by Jon Biddle
Humanity is incredibly creative and I marvel and the different ways we achieve things in our lives. It’s a natural gift we possess and we use it in parenting, education, lifestyle. Creativity isn’t always about painting a picture, writing a novel, or singing a song. Creativity is naturally occurring in us every day, we sometimes don’t realise it is happening.
The floodgates of creativity open wide when you are young, encouraged to play and immerse ourselves in the joy of imagination joy, but as we grow up, the implications of society puts up barriers, our own particular upbringing and discipline, cuts through this creativity. The freedom which was encouraged before, removed because it doesn’t conform with what our parents or teachers think it should.
Often, schooling, academia, is a measure of success. Ken Robinson, in his TED Talk, said for centuries “we have educated the creativity out of our children.”
That means it was educated out of you and I. It has to stop.
You get stuck in patterns, bad habits that kill that creative flow, uncreative parents that value IQ over EQ are emotional fire extinguisher to that creative furnace or even emotionally devoid parents are as acerbic to the creative flow of their children.
I am so grateful the world is changing.
Creativity is a high form of intelligence. When you are functioning at high levels, it’s great to be active within it. But before you can think creatively, you need to have access to the right energy. You need to be in a state of flow when the possibilities that come with creativity are present.
Creativity is about having fun and learning to enjoy the process. Creative writing is about experiencing the joy and the feeling of pride when one passes a concept through the word processor or pen and doesn’t become frustrated and depressed as one may do when trying to turn an idea into something tangible.
This last effort is really important. The worst thing you can do is give up after you get the initial spark of motivation. You resist that urge to stop. It’s vital you keep at it.
Everyone gets a spark, but most of us diminish the motivation because we don’t believe in ourselves.
Inner critic is not your friend, “of course you’re shit at writing” – F. Scott Fitzgerald; dyslexic. “You can’t paint a stick person” – Michelangelo; osteoarthritic in his hands and found painting incredibly painful. “How the hell can you construct a musical score when you’re as deaf as a post” – Beethoven; deaf.
The world is full of innovators that ignored their inner critic, disregarded the thing that should have held them back and in most cases, the very people that should have encouraged and pushed them, but did the exact opposite in the guise of parental love and not wanting you to fail.
The poem by mother Teresa is jumping around in my mind, see below if you have never read it. It reminds me of my wife, Sam. My champion, the one person who drives me and drives herself even in the face of insurmountable odds.
The creativity in these three examples should give you hope in whatever you try to do.
Create a vision of the end product in your head. See yourself on stage with your books, enjoying the joy of creativity as each book shows up to meet your demands, wants, and desires.
Photo by Dziana Hasanbekava from Pexels
Here are 7 ways to quickly increase your creativity:
- Get into the right mind zone. This is one of the first and most important issues. If you do your best creative work on a Saturday, why do it on a Sunday or early Monday when you feel constrained by time?
Analyze which time suits you best. This means evaluating where it works for you and how you’ll carry on. Don’t set yourself up to fail at the first hurdle. It is about structure and scheduling. it will give you peace and space to relax into the creativity.
- For your first project, don’t write to your perceived market. It is necessary to create projects that will give us more reasons to feel excited and then to move on. Write what turns you on; write the book that you would want to read.
- Set a time frame. Ask yourself: How much will I be creating in the next 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, or year? Be specific and strict. If you can only write 500 words a day, then only do that. Even 100 hundred words a day in a year equates to 35,200 words, which is a decent-sized novella.
Your writing time is as important as eating, and if you’re watching four to five hours of the television a day, I’m sure your writing goal can be just as achievable.
- Create in an environment conducive to creativity. Tear down or simplify the room you write in. Don’t forget to switch off distractions and organize all the knickknacks and papers on your desk; the environment will keep you grounded and creative. If you have last month’s unpaid electric bill in front of you, it’ll dry your creativity up quicker than a man turning up to a date in Crocs … you get my drift?
I have the works of Thomas Hardy and Rudyard Kipling within my peripheries. These are writers that against all odds succeeded and changed the world of literature. When I get stuck or something isn’t flowing right, I reach for one of them, dip into the book, and read. This is my mental Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and the creative door flies wide open again.
- Create with five senses. Our five senses feed our creativity, but we need to use those senses for anything to happen fully. Include them in any project that you are working on. I have a candle. I call it the “flame of inspiration.” Visually, your space has to be clean, everything in the right place. Have your favorite drink and snack at hand, maybe put some inspiring music on in the background. Your environment affects your creativity.
- Once you are there and focused in on your project, let it go. Switch off your social media feeds, silence your phone, and make the surrounding people know that this is your time. It will only cause more stress if taken too seriously and the creativity will fade away.
- Take time away and let your mind take off. Even a seasoned athlete will chill for a while, spend the day away from the hard work. Go for a walk, relax, notice the birdsong, smell the roses. Watch that film, read that book. Go sit in a cafe and just be. Watch the drama unfold around you, understand how people tick in this safe environment, and emotionally, culturally, feed your creativity.
Creativity is a major hidden resource for an exciting lifestyle, something that seems to lack in the world right now. Tap into your creativity, and by following these seven tips in whatever endeavour you desire. It might amaze you just what you can create!
DO IT ANYWAY – Mother Teresa
People are often unreasonable,
illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind,
people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest anyway.
What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
