in the dryer, creativity isn’t lost forever. In fact, research shows that creativity is a skill that can be stretched and strengthened like any other skill. The following tips are small practices that can be incorporated into your daily life in order to build your creativity, no matter how lost it might feel:
- Understand the problem. This may require some digging. We find that asking “Why?” again and again (five times usually gets us there) can be helpful in rooting out the deeper issue so that our brain power is focused on long-term solutions rather than quick fixes. You can also make a habit of looking at situations from multiple angles and perspectives to help you gain greater understanding.
- Silence your inner critic. One of the greatest hindrances to our creativity is judging ideas as being good or bad. Avoid evaluating thoughts while in the creative process; give yourself the opportunity to associate freely. That “bad” idea may lead to a viable solution. Notice how you feel when you don’t criticize your thoughts, allowing them simply to be.
- Detach yourself from emotional investment. Our inner critic is often motivated by constructs of presumed values – the world outside ourselves tells us there are right ways of thinking of things. Put yourself in the mindset that there are infinite ways of looking at a problem and allow yourself some curiosity.
- Stop thinking, give yourself space. When you’re feeling stuck, go for a walk, take a shower, have a kitchen dance party. Taking space from conscious awareness can enable the unconscious to work hard at reassembling information in new ways, discovering new ways to piece together puzzles.
- Surround yourself with ideas that inspire you. Art, music, books, and people can all be sources of inspiration. Exposing your brain to things that inspire you can lead to unearthing ideas you never would have found otherwise. However, looking at only the parts of the world that give us the warm and fuzzies isn’t enough; seek out art, music, and people that challenge your thought process and biases. Open yourself to the possibilities of the unfamiliar.
There is no one way to foster your creative thinking; like most skills, it takes practice. It can be uncomfortable breaking out of the regimented thinking we sometimes find ourselves in, but small steps make a difference so dare to try something small today.