Yes, You Can Be More Creative!

Do you wish you were more creative in your life, but you don't know where to start? You can reconnect with your inner creative self. Try some of these ideas to help you get in touch with your inner creativity. How can we become more creative if we think we have lost the spark? For one person, being more creative may mean they wish they could become a painter, musician, writer, dancer or some other sort of performing artist. However, this is not a practical life style for everyone. Not everyone is going to find it realistic to embrace a life that is totally creative and artistic to the core. Some people would be satisfied to simply have more creative ideas, to have a fresh outlook on their lives. Here are a few ways in which you can invite more creativity into your life. If you truly want to be more creative, commit yourself to becoming a creative person. Every time you notice that you have come up with a creative idea, no matter how small or unimportant it may seem, reward yourself. Give yourself internal praise. Say congratulations to yourself for that creative idea! Most of us were very creative as children, before we learned the official rules about how things are supposed to be. We can resurrect our ability to be more creative by exploring some of the many techniques that have been developed to improve creative and artistic ability, as well as to improve creative problem solving. Make a point of attending plays, concerts and art galleries. Don’t just mentally criticize what you are looking at. Let your mind feel that you can understand what the artist is trying to express. Let yourself feel it emotionally. You may be able to soak up some of the artist’s intention in this way. Even if you feel as if you don’t understand the work at all, pretend for a few moments that you do understand it. Pretend that you actually are the artist. This exercise will give your mind permission to recapture some of your youthful ability to imagine much more creatively than you do now. Take a class in some creative or artistic field that has always interested you. Don’t worry about whether or not you have any talent. At the early stages, you simply need to give yourself permission to explore, and fail if you have to. Failure can be good. Failure can lead to eventual success. Any time you notice that you have had the tiniest creative idea, write it down. Explore it. Give yourself credit for having a creative idea. Don’t worry at this early stage whether or not the idea is good or bad. Simply practice exploring it and developing it. What separates those who are very creative from those who are not is that the creative people are committed to developing every aspect of their creativity. Stop being a critic. Critics perform a very useful and valid service for society, but a critical attitude can be the kiss of death to someone who wants to improve their creativity. Don’t criticize others, and especially don’t criticize any one else’s attempts to be creative. Creativity is a mindset, a way of approaching the world with novelty and excitement. You need permission to be playful, to be unique, to honor your own perspective on what you are experiencing. You need to have permission to fail. Permission to explore. Permission to succeed. That permission comes from you!