Think about it – being creative is described as “having or showing imagination and artistic or intellectual inventiveness.” Who wouldn’t want that quality?

Here are some of the secrets to help you get started.

Adopt a “the more the merrier” attitude

While we are in school, we are guided that there is only one right answer to test questions. And we implement that same approach to everything else in life. In order to improve our creativity, we have to consider that there is often more than one right answer. So, don’t just stop after you have one answer, sustain and see how many other ones you can come up with. Make it a challenge. It doesn’t matter how outrageous it is. The most important inventions seemed completely preposterous at the time they were first considered. Don’t start judging when you are in the brainstorming stage. That can come later.

Exercise your creative muscle regularly

There have been many studies on the human brain and evidence shows that our brains works very much like a muscle, which means that the more we use it, the stronger it becomes. In order to improve your creative muscle, start using it every break you get, especially when it is just for fun.

- Pick up some brain teaser puzzles and work on those

- Play games that engage the mind such as mah jong or chess

- Approach things differently – instead of writing down a list of words, try using pictures or symbols

- Instead of searching something or reading from a book, pick a toy from your children’s collection and make up a story about it at bedtime

Identify your Creative Environments and Schedule Time There

Do you know where you do your most excellent thinking? For most of us, it is not sitting at our desks. There is something about the seclusion and the relaxed state while engaging in some activities that allow your mind to come up with solutions to problems. So your assignment is to work out where your best creative environments are and schedule yourself to spend time there.

A word of caution though – once you have identified what these environments are, don’t spoil it for yourself by expecting that you will be doing creative thinking every time you are there. Look for it as a special bonus, like a reward you get when you open up the right bottle of Coke. If I went for a walk particularly because I need some creativeness, it doesn’t come as easily. But if I just let my mind amble to whatever it wants to think about, the ideas start to come. Learn to relax into your creativity.

Tags: artistic, creativity, Living, Personal Development

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