The ABCs of Creativity

Posted on May 6, 2014

A is for Art: Find your Art. Creativity should not be defined by if you paint, draw, sculpt, or write poetry. It is what you do, what you create. If you are really good at organizing a vacation, then that is your art.

B is for Boost: Everyone’s creativity can use a boost now and then. Creative exercises just like exercises for you body will make your creativity stronger and easier to call on.

C is for Capture: Use a notebook, iPad, or camera to capture those ideas when they are the freshest in your mind. Quickly jotting down an idea and looking back on it when you need inspiration or just have time to browse through it.

D is for Daydreaming: Daydreaming or letting your mind wander, has been linked to enhancing creative problem solving. Next time you are bored, instead of pulling out your smart Phone, try a little daydreaming.

E is for Examples: Sometimes people have worked on the problem you are trying to solve. Look for examples and learn from them if you get stuck.

F is for Failure: Don’t be afraid of failure. People who are usually considered creative aren’t always the ones with the best ideas. What they are, is really good at coming up with a lot of ideas. They have learned that all ideas don’t have to be great. If they express one and it doesn’t work, move on to the next. If you never express your ideas, you will never know it wouldn’t fail.

G is for Go: Go for a walk, go outside, go someplace you’ve never been before. Open up your mind to new experiences. Sometimes a simple change of scenery is all you need to spark creativity.

H is for Help: There is nothing wrong with asking for help or working as a group.

I is for Inspire: What is it that inspires you the most often? Find it.

J is for Judgment: Creative time is no time for judgment. Judgment is one of the major killers of creativity during the early phases of searching for ideas.

K is for Knowledge: Knowledge is something that goes along with and is gained through creativity. Using the knowledge you have you are able to create new ideas. This leads to the development of new knowledge, and generating even more creative ideas.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand. -Albert Einstein

L is for Learning: Creativity and learning should always be hand in hand.

M is for Myths: Ignore the major creativity myths. If you believe that you are not creative, when you are asked to come up with a creative solution you won’t try. Everyone is creative, we have just been taught to hide or suppress our creative impulses. Forget the myths.

N is for Noise: Researches found that ambient noise can affect creative tasks positively. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/665048

O is for Out: Out of the box, out of your comfort zone, out of the ordinary.

P is for Playful: Being playful is something most adults lose and with that a connection to creative thinking.  Play is how all young creatures learn. When animals and children play, curiosity is encouraged, social collaborations skills develop, and independence strengthens.

Q is for Quotes: Browse some famous quotes for a little on the fly inspiration.

R is for Relax: Relax and take a moment. Sometimes our best ideas come to us when we pause and breathe.

S is for Stimulating: Leonardo Da Vinci believed in stimulating all his senses while being creative. He often had good food, wine, and music around while he painted. It seemed to work for him. http://www.themusiconomy.com/da-vincis-code-of-music.html

T is for Try: Try something new.

U is for Unique: You are unique, despite how many times you have heard there is nothing original left in the world. And since you are unique your creativity is unique. No one before or ever again will combine something or solve something the way you do ever again.

V is for Visualization: Sometimes the best approach to see the connection between new ideas is to use Visualization. Try drawing out your ideas, diagram or sketch it out. Picture the presentation in your head, think about the entire situation

W is for Why: Not only ask questions like why, but also ask why not? Be curious and keep asking questions.

X is for eXperience: Our experience influences our creativity and the ideas we generate, just like everyone else. So others on your team who have different experiences will give you different creative solutions.

Y is for Youth: There is a natural creativity we associate with youth and being a child. Try to approach the world with the same youthful imagination and wonder.

Z is for Zen:

Categories: Mind, Body, and Spirit