Let me start with my favorite quote of all time….
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” ~Albert Einstein
With that said, I understand that, for some people, getting into a creative groove is PAINFULLY difficult at times. People who experience this feeling too often may give up completely and label themselves as “not-the-creative-type.” To me, this is sad … because we’re ALL creative. You just have to know how to get those creative mojo-juices a-flowin’!!
Here are some suggestions:
- Break the rules. ALL of them.
- Listen to a different kind of music than you usually do.
- Read poetry. (yes, Dr. Seuss counts)
- Get input from family and friends … brainstorm!
- Take long walks. Spend at least one full day each month appreciating the world in which you live.
- KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE! (there’s a reason why that one is in all caps!)
- Make mistakes. LOTS of them. Better yet, allow yourself to make mistakes without all of that negative-self talk afterwards.
- Get sleep.
- Learn to PLAY music.
- Have a blast with everything you do! If it ain’t fun, don’t do it!
- Go with the flow.
- Write your ideas down. Especially those that come to you in the middle of the night.
- Keep the spaces around you uncluttered.
- Think deep thoughts.
- Think different-ly. If something should be red, try green. Hells-bells, try neon-squished-bug-green!! If big, then small. If left, then right. You get the idea. Which leads to the next one…
- Don’t “should” on yourself. There are few things in life that you SHOULD do. Getting caught in too many “shouldy” ruts will kills your creative, alternative thought processes.
- A couple of times a year (at least), do a craft project; paint, origami, whittle wood, macrame, clay sculpture, photography … it doesn’t matter.
- Be persistent. Finish things you start.
- Surround yourself with creative people. Yep, it’s that old “Law of Attraction” thing.
- Shake things up. It’s great to have a routine but it’s also okay to break the routine just for the heck of it.
- Love passionately!
- Switch modes. If you spend all day on the computer, do things analog for a change. If you spend too much time around people, take a day to sit in a forest.
… and, here’s my favorite ‘creativity’ enhancing tip of all time;
- MASTER MASHUPS!: Take EVERY opportunity you have (this might be several times a day) to mash two ideas together.
Some examples of this last one; Scraps of paper + a bit of rubber cement = PostIt Notes. Or this….