The contemporary fast-paced world hunts for creativity and innovation. It is widely perceived that not everyone is creative. Most people can work hard, follow instructions and produce defined results. On the contrary, only a few can visualize and innovate. Similarly, the notion that creativity cannot be acquired is also communal. One is either creative or not, he cannot develop creativity over the course of time. Certainly, creative minds find an upper hand at work and in life in general. Did you ever wish you were more creative and inventive? Did you ever dream of devising an unconventional and extraordinary strategy at work that will turn all heads towards you?
The thought of it is mesmerizing. However, it entails analyzing the common notions of not being able to acquire creativity. If at all they are true, then our hope of competing with the creative minds is smashed right away. Read on to find the truth.
Finding the source of creativity
One understanding of creativity is that it is God gifted. This means that the brain in some people is naturally developed in a way that it can innovate effortlessly. This has not been scientifically established, but scientists do suggest a close connection between IQ and creativity. Moreover, if someone can have a part of brain underdeveloped, causing mental illness, he can also have it overdeveloped, with better receptive powers. Such a brain can visualize and turn the surroundings into objects of utility. However, this is rare and can only be one of the many contributors to creative thinking.
In reality, when you ask the most successful people of the creative world, they would give surprisingly different reasons for their creations. Some would say that they got inspiration from their surroundings. All of their innovations are actually present in some form in their surroundings, they were just observant. Others would rather credit the adverse situations that forced them to innovate. Some say that they got a favorable environment to work in their area of interest since childhood. Years of training and involvement helped them master the area to the level of innovation.
The recent success of the famous music producer ‘Nucleya’, who built a unique lexicon of bass music in India, is quite interesting. Before giving India this unique sound, he was at the verge of a breakdown. He had almost given up on music, though it was his passion. After taking some time off and strolling around in India, he got inspired by regional Indian music and its essence. Soon his albums gained immense popularity and became viral.
Nearly half of us wouldn’t be aware that cutting edge technology equipment ‘The Microwave Oven’ was ‘accidentally’ invented. This happened when Engineer Percy Spencer, watched his chocolate melting while fiddling with a microwave-emitting magnetron. He was the first one to observe the power of the microwave, which became an indispensable kitchen utility.
Awakening the inner creativity
With several inspirational real-life examples existing, it should not be hard to absorb, that creativity can be generated and enhanced. There is no fixed pattern or a defined path leading to it. There are several possible ways in which one can awaken his inner creativity.
Pleasure of Passion
Several life stories suggest that people found their moment of immense pleasure in something, at some point in their life, which became their passion. People realized that happiness for them was, maybe, playing guitar or joining wires. It gave them satisfaction just as food satisfies hunger. Working for their passion never felt like work but a necessity. Scientifically, it was their neurological need. Such people developed immensely in their area of interest and exercised their control over it. People who understood their passion and worked on it awakened their creativity in their domain.
Sailing through the Unknown Sea
Researches have suggested, that varied experiences infuse more creativity than IQ. For instance, a fervor to learn new things, engagement with unfamiliar activities and exploration of different situations. All of these set the innovative part of the brain on to a treadmill. The more you handle the unknown, the better exercise it is for the creative brain. Several Psychologist’s confirm that, in many countries, periods of creative achievement were often preceded by periods of immigration. With the introduction of new ideas, beliefs, customs and cultural values came new opportunities for creative thought, and a dynamic environment for this thought to grow.
The Imaginary Tutor
Day-dreaming, which is often considered unproductive, also helps in enhancing creative bends of mind. Virtual existence in new and different situations works the same way. Imagining yourself as superman and saving a hypothetical catastrophe is just as effective. The mind still remains active trying to work out strategies. It also helps to uncover your hidden thoughts and deal with your psychological and emotional difficulties.
The Power of Struggle
Misfortunate and traumatizing events have been found to be as much contributing as other factors in awakening the inner creativity. To take it to a lighter tone, we commonly hear Rock-stars becoming stars after encountering a tragic event in life. This doesn’t mean that one must undergo a trauma to be creative. The take-away is that one should consider misfortunes as an opportunity to learn and grow. Even the worst moments in life might bestow the gift of creative insight in you. Few catastrophic events in my own life and the wisdom I gained while struggling to overcome them for years gave me inspiration to start the Winners-Nest blog.
Moments of Solitude
As they say, the best things emerge out of nothingness. The same applies to innovative ideas. Great thinkers are often found sitting in solitude for long hours. Long solitary walks, meditation, living alone for some time, all bring you closer to your inner thoughts. This can also be considered as a break from unnecessary distractions that clutter your brain. No matter how busy I am, I make sure to walk for at least 30min in solitude each night before I sleep. The creative thoughts during such walks ignite my sub conscious mind to find overnight solutions to the complex problem I focused to solve.
Mindfulness
Since observation also plays a very important role in understanding the scope of innovation, one must be mindful of his surroundings. Total awareness provokes ideas to flow in. Researchers suggest that open-monitoring meditation is the best to infuse a creative outlook. Mindfulness simply means acknowledging ideas as they flow in but not focusing on any of them. Instead of a focused approach, mind should be allowed to gently wander. His gives way to divergent thinking and enhances creativity.
Getting rid of Functional Fixedness
Breaking out from routines and trying out new things is a great way of nourishing the brain. Changing from tea to coffee, trying out a new hairstyle, increasing challenges in daily exercises, preparing your sandwich a new way, all these same daily chores done differently every once in a while, generate creativity naturally. Repeating what is convenient and familiar kills the shoots of creative thinking. The idea is not to change yourself but to encourage you to make an extra effort.
Researchers and motivators constantly make an effort to make the life of people better. They devise strategies and discover pathways to develop qualities one aspires. All of this combined with your effort can make absolutely everything possible. Leave complacency, take risks of failures, consider every mishap as a learning lesson and believe that everything is achievable. Enhancing creativity is a minor challenge, one can do much bigger wonders.
The biggest superheroes needed guidance to move in the right direction. They were enlightened with the approach by someone who believed in them. Make Winners Nest your guiding light because I believe that you can. If you need trainers or simple guidance I can show you the techniques you never tried and instil creativity in you. Just be in touch via WhatsApp.
