Spark Creativity
A creative person is the kind of a person that can frequently see things that others simply don’t. It’s all about discovering new, creative solutions to all kinds of problems, from big ones down to the mundane. But sometimes it happens that you end up feeling that you are just not creative enough? And that is perfectly normal. The myth about creativity being a talent that you’re born with has been debunked. It’s a skill, and that means that you can make it better. So, when you hit a creative block, here are some things that you should try to get yourself back on track.
Surround yourself with support
Your confidence as a creative innovator is highly dependent on your environment. This is why one of the best ideas to get your gears moving again is to surround yourself with people who think like you. Go and find a group that you can join, be it online or real-life. Furthermore, take a good look at people that you spend your daily life with. Are they helping you boost your creativity, or are they too skeptical and close-minded to fresh ideas?
Look for people to collaborate with who have an open and creative mind instead of those that are filled with negativity. It can really improve your confidence if you’re surrounded by the right kind of people.
Brainstorm
One of the best ways to improve your creativity and come up with great ideas is to do some brainstorming. Get a piece of paper, and start by writing your main problem right in the middle of the page. Then, come up with all the general ideas that you can develop, and draw them in the form of offshoots from the main idea. Then you can focus on each and every one of the offshoots at a time, and come up with more related ideas. After that, you can start breaking down all the ideas that you’ve come up with into something that is more comprehensible, until you’ve got the idea that you were after.
Train your creativity
So, as we have previously ascertained, creativity is not a talent that you are born with, but rather a skill that you can, and have to, practice and develop. So, the best way to boost your inventiveness is to simply practice creativity.
Self-editing is a hard habit to break, and the fact is that we all tend to come across premature criticism as an obstacle to solving a problem. Some criticisms are valid, of course, but you need to be aware that an idea can lead you down a new road, to coming up with a different solution. Other ways to train your creativity is to simply focus on that part of your brain more often, by doing something like writing a journal or sketching.
Experiment with different experiences
New experiences are essential for getting yourself out of that mental ditch. Try looking at the world from a new, more curious point of view, and see if there are any new ideas that you can relate to and explore them. Communicate with colleagues at other companies, and find out what kind of experiences they have with their work. At the next big company event, sit in the front row and get to know what it feels like. Get a new hobby, take a challenge and learn English with a native, or start reading a magazine that you haven’t read before. Or, if you really want to make it big, completely change your environment. Moving to another country can change your way of thinking by 180 degrees. All in all, try something new, and see how that affects your creativity.
Ask more questions
Problem-solving is the mother of creativity. You use your imagination to come up with solutions for every problem that comes your way. When you solve a problem, it normally leads to asking questions. It is simply in our nature to look for answers. This is why phrasing your problem as a question instead of as a statement is more likely to get your thoughts to flow.
Instead of stating that you need more sales, ask the question – How can we sell more of this product? What will happen if we apply this particular solution? How have others approached this issue? How can we look at this from another angle? How will this affect our sales?
So, start by asking questions. But the next, important step is to become open to various answers. When you’re looking for a solution for a problem, the simplest way is to go for the first answer that comes to mind. However, this only limits your creativity and hinders you from coming up with solutions that are possibly even better than the first idea that popped into your mind.
It isn’t uncommon for even the most creative among us to hit a block. But there is really no need to worry, as there are various ways that you can stimulate your mind in order to get out of this predicament. Try out one of the 5 ways discussed in this article in order to get your creative juices flowing again.
