Opening Your Creative Mind

Creativity is one of the most rewarding and essential parts of our everyday life. It’s when we feel the most alive. Whether it’s planting flowers, painting a room, solving a problem, inventing something new, writing a book, or just daydreaming the future to come. When we’re creating we are the happiest, healthiest and most satisfied with the world around us.

Most people if asked would tell you they’re not creative. But that isn’t true. Everyone has a creative nature. Just the process of choosing the right blouse or shirt to go with the right pants or skirt is in itself a creative process. You mix, match and then try them on to see not only how they look together, but how they look on you. Sometimes you love the creation, sometimes you go back to the drawing book and/or closet and try again.

Stress and the hustle and bustle of today’s world are definite killers to the creative process. Some of us, myself included, find ourselves just pulling the first thing we find out of the closet. We’re too tired or perhaps to rushed to take the time to be creative. This in itself increases our frustration with our everyday life, and increases our stress load. We need that few moments of creativity to give us a boost, make us feel attractive.

So how do we get it back? Where do we start to reopen creativity in our world? We have not a writer’s block, but a life block. Lack of time or simply lack of initiative. Below are a few techniques you can use to reopen that world. The more you use them, the more you’ll find you want to use them, for those few moments of each day become more enjoyable, happier. A time for you.

First – recognize that you have creative thoughts thousands of times a day. They’re fleeting, and you have to grab on quick and hold on. Learn to pay attention to your thoughts. Learn to capture the important ones. Keep a notepad close, or a small recorder. It may only be a few words, a brief vision. Write it down, or record it for later study.

Second—challenge yourself daily. Take something that you find difficult. Set up a model of ways to make it easier. Or a better way of doing the same thing that’s more economical and produces a greater output in less time.

Third—Broaden the world around you. Take a walk at lunch. Go to a new store where you’ve never been before. Even if you’re not looking for anything specific. There you’ll see new people, new things and broaden your creative outlook. Drive down a different street before heading home. See what other people are doing. What type of flowers adorns their walks. Strike up a conversation with a stranger. They probably want to talk too, but may be too insecure to approach you.

Four—stimulate your creative mind with oddities. You’re going to be at your desk for eight hours or more. Put something on your desk that every time you look at it you think something different. Perhaps an apple and a pair of rubber gloves. I know that’s sort of weird. But every time your gaze falls on that apple and rubber gloves your mind is going to try to decipher why you have gloves and an apple together. A child’s toy and trowel. Stimulate your mind with objects that are different than what’s normally on your desk. Change this daily. With diverse and changing stimuli you’ll find your mind beginning to change, seek new direction and creative ideas flowing more freely.

Have a great day, and create something new.