While creativity cannot be taught, it certainly can be stimulated. Even if you are inspired by something that looks like a burst of energy, creativity does not actually strike you like lightning, but it can be prodded and even strengthened by a correct attitude. A program must be followed, but without excessive pressure. If you want to know how to get creative, just follow these steps.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Calibrate your Mental Attitude
Step 1. Take feedback with due caution
Keep following your own path. The problem with feedback is that the person who expresses it is always biased, as they will always have a different idea from yours about how your work should be done. Others will try to push you in a direction that may be right for them, but not for you. While they may have good intentions, such an attitude could be stifling for you. You should be able to ask for an evaluation without letting the opinion of others hold you back from pursuing your initiative.
- As you become more comfortable with criticism, you will be able to distinguish people who can give you valuable feedback from those who are not suitable for evaluating your work.
- Once your creative work is done, whatever it is, you can dedicate yourself to evaluating their feedback. Don't let criticism crush your creative process.
- Keep in mind that people are likely to resist your idea, because good ideas "change existing dynamics" and people, or most of them, "love things as they are." When you present something that challenges the status quo, many people (friends, relatives, colleagues) will feel threatened.
Step 2. But don't be afraid of self-criticism
In fact, be hard on yourself more than others. Always ask yourself "could I have done better?" and “what could I have done differently in a perfect world?”. Accept that you are not perfect, and the pursuit of perfection is the fruit of self-expression. If you find no flaws in your work, you are probably not giving your all.
Self-criticism does not mean being set to such high standards as to always perceive one's work as insufficient. You should be able to criticize your work while still appreciating your strengths
Step 3. Forget about perfectionism
Your natural result, without the worry of creating something that doesn't exactly go right, will always produce something creative. There are endless paths to creative success; there are many shades of gray. Imperfection is human and sometimes the most creative artists leave uncorrected errors on purpose. Nature itself is beautifully imperfect. Many try so hard to be perfect that they consume what made their work special in the first place. In a world saturated with too many excessive things, unnaturally perfect and flawless, something unfinished is the most creative and sometimes inspiring thing.
- By being a perfectionist you also risk stifling your success. Sure you will be able to produce a few pieces of excellent quality, but this mindset will also keep you from experimenting with some less perfect works that could turn out to be something incredible.
- Work on "bad" ideas. Even if you seem to have only bad ideas, you are still creating, so develop them - they could turn into a great solution! Work on improving your bad ideas rather than perfecting your good ones.
Step 4. Don't connect your personal worth with your creative productivity
Your worth as a human being is defined by other things: how you treat others, how you treat yourself, how much love you have for the world, your desire to be selfless, your ability to do difficult things. We could go on for an entire article. Creative expression is also an important factor.
- But it is not the only one. If you fail in your creative experiments, don't let it affect your self-esteem. Try to use it as an opportunity to do better.
- Avoid comparing your work with those of your creative friends. Everyone has their own standard: don't make it into a fixation.
Step 5. Put yourself in situations where you know you will fail
It might seem counterintuitive, but it is important. Many perfectionists are afraid of failure and therefore only do things they know they are good at. Don't give in to this mental attitude. Creativity is like dating someone - if you're not in trouble for a while, you're not giving your best. So let go of your ego, be prepared to fail (but don't expect to) and throw yourself into new and challenging situations. You will never be creative unless you launch yourself into the void.
Suppose you are a poet. Try writing a short story, even if you're not comfortable with it. Feel relief to know that it probably won't be the biggest artistic feat of your life and have fun
Step 6. Think like an adult, act like a child
Adults who try to be creative find many obstacles in the way: there are rules about what is allowed and what is not, how we should behave or not behave. These rules exist for a reason (we're not saying they're useless), but they can inhibit your creativity. Instead, use all the intelligence you've gained as an adult and, where possible, act like a child.
- Children ask a lot of questions to try to understand the world. Do it too.
- Children have natural creativity because they are learning from the world, but also because they don't know they shouldn't be doing certain things.
- Don't be afraid to responsibly break some rules. Dive into that desire to play that is in each of us and explore that jungle that is the world.
