Monday
Mar192007
How to Be Creative
Monday, March 19, 2007 at 14:54 I guess some people are naturally creative and some are not, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t all improve our creativity. So here is a list of some of the best ways to improve your creativity:
Creativity comes out of new combinations. It’s very rare to produce something which is completely new in every respect. Creativity is much more commonly the result of bringing together two or more existing ideas and combining them in a new way.
Creativity comes out of perspiration. If you want to have new ideas then it’s important to keep working at them. Inspiration comes to those who are actively engaged in a problem, not to those who are just sitting back waiting for the big idea to come to them.
Creativity comes out of knowledge and experience. This is closely related to the previous two. The person who will have the most creative ideas about a subject is the person who knows it back to front.
Creativity comes out of questioning. There is a danger that people who know a subject well become wedded to “the way it’s always been done”. This is not a bad thing when that way is built on years of knowledge and experience. But the person who can bring a “new mind” to the subject will frequently see things which the old hands can’t see because they are blinded by familiarity.
Creativity comes out of restrictions. It’s much easier to be creative when the terms and boundaries have been defined closely. The closer you define the question the more likely you are to be able to answer it.
Creativity comes out of dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction with the way things are at present is one of the keys to creativity. But beware - this dissatisfaction can express itself in destructive ways instead of creative ways.
Creativity comes out of changing one thing. Often the key to creativity is to list the various factors involved and experiment with doing just one thing different.
Have you got any ideas to add to this list?
Creativity comes out of new combinations. It’s very rare to produce something which is completely new in every respect. Creativity is much more commonly the result of bringing together two or more existing ideas and combining them in a new way.
Creativity comes out of perspiration. If you want to have new ideas then it’s important to keep working at them. Inspiration comes to those who are actively engaged in a problem, not to those who are just sitting back waiting for the big idea to come to them.
Creativity comes out of knowledge and experience. This is closely related to the previous two. The person who will have the most creative ideas about a subject is the person who knows it back to front.
Creativity comes out of questioning. There is a danger that people who know a subject well become wedded to “the way it’s always been done”. This is not a bad thing when that way is built on years of knowledge and experience. But the person who can bring a “new mind” to the subject will frequently see things which the old hands can’t see because they are blinded by familiarity.
Creativity comes out of restrictions. It’s much easier to be creative when the terms and boundaries have been defined closely. The closer you define the question the more likely you are to be able to answer it.
Creativity comes out of dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction with the way things are at present is one of the keys to creativity. But beware - this dissatisfaction can express itself in destructive ways instead of creative ways.
Creativity comes out of changing one thing. Often the key to creativity is to list the various factors involved and experiment with doing just one thing different.
Have you got any ideas to add to this list?
Reader Comments (18)
Great idea. I'd love to try it out, but I'm not too sure my wife is going to approve!
Mark
Surely, your wife won't mind you taking a "creative nap" during the day....if you promise to clean up the books, sketches, journals, etc? The continuous loop of music may drive her bonkers unless you have earphones that you can use whilst laying your head down, yeah? Please, Mark....give it a couple of goes...it's WONDERFUL! (It doesn't work like it used to because of my brain injuries and pain, but when I can at least try, probably just the nostalgia of what it used to do for me helps me feel better at least. I don't need the whole pie to relish the taste of it, yeah?
It is only then that I think, 'I knew that, I could have said that!'. Now I try to hear the little voice and take note of what it says. I have never before thought of it as creativity, but certainly it is a source of knowledge and intelligence which goes largely untapped.
I guess this is related to what "Learning As I Go" is saying. His/her method feeds and stimulates that source.
By the way, what's this 'LOL! thing? Learn Or Leave? (that was my school's motto).
Best wishes,
Mark
Mark
1. When I had a very short period of time during which to do my art project, so I could not "plan" it. The nonplanning side (creative side) of the brain then kicked in.
2. When I was out of my realm, forced out of my comfort zone and into something completely unfamiliar, with other people depending on me and, once again, very little time and not much to rely on other than my own creativity.
Anyway, I agree that thinking of a kitchen as a magical laboratory is the kind of attitude I am talking about. I think what I am trying to say is when you are faced with some mundane boring task it's good to ask the question "How can I do this more creatively?" And "How can I make this more fun?"...Your mind will do whatever you ask it to and asking it to think creatively about something forces it to come up with something...the mind hates a vacuum!
Nicky
You probably don't know me because I'm a lurker at the other sites. Why I decided to curse Mark's blog with my prattle, who will ever know....LOL! I've even copied some of your responses to motivate me. You have a great mind!
By the way, if you ever find out how to make vacuuming fun, PLEASE share it......worse....MOPPING! I prefer cleaning out the toilet to mopping. Because I have a dog, I have to do it almost every day.....and it doesn't get any better. I have to trick myself to do each EVERY TIME. I've never found the grace to accept it peacefully....I say with chagrin that it's a no options chore...but it's not so bad when I think that having a wonderful pet is the cause of it....like vacuuming EVERYDAY becuase they aren't called German Shedders (Shepards) for nothing.
One idea I have for vacuuming (which I hate hate hate) is to wear ear muffs, you know the kind that people use on building sites and get the funky ones that have a radio inside. At least the noise will be more pleasant. For unpleasant chores I tend to tell myself I only have to do them for a few minutes and then I can stop if I want to. It's like talking to a child. If I think I can only bear about 5 minutes of something awful then once the 5 minutes is up I feel good for lasting that long. I feel even better if I can carry on a bit longer and because I don't "have to" it means I am not fighting myself so much and being rebellious. Isn't it weird how you have to trick yourself so much sometimes? Have you tried vacuuming the dog? I have heard that works for some people! (And dogs).
Yes I do vacuum the dog. She tolerates it only because she's so devoted to both me and doing her commands well. If only I could be so single-minded to always do well just to hear "Good job". German Shephers are VERY task-oriented with laser focus and long attention spans. I parlayed her attitude and even taught her to allow me to Dremel her claws! LOL! (Dremel is a grinding tool! LOL!) But even with me vacuuming her, I still have to vacuum my house as they shed 24/7 and when their undercoating is blowing off, it's a total nightmare for about 2 weeks....hair inside the toothpaste cap, inside the freezer, in between the pages of a book, etc....The only reason I put up with this is because the breed is so personable, intelligent, devoted, and hard working. Besides the coat management ordeal, you have to keep them well trained and buzy....otherwise they can be destructive or dangerous. It's definitely not a low maintenance breed! LOL!