“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” Albert Einstein
I believe we are more creative than we think. Ever had to rustle up a dinner with what was left in the fridge (without ordering take away!)? or find something to wear when what you 1st wanted to wear was in the wash? Or more recently find yourself re-inventing how to live, work, see friends and family in the middle of a pandemic? Well, this is creativity right here… But how do you cultivate it everyday?
When working in corporate, I was working in R&D innovation. Basically, I was involved in finding new product ideas that would change the game for the products the company I was working with was selling to consumers. Finding the unmet needs and what would change how they use, see the products they were using and change their life a little with more benefits. This is a very ‘focussed’ type of creativity with defined rules, parameters and scope to deliver against…
I want to talk about everyday creativity and how we can exercise our creativity muscles on a daily basis to become more creative and also as a way to do self-care…
So how to make creativity part of our daily habits? One step at a time
- Be curious
I have a 6 year old daughter who always has a question (or more) about the world around her. I believe being curious and willing to learn is one of the 1st step to opening our mind to what is possible and to an influx of creativity. It opens us up to possibilities and what could be or what we can create. Look at something like you are seeing it for the first time.
-
- What can you try to be more curious?
- Next time you take a walk in your neighbourhood, notice maybe all the trees/ plants you can see.
- Look out your window what do you see, if you look everyday what do you notice that’s changing?
- Read a book from an author you have never read before
- Play with your children and step into their world
- What can you try to be more curious?
- Be adventurous and trust the process
If you have not opened yourself to creativity consciously for a long time this may be harder for you… Trust the process, try activities you enjoy or you are curious about. It can be anything from doodling, cooking to learning a new skill. Or maybe even starting to write that book you have always dreamt about.
Try little and often and block the time for you. Do it with an open mind, like an experiment rather than having expectation of success.
If you don’t know where to start – you can find some ideas here.
- Practice, practice…
Like anything practising always help, make time to be creative whether that’s 5 mins or 1 day. The same way you have time for self-care, creativity can be part of this self-care for you, if this is something you enjoy ( or are learning to enjoy) you will soon realise this is something that will make it onto your needs’ list and you will soon make it a habit of doing it.
- Make it a Strength
Depending on where you are with your own creativity – all the above may be already known to you – so how do you take our creativity to the next level? How do you leverage creativity as a strength and use it in more part of your life?
if you need more help figuring this out and how to know and leverage your strengths – join our strengths coaching program here