Enliven Your Creativity
We all walk in the beaten path of life, never actually devoting much time for creativity. From childhood, we did certain things in a certain way at a certain time which left no much possibility for us to think apart from others.
Remember it is when some individuals took courage and started thinking differently from the set pattern; they could give way to new ideas. Culture, civilization, architecture, art, and technology, are all products of human creativity. Ken Robinson says “Creativity is putting your imagination to work, and it’s produced the most extraordinary results in human culture”.
Every new step we made in the civilization is the end result of few people thinking in their own ingenious ways. Life quality and progress of mankind all are results of creativity. Creativity is our ability to transform what is around us to make something innovative, something completely new and unique. The end product is something enjoyable for themselves and for all around. Sometimes the entire world would stand to benefit. When Edison found out the electric bulb, the entire world for generations to come, became beneficiaries.The real impact such inventions on our civilization are unfathomable. .It was Judy Collins who said “I think people who are creative are the luckiest people on earth. I know that there are no shortcuts, but you must keep your faith in something greater than you, and keep doing what you love. Do what you love and you will find the way to get it out to the world”So transform yourselves into a creative person and reap its immense effects.
For ideas, you knock at this door
Crop up your own ideas and creativity. It is not at all a good idea to mimic or imitate others. Try doing things in your own unique style and craft. Be open to new horizon experiences. Do not seek your comfort zone just following someone. Acquire new knowledge and create new perspectives on life. A much richer palette of experiences awaits us to take us forward. Creative minds are buzzing with new ideas day in and day out. They are like iron rods in the hearth, red hot all the time and it is very unlikely you will forget any detail any time. “Creativity is a spark. It can be excruciating when we’re rubbing two rocks together and getting nothing. And it can be intensely satisfying when the flame catches and a new idea sweeps around the world” says Jonah Lehrer.
Seek never-ending inspiration
Watch anything and everything around and almost any person can inspire you. Great personalities, even insignificant people can give you ideas. Be a voracious reader of books, periodicals, and blogs. Watch theatre performances, dance, music, movies, and even circus. Go to sea and watch the waves, go boating. There are many writers who wrote their best sellers sitting in a remote island or in some far off country. Their observant eyes pick up some unique characters which they present through their books. Experiences open up cognitive acumen and depth and render clarity to thoughts. The local scenario and culture enable the authors to be partakers in life experiences.
Open up your sky
A British Columbia University research says “best at boosting our ability to think creatively can be achieved through associations with the sky, the ocean, and water, most people associate blue with openness, peace, and tranquility “.Go to wildlife and nature. All these will add up to your experience and inspire and motivate you and turn you into a more creative person.
Many accomplished creative thinkers say they have a habit of taking long walks to sharpen their thoughts. Physiologically it explains well because walking helps hearts to pump faster, improve the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain. It stimulates the growth of new neurons. The whole of the brain gets activated in the creative process. It is a dynamic interplay of many different brain regions, emotions, and unconscious processing systems. Margaret Heffernan says “A great deal of creativity is about pattern recognition, and what you need to discern patterns is tons of data. Your mind collects that data by taking note of random details and anomalies easily seen every day: quirks and changes that, eventually, add up to insights”
The power to observe
Train yourself to be more observant, and you’ll have fresh ideas which will put you on the creative track. Greeks believed that the inspiration for originality came from the Gods. We can get a touch of it by observing Gods creations.
Be the early bird worm catcher
Creative people cannot be usually restricted to a specific time schedule. They thrive in leisure and then suddenly become active. They could be awake all night or asleep all day long. No matter the morning time is always the best in my opinion for creativity when your mind is fresh and vibrant and attentive. Early birds catch worms and early creative people catch, maybe whales.
Churn up like a cow
Grind that thought again and again especially before you sleep. Concentrate your brain on the matter to subconsciously work on the idea. Dreams could bless you with ideas. Lucid dreaming occurs when you become aware that you are dreaming. Stephen La Berge teaches us “Lucid dreaming has considerable potential for promoting personal growth and self-development, enhancing self-confidence, improving mental and physical health, facilitating creative problem solving and helping you to progress on the path to self-mastery”.
