The title of this post reads “more creative” because I always like to proceed on the basis that we are all creative. Yes: all of us, even you; and even if you think you don’t have that “spark”. No matter how hidden your creativity is, all of us have it innately.
Although there is no exact model to define a creative person, we can find a series of qualities and conducts common to highly creative people, which we can apply to ourselves.
See what they are and you may realize that perhaps it’s not that you aren’t creative; you just need a little practice:
1. Curiosity: an essential quality is to continue seeking answers, even if the question isn’t completely clear. We must ask questions, wonder, inquire and try to understand the world that surrounds us, because that is the best way of finding new ideas.
2. Flexibility: rigidity is something we must do without if we wish to be more creative, for one simple reason: it will always take us down the same path. Only flexible thinking will make us capable of seeing different perspectives and possibilities, which can lead us to more creative solutions.
3. Imagination: although creativity and imagination usually go hand in hand, we don’t necessarily need to have a great imagination in order to find creative solutions for the problems we face. But we still need to be able to unleash our thoughts and let them invent without limits. Remove any restraints from you imagination.
4. Observation: seeing what is going on around us is not enough; we need to be completely aware of all the details. Observe everything that happens, everything that surrounds you, what it makes you feel, what really moves you… this is the only way we will be able to see possibilities wherever we look. The simplest detail can inspire us.
5. Passion: we must find our passion, because when we do something we are passionate about, when we are enjoying ourselves, the effort disappears and desire and interest grow. Passion is what makes us want to improve things.
6. Perseverance: this quality is very closely linked to the previous one, because perseverance and passion often go hand in hand. Passion makes us persevere and through perseverance we can find creative solutions. We may not have the most brilliant idea at first, but if we persevere it will only be a matter of time.
7. Freedom: if you aren’t free it is very probable that your creativity has a limit you have unwittingly set yourself. It is like fastening a chain on imagination, on the will to experiment, learn and try things out.
8. Confidence in yourself: we need to be sure of ourselves in order to face the world and its conventions, barriers and limits. We need to believe in what we are capable of contributing. If we judge things too early, we will probably never be satisfied. If you believe you could do things better, simply have confidence in yourself and create.
9. Positive attitude: because nothing good has ever come out of negativity, and if we see the world with a negative attitude we will only see obstacles instead of opportunities. By being positive we open doors to creativity through opportunity.
10. Courage: we mustn’t be afraid of getting something wrong, or our creativity will be restrained and we will end up doing the same old things out of fear that what is ‘new’ won’t work. We need to think ‘Out of the box’ even if we are afraid and in unchartered territory. We have to explore new areas, where true creativity and disruptive ideas can make their appearance.
María Mazariegos from ideas4all
