First, a quick quiz to see if you're creative. Follow the instructions carefully!
- Put the pointer and middle fingers of your right hand on the underside of your left wrist right under the pad of the thumb. Do you feel your pulse? If you're not sure, try question two.
- Place your right hand over your heart (located on the left side of your body). Do you feel your heart beating? Still not sure? Proceed to question three.
- Place your left hand in front of your mouth and nose. Breathe. Do you feel air hitting your hand?
If you answered "no" to any of the above, please stop reading this blog and seek medical attention immediately.
A lot of us don't feel creative because we have this mistaken idea that creativity means pursuing some kind of arts related activity. Even though the arts can definitely improve your creative thinking you don't have to be a writer, artist or musician to be creative.
Some of us have this expectation that our creativity has to somehow match or exceed someone we hold as our creative "ideal". Some us worry that we took a few minutes out our day one time a few years ago to be creative and we never finished the creative task we started, so we must somehow be flawed because creativity didn't come to us instantly. Some us are afraid that making room for creativity in our lives will somehow disappoint us. Some of us are just plain afraid.
Here are few simple exercises to be more creative NOW:
Don't forget to BREATHE.
What happens when we don't breathe? We die.
The same thing happens when we pursue a creative endeavor and we don't breathe deeply because of fear or anxiety. Shallow breaths cause us to starve our brains of oxygen and send more to our limbs so that we can take flight or stand and fight.
When you are doing something creative you might want to have your brain working at full power. So remember to take deep breaths as you work. Resist the urge to run away and breathe through it. You'll find that you'll be able to complete your task more easily if you bring your attention back to your breath every now and then.
Right NOW inhale deeply and hold your breath for three seconds. Now exhale and as you do, let your shoulders drop just a little bit lower that they were before. Instant relaxation that you CREATED. See, you are already a little more creative just by creating relaxation.
Practice VISUALIZATION. Do this right now. Look around the room you are in. Pick something that is in the room with you right now: a chair, your child, the meal you are eating. Breathe deeply and exhale.
After reading the instructions, close your eyes. With your eyes closed, try to see what you picked in three different ways.
Could the chair be a different color, a different size, a different design? Could your child be dressed differently, have longer or shorter hair, be taller, older, shorter, younger? Could your meal be larger, smaller, a different color?
Now think of a way that you could interact differently with the object you picked. Could you use the chair in different ways, other than sitting? Could your child be doing some other activity that could enhance their creativity? Could your meal be created some other way? (Like this 3D printed pizza?)
Now see your chosen object in a different setting. Put the chair on the moon, in an igloo or a beer hall. See your child at the zoo, on a train, at the beach. See your meal at a fancy restaurant or a French cafe.
Now have that object offer up a unique perspective. Maybe the chair can give you an idea for a new blog. Maybe your child might tell you about an idea for a class you could teach. Maybe your meal helps you invent a 3D printer for pizza. (Oh, that's already been done!)
If you were able to do this exercise easily, you are definitely creative. If not you may need a bit more practice or you may just be resisting the exercise. I teach my actors in my acting classes that whatever we resist, persists. When you realize you are resisting and accept it, a lot of times the resistance will disappear! Try it. You might be amazed.
If your resistance is being caused by negative self-talk try this: Get out a pad or paper and some pens or pencils or crayons and draw what your negative voice looks like. Give him or her or it a lot of detail. Now draw your idea of a pure creative spirit, the one you'd like to have. If you like, draw a scene where that character defeats the negative voice with pure creativity. Sometimes picturing what the negative voices look like takes some of their power away. Some people crumple up the negative voice drawings and throw them out, burn them ceremoniously or turn them into something useful. Discover for yourself what works best for you.