Method 2 of 3: Get to Work
Step 1. Having a program is not a bad idea
Programs are positive if they reinforce a healthy and creative mindset; they are negative if they destroy it. While breaking the routine once in a while is great for stimulating new mental patterns, wouldn't it be perfect if growth / knowledge / experience were part of your daily schedule? People who get stuck on a boring path and talk negatively about what is habitual probably haven't developed a routine that allows them to grow. The secret is to discover "creative rituals" that help you develop a more creative mindset.
- If you really want to be creative, then yes… you have to start considering your works as “work”. You have to sit down and try to produce in the moments you have carved out to be creative, even if you don't feel inspired.
- Many writers not only have a minimum number of words to write each day, but they also have superstitious requirements to be able to work. For example, the 18th century German writer Friedrich Schill, while writing, kept rotten apples on his desk and his feet in a basin of ice water!
- Don't be afraid to take control of your environment to work better with it. Ray Bradbury wrote his hot book Fahreneit 451 outside his home in a library. Stephen King needs total silence to write, while Harlan Ellison listens to classical music at full blast.
- Schedule a certain amount of time each day to stimulate your creativity. Begin the session with a creative exercise or ritual that triggers a flexible state of mind. Meditate, listen to a particular song or stroke your lucky stone … do whatever gets you in the mood and then set a goal (for example, one sketch a day, 1000 words a day or a song a day).
Step 2. Don't be swayed by trends
While dealing with trends can help you gauge cultural trends, you shouldn't do something just because it's “trendy”. Instead, follow your own path to what inspires you the most. Who cares if you want to take care of yodeling but pop music is more widespread? If you want to take care of it, that's fine. Knowing what is popular and relevant in your genre can help, but don't let it tell you what to do.
Not being swayed by trends is very different from not knowing them. If you write novels, for example, you should know which type is the most popular so you know where your work fits within that genre. You will need to know what you are up against in order to be able to speak intelligently about your work
Step 3. Don't watch TV, don't listen to the radio, and eliminate every element of dull popular culture from your life
These things don't hurt you when taken in small doses, but they have the effect of aligning your thoughts with the rest of society and don't stimulate pure creativity. Instead of watching television, go out with friends to get some original ideas; instead of listening to the radio, go to a record store and find out about your personal taste in music.
- This of course assumes that you actually follow the TV or radio - many people leave them on as background noise only. If this is your case, do not fear a little peace of mind, but rather listen to your clear mind and observe what happens.
- Hanging out with people who don't follow pop culture can also make you more inclined to creativity.
Step 4. Don't try to force yourself into just one gender
While you should be able to describe your work, you shouldn't pigeonhole it and classify it with a specific typology. If your work is a hybrid, it's even more interesting. While you are working, do not think where your work will fit: you will worry about it when you are done.
Step 5. Spend some time alone
You don't have to be antisocial, but many people find their creativity ignited when they are away from others and can safely focus on their work. Use some of your time alone to gather ideas. Before you go to sleep or as soon as you wake up, try to write down some of your ideas. Many artists have the peak of creativity as soon as they wake up.
- At the same time, be collaborative. Many artists find that working with someone helps overcome boundaries in ways they never thought possible. Whether it's Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat, Woody Allen and Diane Keaton or Duke Ellington and all jazz players, collaboration is an essential part of creation.
- Find someone you can share ideas with. Challenge him to do something crazy and unexpected by involving you in the process. Hopefully, you will unleash your creativity.
Step 6. Ignore the past
Do you want to be creative and original? Ignore or forget the past; it ignores what the world has created so far. It can happen that, considering the past, this leaves a mark on your style. And it is the exact opposite of creativity and originality. Create works by looking for inspiration in yourself, not in something that has already been used or considered and you will be on your way to creating something. In a creative state of mind, time does not exist, a few hours can seem like seconds, a moment can last hours and you are completely immersed in the present.
- It's okay to take inspiration from the past, but don't take advantage of it. There are certainly aspects of past art that you like and others you don't. Take those aspects you find yourself in and develop your own. Blend Art Deco with something modern. Take Dixieland and make it Baroque.
