We’re all born with creative strengths. But that doesn’t mean we get to keep them. As we age, creativity slowly disappears as we leave it unexplored.
We should get better at growing creativity. This is what fuels innovation that leads to powerful contributions and self-knowledge. But what happens when all you get is a creative block? You don’t have to be a famous painter to sympathize with all the pains that come along with the creative block. Whether it creeps up on you like an annoying shiver down your back or it comes like a huge smack in the face, we’ve all experienced the woes of being stuck.
Creativity, like any other skill, requires constant cultivation. It does not come to you easily, creativity is pretty much like a fruit ready to be harvested: Everything starts with a seed hidden from sight that was carefully nourished, watered and tended until it gave birth to a beautiful product, ready to be appreciated and introduced to the world.
Even the simplest and the smallest projects require a drop of creativity so you can look at old ideas from a whole new perspective or link seemingly unrelated concepts. If you ever felt stuck or unable to come up with better ideas for a project, here are a few simple ways to feed your inner spark and get those creative juices flowing.
1.Manage the Monotony
Monotony will always be the worst enemy of our minds. It comes in many forms, whether you are looking at the same surroundings every or it’s a set of boring routines you’ve grown over time doing the same thing over and over. One way to combat monotony is by changing your environment. It can be anything. Your working space should not be the same if that’s what holds you back. Even moving to another room or a new home may help refresh your mind. But if you have both money and time to travel and get into the creative mode, do so. However, if that can’t be possible, one thing that can help you is to make some change into the room you’re spending the most time in .
Replace that old wallpaper or add some refreshing shades and play with inspirational colours. Play with the lighting and the settings in your room to enjoy a brighter working environment.
2. Practice Mindfulness
Both art lovers and artists gathered strong evidence to support the idea that unless you are filled with angst, you might not be able to get your creative juice flowing. Even Plato and Socrates historically took a sulking holiday in order to fan the flames of their creative minds.
Practicing mindfulness actually provides you with the same opportunities to boost and fuel your creativity without the consequences of angst, such as unhappiness and stress, which often lead to poor health both mentally and physically. Studies have associated mindful meditation with numerous cognitive and psychological meditation, such as:
- Sustained empathy, introspection, and attention
- Better memory
- Improved learning
- Improved concentration
Mindful meditation is commonly practiced in a quiet room alone. So even if you’re practicing with a group, it’s the kind of ritual that your attention inward. Unfortunately, for some, stress or anxiety can be a barrier to establishing a proper meditation practice. So, adding the best CBD products to their meditation practice, helps them maintain a sense of calm.
3. Read Absurdist Fiction
The human mind is known for being a “meaning-making machine”, set to make meaning from every experience we have. When we are faced with absurdity, also called a threat, our brain is stimulated, delivering a creative boost.
Reading absurdist fiction can be a sure way to encounter things our minds have trouble making sense of. Absurdism is a kind of fictional narrative where the characters are simply unable to find meaning or sense in life. Good absurdist fiction should help you question all our existing values, truth, and concepts. Engaging yourself in such stories will make you feel and use your brain in different ways while stimulating your imagination.
4. Be Curious About Everything
Learn to be curious about everything. Whenever we discover new fascinating things, learn new facts, and try to investigate the world, we feed our creativity and boost imagination. For kids, using creativity is way much easier than it is for adults. They are naturally curious and imaginative as they are trying to make a sense and understand the world around them. But as we grow older, this innocent curiosity starts to fade away. We can encourage our curiosity by constantly asking “why”.
5. Admire Surrealism
There is more about surrealism than people wearing lobsters on their heads and Salvador Dali’s moustache. This amazing movement began one hundred years ago and was founded on the notion that creativity could be accessed by reducing the controls of the conscious brain and giving full authority to the unconscious. Today’s neuroscience advocates their thinking: There is enough evidence that daydreaming, and imagination take place when we are not focusing our conscious attention.
They surrealists rejected the rational as they were constantly in search of new realities that were discovered in the imagination or dreams. They created surrealism by combining something strange with something familiar and showed ordinary objects in extraordinary ways. Usually, people seek to avoid or eliminate uncertainty in their lives. But to nourish your creativity, you need to seek uncertainty instead. Admiring surrealism helps you question all that is real and look at the world around you from a new perspective.
Being a creative individual is no easy task, and the occasional struggles with a creative block or lack of motivation are just a few of the problems we face. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about it. Creativity has to be nourished, and we can do it with a rested mind, curiosity, challenges and of course, practice. If you’re looking for new ways to increase your brainpower, don’t hesitate to follow these tips.
