8 Ways to Tap Into Your Creativity

Everyone has the capacity to be creative. It’s one of our greatest strengths as humans. Some people have a greater gift for creativity than others, but you’ll never know how creative you can be unless you take steps to maximize it. It’s easy to understand what it takes to become more skilled at hitting a golf ball. It’s not quite as clear how someone should go about increasing their skill at creating. Fortunately, creativity is an important topic and science has much to tell us. Also, the most creative people throughout history have been willing to share their thoughts.

Make the most of your talent for creativity with these ideas:

1. Get into a new environment. Many authors write in hotel rooms. Many painters have studios separate from their homes. Your creativity won’t be at the highest level in the places you spend the most time. A new environment can spark your creativity. If you’re feeling creatively stuck, go someplace new for a few days.

• • Your normal hangouts stimulate your normal thoughts and thinking. Shake up your routine.

2. Be prolific. Most ideas are relatively worthless. That’s okay. It just means you have to generate a lot of ideas to find a good one. Some comics have stated they have to write a hundred jokes to get one keeper. Songwriters make similar claims.

• • Whether you’re looking for a solution to a problem, creating a new gadget, or writing a symphony, be willing to wade through a lot of bad ideas until you find one good one.

3. Leave a thread for the following day. There’s a case to be made for calling it a day before you run out of ideas. That leaves something for your mind to ponder the following day. For example, more than one famous author has claimed they like to quit for the day after they’ve gotten some work done, but still know what they’re going to write next.

• • Avoid exhausting your ideas before you’ve had time to come up with more. Know how you’re going to proceed and then sleep on it.

4. Become an expert in your field. Studying the masters of your field will give you a greater depth of knowledge. Be an expert in your field and you’ll have a greater chance of developing meaningful ideas.
5. Change your routine. Take a new path to work, carpool, or call an Uber. Eat new foods. Change your evening routine. Shake up your world and you’ll think new thoughts. You’ll also be surprised by how uncomfortable it is to change all of these little things around.
6. Create solitude. It’s next to impossible to be creative when you’re constantly interrupted. Find a quiet, inspiring place to do your creative work. Turn off your electronic devices and be creative.
7. Try being bored. Boring activities encourage daydreaming and reduce the activity of the logical parts of the brain. With your logical centers taking a back seat, your creativity can shine through.
8. Be creative when you’re the least alert. It might seem logical that you’d be most creative when your brain is most active, but science has shown the opposite is true.

• • For example, if you’re a morning person, your best ideas will come at night. That also means you should make good use of the time immediately before falling asleep and after awakening.

You can make the most of your creative gifts. There are well-established tips for increasing your creative powers. You never know precisely when a brilliant idea will hit, so increase the odds in your favor. Tap into your creativity today.