- Whatever you do with the past (if you choose to take inspiration from it), be sure to transform it, rather than keep it as it is.
Method 3 of 3: Challenge yourself with Creative Exercises
Step 1. Limit your tools to the bare minimum
The more limited the amount of tools at your disposal, the greater the creative response. Having few tools to use will force you to be creative; it will challenge you to use what you have to produce the results you want. As a result, you will become very good at what few tools you have and will sharpen your ability to use them to the point where you can do anything with them. You will be more efficient than those who can barely make it with so many tools at their disposal.
- If you are a painter, use only an artistic medium and primary colors. If you are a draftsman, only do pencil drawings. Especially in the beginning, achieving excellence in basic expressions will help you be creative when you have more tools at your disposal.
- If you make movies, stick to black and white ones. If you are a photographer, the same. Don't think that creativity means the same thing declined in different ways; often it is not. Creativity creates diversity, it doesn't feed on it.
- If you are a writer, practice writing only in words that a sixth-grade kid might understand, even if you are writing about concepts that even adults struggle to understand. If you are a screenwriter, try to get by without props in both the script and the actual staging. See what happens!
Step 2. Write a story based on a photo or drawing
Look at an image. Think of 100 (or 50) words that describe it, write them down, and then come up with a crazy story about the picture using all (or most) of the words. You can use an image taken from a magazine, online or even an old photograph.
Step 3. Think about a single topic for half an hour
It might be difficult at first. You can start by focusing for five minutes a day and then gradually build up to half an hour. It is best to practice alone at first, but you may also be able to practice it amidst distractions, such as on the commute from home to work.
Step 4. Talk for 15 minutes without using the words "I", "me" and "mine"
Be conversational and intriguing so that those who read or listen to you don't notice something odd. This will force you to expand your mind outward, letting go of your life's worries and obsessions.
If you like this game, try to see how long you can speak (with complete sentences!) Without using common words, such as "and", "but" or "the"
Step 5. Combine two distinct ideas
Choose two items at random and describe them in detail. How am I? What are they for? How they are made? Then replace one object with the description of the other. How can I make object A feel like object B? Or what does object B do?
Step 6. Keep a journal in which to describe everything you do and feel using metaphors
Every day, challenge yourself to invent new metaphors (after all, how many ways can there be to render through metaphors how you brush your teeth?). At first you can work on writing a good metaphor, before dedicating yourself to the diary. A metaphor is a comparison that does not use comparative grammatical terms, but images. An example: "My love is your drug".
If you are not used to metaphors, first start with similes, which are comparisons that use the adverb "like". Later, try to remove "how" and dedicate yourself to metaphors
Step 7. Answer a list of questions using lyrics from a song
Write a list of essential questions, such as "What is your name?", "Where are you from?", "What did you do last Thursday?". Try to write at least 10 questions. The more you write, the better. Any question that comes to your mind, write it down, even if it sounds silly. Answer the questions by writing a song (try not to use the same song too many times).
Step 8. Play word association games
It helps to have someone to play with, but if there is no one, you can do it yourself. Write the first word and then in 10 minutes try to say the next word that comes to mind. Compare the first term with the last. They should be different. This will train your mind to associate ideas.
Step 9. Write the same story from the perspective of three different characters
You will notice that no one sees the situation in exactly the same way. This exercise will help you develop your critical thinking skills and will offer you a better understanding of the story you want to write.
Once you've written the same story from three different angles, ask yourself which version you prefer and why
Advice
- Don't worry about what other people think about your job or talent. It is you who know yourself best.
- Surround yourself with creative people. The most reliable creatives are children. Their imaginations are not "boxed" and merging your mind with theirs can lead you to think outside the box.
- Whenever you are challenged to create something, ask yourself: what is the most "outrageous, unreasonable and senseless" thing I can come up with?
- If you have trouble being creative, look inside. Everyone is creative, but if you think you're not "good" enough to be, then you probably won't be. Grow your self-esteem and you will find that it will be much easier.
- Change the way you do things, take another route to town, watch television with one eye or read while in the toilet.
- To develop your intuition, read Power Vs Force, by Dr. David R. Hawkins.
