The Art of Becoming More Creative

Creativity is the kind of thing that just about no one has a bad word to say about, regardless of whether it’s in the context of an artistic endeavor, a personal hobby project of another type, or an innovation in a business context.

For entrepreneurs and business figures in general, creativity offers the promise of a game changing product or service that does for a particular industry what the iPhone did for Apple, under Steve Jobs.

In a personal context, becoming more creative can allow you to get more in touch with the deep and powerful aspects of your own internal world that are so connected to a sense of meaning, direction, and purpose in life as a whole.

Whether it’s sunset photography, painting, or any number of other things, creativity is very powerful indeed.

But is it possible to become more creative?

Well, there are certain things you can do to unlock your innate creativity and to get more in touch with the creative part of yourself. Here are some suggestions.

Play more (and work less)

Although we all enjoy playing around and having fun, there’s still a strong undercurrent to be found in contemporary culture — and especially in certain corners of professional culture — that views play as something frivolous and childish that we’re meant to grow out of as we get older and step into the “serious” world.

As a matter of fact, however, many great pioneers and innovators throughout history credited their accomplishments and insights at least in part to “play.” The Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman is one example of this.

Engaging with day-to-day life in a spirit of play, rather than work, can be very powerful — and this is something you should maybe even try doing at work itself.

Get into flow states as much as possible

The term “flow state” was originally coined by the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, to describe situations where a person is totally immersed in a given activity, to the extent that they experience a greatly enhanced sense of wellbeing as a result, as well as being present and performing to a high standard.

In a state of flow, the “self” seems to dissolve and merge with the task or activity itself.

These flow states are intimately associated with creativity, and also with high-quality work in general — and artists, musicians, and athletes all report regularly entering into flow states when engaged in their particular endeavors.

The more you can do to make sure that you get into these states of flow on a regular basis, the more creative you are likely to be, and the better you are likely to feel as well.

Among other things, setting aside significant chunks of time to dedicate to particular tasks and activities during the day may help to streamline you into these flow states.

Distract yourself on purpose when you are dishing out your first version of a creative output

At first glance, the idea of purposefully distracting yourself when you are trying to do something creative may sound completely counterproductive — and maybe even a bit insane.

Surely, to create something high quality, you’d want to be fully focused on what you were doing, and fine-tuning as much as possible, right?

While just about any creative endeavor will tend to need some “fine-tuning” before being released into the world, the fact is that creativity is deeply associated with the ability to tap into the unconscious mind and quieten down the rational judging mind for a time.

To put this in writing terms, you need to get your first draft done without judgment, adjustment, and analysis. Then, once that draft is out, it’s time to go over it in a more focused way to edit, re-write and tweak.

If you try to do all that editing and tweaking as you’re writing, though, you’re unlikely to ever get anywhere.

Listening to music can be a good way of providing some balanced “distraction.”

Move your body to get your creative juices flowing

Creativity isn’t just something that happens in your head; it is influenced by all sorts of different factors, including what’s happening with the rest of your body.

Many interesting people throughout the ages have noted that some of their greatest creative insights came to them while they were out walking — and, especially if you’re feeling low on inspiration, getting up and moving around may prove very helpful indeed.

One great thing to try could, in fact, be to take a short stroll just before you settle down to try and do any creative work.