Many innovators have confirmed how they found an answer to an enigma, lying in the bottom of the mind, through lucid dreaming.
In the vacant and pensive mood
If you are an extrovert sort of person always mixing in the crowd you need to take a vacation and cut out the world. You need to be away from the maddening crowd to draw inspiration.
A disturbed mind with stress and pressure is miles away from creativity. Relax, have fun, leisure and you’ll find your vigor at peak.Throw away your mobile phones. Severing those sensory inputs and disturbances allows you to fully and actively engage with your subconscious. Allow your brain to chill out for a second, welcoming the creative moments, letting the calm relaxed part of your brain to come alive, spark. Our brains need to be totally relaxed to create new connections and neural pathways. Then only creativity can happen,
Experts say that when we are idle, relaxed and in leisure, our brains are most active. Talking to your own mind is an important need for creativity. Spending time alone with your thoughts, ideas, and feelings is an important thing in creating the more aware you are of your cognitive and emotional processes and the more you can apply your mind to your creativity. All creative people are comfortable spending as much time all alone and they never get mad being lonely.
One another advice is to take a break from whatever you are doing discarding everything to do something relaxing. Prolonged working affects your focus, efficiency and your sensory perception become low key. When you are relaxed you can come back to peruse your activity.
When a bright idea touches you a switch is on and a like a long runway which was plunged in pitch darkness lights up profusely enabling you to take off to new skies. A magnificent light flashes across your brain connecting up all the cells there and the result is you are transformed into a creator yourself.
Never look around for approval
Creative people must encourage feedback, ridicule, and criticism. Creative minds never feel insecure when others laugh at your ideas and call you impractical fool. Look at the life history of the great inventors they all faced ridicule in tones quantity. Encourage others to come up with criticisms and feedback. Creative people never do things for social approval or applause.They are constantly on the job to test the strength of their new ideas and when they are launched and tested on waters and to make navigational changes when they find critical issues and drawbacks. A big part of the creative process is adapting our ideas to the larger world.
Can you become creative overnight?
Can one cultivate the skill to become more creative and inventive? Has it got anything to do with our genes? They say the Germans are born inventors. What about you and me? Do we have such a genetic disposition? What do the neuroscientists opine about this? Science confidently tells you to be happy. Important research findings point to the fact that quite definitely creativity can indeed be acquired and cultivated. Maybe not overnight, but of course, some efforts and you are on the achiever’s path!
Creativity is never any chance occurrence. You need to have an active and vibrant mind to set the ground for those wonderful moments to come. We have seen certain attributes of creative persons and we need to explore how best we can bring our own kettle to boil. Discover your own unique creative spring following ways best suited to your environment and temperament. Do what clicks for you and what fits your talents and likings and that fits into your personality. There are no training programs in its real sense which can teach you how to be creative. The key is really in your own hands and you are the one who knows you well who can recognize your potential areas and the strengths you possess.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jose Vazhuthanapilly, Bsc., LLB, DBM, CAIIB retired in 2008 as AGM from State Bank of India. He had worked as a visiting faculty in the Bank’s Staff Training Centers for 5 years. He is a writer with 20 books to his credit including 3 on self-help/psychology. He resides in Ernakulum, Kochi. He is active also in the social service. He can be contacted at Josevazhuthanapilly@gmail.com
More Article from Jose Vazhuthanapilly on The Daily Brunch:
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IMAGE CREDITS: Photo by bruce mars from Pexels
Jose Vazhuthanapilly, BSc., LLB, DBM, CAIIB Retired in 2008 as AGM from State Bank of India. He had worked as a visiting faculty in the Bank’s Staff Training Centers for 5 years. He is a writer with 22 books to his credit including books on self-help/ psychology. He resides in Ernakulam, Kochi. He is active also in social service. He can be contacted at josevazhuthanapilly@gmail.com
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