Creativity is a key to unlock solutions to everyday problems
"Life is like a box of chocolates!"
What a beautiful quote.
Not all challenges in life are equally difficult to deal with. Some are merely frustrating. And when we face challenges, difficulties – or worse, upheaval as I previously wrote about – we can get stumped. It seems in that moment to be the hardest thing to deal with. The solution escapes us. And so we fail to see the other side from our dark little corner of the world!
The good news is that having a creative mindset can help propel us forward both in our career and our personal life. Our own creative thinking gets us on track, most of the time.
Don’t believe me? Of course you don’t. Especially not if you are caught up in some issue, some difficulty right now.
In that moment, you don’t believe it yet that you have what it takes to figure out what to do next. You just need to think outside the box a little.
Part of the reason why we don’t believe we have what it takes, is because we learned from past experience that it is always hard to solve our problems. Right? And so we believe a challenge is impossible to solve!
But here’s the thing: We always discount the many times we solved out own problems creatively. In hindsight, you’d agree, you too had most of the answers you were looking for, for most of your own problems. It just took a lot of creative thinking to get out of some of those situations.
This is why it can be so disheartening when we struggle to develop our creativity.
Below are six ways we can develop our creativity to be more successful in life.
1. Build Confidence
We often stifle our creativity to come up with as solution to a problem when we are afraid or embarrassed to tell others what we are thinking. A huge part of creativity is sharing and further developing our ideas with others.
This is why you should work to build your self-confidence in your own ability to think creatively, if you want to develop your creativity.
2. Have Creative Time
When our schedules are so full of activity that we don't have time to sit and think, or we don’t make the time, we won't have the space to be creative thinkers!
Boost your creativity by setting aside time and space each day to be creative. Think arts or crafts, or hobbies or anything that takes you out of circulation for a few moments to have the space to think outside the box.
3. Brainstorm
Brainstorming is a great idea to get our creative juices flowing. We can brainstorm anything, from new ideas for our free time, new date-night ideas or even how we want our dream home to look—the sky is the limit!
This is not a waste of time. Our brain makes associations. Sometimes the links aren’t logical at all. Somewhere in the brainstorming session, solutions to unrelated problems dislodge and come to the surface.
Sit down and start filling paper with your ideas! Don’t overthink this. The answers will come.
4. Try New Things
Nothing gets creative juices flowing quite like trying something new.
Here are a few ideas:
Is there a class at the gym you have always wanted to take? Go for it!
Or maybe you want to vacation somewhere new? That's an idea too!
Anything that will make you step out of your comfort zone is great for your creativity.
5. Spend Time In Nature
Being in nature is one of the best ways to get inspired and to start feeling creative. The best part is, is for free.
Take some time each week and sit in nature, or go for a walk after work each day. You'll be surprised at the ideas you come up with while just being outside.
6. Journal
Keeping a journal helps our thoughts to flow and helps us overcome problems and think more creatively.
Develop your creativity by journaling regularly. Try to journal for 5-10 minutes each day.
Solutions to problems call for creative thinking. Wherever you may be in life with your creative journey, there is bound to be something on this list that sparks your creativity. You don't have to use all of these things to help your creativity develop, but if you manage to incorporate them all into your life, you may just be surprised at how easy being creative is! So don't hesitate and start developing your creativity today!
Go on, percolate that creative coffee pot between your ears. You will be amazed by what you find!
One of the best ways to boost your creativity is do mindless activities.
Suggested Further by Reading
Check out these gems available on Amazon. Note that Woodbridge Hypnosis earns from your qualifying purchases. And to earn from your qualifying purchase, I make a little effort to curate the list, find the image and text for your ease of browsing. I trust you find this in order. However, these books may be available at your local bookstore or library. And if not, find anything else that may be on topic!
Open the list to find out more about each. Click the image to buy it on Amazon.
1. Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
Psychcentral.com has this to say about this book & author:
"This is a one-size-fits-all mindfulness handbook that will teach you the concepts, get you started with exercises, and sit on your bedside table as a welcome reference. The chapters are short and self-contained, so you can dip in wherever you want.
It was written by author and mindfulness teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1994 and has remained a bestseller and classic. Kabat-Zinn founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic in 1979, which was then associated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
He has written many other mindfulness books, the best-known one being “Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness,” which is full of research and recommended applications. It’s the book that ushered mindfulness into medical and scientific circles.
This shorter book [Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life] is directed to a wider audience and is meant to provide a “brief and easy access to the essence of mindfulness,” Kabat-Zinn writes. “Full Catastrophe Living” is directed toward people with serious medical problems, stress, and chronic pain.
You can also purchase the accompanying “Guided Mindfulness Meditation Series 2” audiobook or audio CD containing mindfulness exercises narrated by Kabat-Zinn designed to complement the book."
2. The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation
3. How to Train a Wild Elephant: And Other Adventures in Mindfulness
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