How to Boost Creativity
Creativity refers to the capacity to generate or identify ideas to address problems, convey messages, or entertain.
It involves discovering novel approaches to problem-solving and situations. Creativity is not limited to artists, musicians, writers, or individuals who are commonly associated with “right-brained” thinking. It is a valuable ability for anyone, regardless of their background or profession.
If you’re looking to enhance your creativity, the following suggestions may be useful.
Commit Yourself to Creativity
If you want to enhance your creativity, the initial step is to commit to honing your creative skills without any delay. Establish goals, seek assistance from others, and allocate time every day to improve your abilities. For instance, if you’re keen on painting, make a schedule to learn and practice your skills frequently.
Boost Creativity by Becoming an Expert
To enhance your creativity, it can be highly beneficial to become proficient in your chosen field. This depth of knowledge allows you to generate unique and creative ideas that solve problems in innovative ways. You can achieve this by studying successful creative individuals and listening to their insights on their creative process.
Reward Your Curiosity
Many people struggle to cultivate creativity because they see curiosity as a luxury rather than a necessity. Instead of chastising yourself for spending time exploring new topics, try rewarding yourself for following your curiosity.
Allow yourself the time and opportunity to delve into new areas of interest. While external rewards can be helpful, it’s also important to develop intrinsic motivation. Sometimes, the act of being creative is its own reward, regardless of the outcome.
Take Risks to Build Creativity
To enhance your creative abilities, you need to embrace taking risks that may lead to failures along the way.
While not every endeavor will result in success, each experience will contribute to improving your creativity and building skills that are beneficial in the long run. As an illustration, sharing your creative writing in a course may seem daunting, but the feedback and criticism from peers and instructors can offer invaluable insights.
Build Your Confidence
Lack of confidence can be a major impediment to creativity, so it is crucial to work on building self-assurance. Keep track of your progress, acknowledge your hard work, and consistently seek out ways to recognize and celebrate your creativity.
Make Time for Creativity
If you want to develop your creativity, it is essential to allocate time for it. Dedicate a certain portion of your week to work on a creative project, and make it a priority.
This may mean saying no to certain commitments or letting go of tasks that don’t bring you satisfaction.
It might also require enlisting the help of others for tasks like childcare or household duties so that you can have uninterrupted time for your creative endeavors.
Overcome a Negative Attitude
To enhance your creative abilities, it’s essential to overcome negative thoughts and self-doubt that may hinder your progress. These thoughts can impede your progress, so it’s important to recognize them and work towards overcoming them.
Whenever you catch yourself having negative thoughts, take the initiative to challenge those beliefs and replace them with more positive and realistic ones.
Fight Fear of Failure
The fear of making mistakes or failing can impede your progress in developing your creative skills. When you experience such negative feelings, it is important to remember that making mistakes is a natural part of the learning process. Even if you encounter setbacks, keep in mind that they are just temporary and you will eventually achieve your creative goals.
Brainstorm New Ideas
Brainstorming is a widely used method in academic and professional environments, but it can also be a potent strategy for enhancing creativity. The first step is to temporarily put aside your judgment and self-criticism.
Then, write down any related ideas or potential solutions. The objective is to generate a large number of ideas in a relatively brief period of time. After that, concentrate on clarifying and improving your ideas to arrive at the most optimal solution.
Go Dark
Contrary to common belief, recent studies have shown that low light can actually enhance creativity. The absence of bright light can help to remove mental barriers and enable individuals to take creative risks that may feel too daunting in a well-lit environment.
Explore Multiple Solutions
Instead of settling for the first idea that comes to mind when facing a problem, try to consider a range of solutions. This practice can help you develop your problem-solving and creative thinking skills. Take the time to think through different possibilities and evaluate their potential to find the best approach.
Maintain a Journal to Enhance Creativity
Maintaining a journal can be an effective way to document your creative journey and record your innovative ideas. This practice can help you review your progress, identify areas for improvement, and discover new solutions. Your journal can also serve as a source of inspiration for future creative endeavors by allowing you to revisit and expand upon previous ideas.
Use Mind Maps and Flow Charts
To find creative solutions to problems, you can use mind maps and flow charts. A mind map connects ideas and related terms to the central word, allowing for branching ideas and a visual representation of the relationship between them.
This technique is similar to brainstorming. On the other hand, a flow chart is helpful in tracking a project’s progress from start to finish. It provides a visualization of the final product and can identify potential problems while developing innovative solutions.
Challenge Yourself and Create Opportunities
To keep improving your creative skills, it’s crucial to push yourself out of your comfort zone and take on more complex tasks. Don’t rely solely on familiar solutions that have worked in the past. Keep challenging yourself by trying new approaches and techniques.
Moreover, it’s important to actively seek out opportunities for creativity instead of waiting for them to come to you. This could mean taking on a new project or experimenting with different tools and resources to enhance your current projects.
Try the Six Hats Technique
The “six hats” method is a technique that suggests analyzing a problem from six different angles or perspectives. This approach can generate a larger number of ideas compared to examining the situation from only one or two viewpoints.
- Black hat: Use a negative perspective. Which elements of the solution won’t work?
- Blue hat: Think broadly. What is the best overall solution?
- Green hat: Think creatively. What are some alternative ideas?
- Red hat: Look at the situation emotionally. What do your feelings tell you?
- White hat: Look at the situation objectively. What are the facts?
- Yellow hat: Use a positive perspective. Which elements of the solution will work?
Find Inspiration to Boost Creativity
Don’t wait for creativity to strike on its own. Instead, actively seek out new sources of inspiration that can provide you with fresh ideas and the motivation to generate unique solutions to problems.
You can read books, visit museums, listen to music, or engage in lively debates with friends to find inspiration. It’s important to find what works best for you, such as playing video games which research suggests can help boost creativity.
Consider Alternative Scenarios
To enhance your problem-solving abilities, try asking “what if” questions to consider various scenarios and potential outcomes. This technique allows you to explore different possibilities and develop creative solutions to problems.
Try the Snowball Technique
Have you ever observed how a brilliant idea frequently leads to another? You can utilize this by utilizing a “snowball technique” while producing ideas for a project. If a concept isn’t appropriate for your present work, put it away to work on later or execute it in a future project.
Sources
- Franken RE. Human Motivation. 3rd ed. Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
- Steidle A, Werth L. Freedom from constraints: Darkness and dim illumination promote creativity. J Environ Psychol. 2013;35:67-80. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.05.003
- Tilly M. How to create a mind map (+examples). The Institute of You.
- De Bono E. Six Thinking Hats. Penguin, Limited.
- Blanco-Herrera JA, Gentile DA, Rokkum JN. Video games can increase creativity, but with caveats. Creat Res J. 2019;31(2):119-131. doi:10.1080/10400419.2019.1594524