20 Ways To Develop Your Creativity
by
Chris Johnson
(c) Copyright 2012
People often ask me how I come across the different ways that I present my routines on stage. For example, if I take one simple effect of myself influencing your thoughts, I might find an entertaining way to do it by either making you tell me to stop and cut a newspaper clipping at a point I have predetermined.
Alternatively I might subliminally suggest a number to you via a hypnotic method, make you think it was a number of your own choice and then tell you what you are thinking. Or I might make you and your partner both think the same thing and have it look like your partner is knowing what you are thinking (so it appears that he/she has read your mind).
There are other means of expressing creativity also such as in the way we draw, paint, plan holidays and even the way we might sing a song.
Creativity is simply about how we find new ways to solve a problem or approach something. It can help us find something that is original and worthwhile in the solution. It's not restricted to artists, musicians and entertainers as it is a useful skill for people from all areas of life.
I use the word SKILL because it is something that we can all develop and here are some pointers that may help you out.
1. Commit Yourself To Developing Your Creativity
You have to fully immerse yourself in the believe that you can develop your creative abilities. Do not be put off by any "blocks". Set yourself goals and be ready to get help from others. If you put a little time aside each day to developing your skills, you will see results. It is a little like the shampoo ads that say, "It won't happen overnight but it will happen!"
2. Be Curious
I don't mean that you have to become a snoop. More than anything reward yourself for wanting to know more. The more you know about a subject, the more different ways you find to see a solution towards the problem you are trying to solve.
3. Be An Expert
This goes hand-in-hand with the second point. Don't just stop with being curious but experiment and push past what you already know.
4. Play
Playing with an idea or a notion can open up all sorts of doors as that is how you are likely to accidentally find something new that may have been previously unrealised by others. Simply being out playing (on the same line of thought) can relax the mind enough that it allows new ideas to pop out spontaneously.
5. Use Your Memory
Everyone has been creative at one time or another. Think about times in the past when you have been at your most inspired. As a kid, when I did most of my writing of stories, I used to find that listening to the radio was when most of my ideas came about. 10 years ago, I was thinking about that and then happened to have heard one of the songs on the radio that used to play back in the 1980s. Listening to that song for about three minutes was enough to set off some new ideas for me as I found myself back in the same state that I used to enjoy as a teenager.
6. Reward Your Creativity
When you have had an awesome idea and written it down or even put it into action, give yourself a reward. Take a trip to your favourite place, eat your favourite food or have your favourite drink. Enjoy some time with your partner, if you like. Just get out and enjoy yourself simply for having had that awesome flash of creativity. Doing so will help to boost the next creative streak.
7. Sometimes Creativity Is Its Own Reward
Some people find that simply having been in the process of creative thinking and action is a reward in itself. You can tell that by the amount of love that has been imbued in some works of art such as that by Michelangelo or Leonardo Da Vinci.
8. Take Risks!
I don't mean take a running leap in front of an oncoming car. However when building your creative skills, you may need to take some kind of small risk in order to move to the next level.
9. Smile At Your Mistakes!
If you take risks, chances are that you may make a mistake. Smile with yourself for it because it is actually how we learn as human beings. We made mistakes when learning how to walk but we never gave up, did we? And look at how most of us are now! Even Thomas Edison had 10,000 failures before he successfully created the light bulb. He saw it simply as 10,000 ways to not make a light bulb... and just as well because otherwise we might be watching television by candlelight if he gave up!
10. Avoid Negative Influences
There is nothing worse than having a negative person who is around sucking that creative juice out of us and infecting our minds with their own pettiness. Well, okay, maybe two of them would be worse. However remember that positive moods help our creativity and so can being in a positive place. Get away from everything that holds you back.
11. Make Time To Be Creative
Set up a time to be away from all distractions. Give yourself time to relax, chill, and be alone with your thoughts so they can play.
12. Warmth
Being in a warm bath or shower is good for creativity too. Just don't fall asleep in it.
13. Brainstorm For Inspiration
Brainstorming or Mind Mapping is a common technique and I learned it in my final year of university while studying public relations. Start by freeing your mind of negative ideas and self-judgement and free write whatever comes to mind. If I gave you the word CAR for example, you might write about everything you associate with it... such as wheels, rubber, exhaust, engine, petrol, oil, coolant, antenna, radio, stereo, mp3, music, gearstick, backseat, sex, windows, steam. When you get stuck, go to one of the words you wrote down and then write down what you associate with each of them. The idea is to write down as many ideas as you can in as short a time as possible. Try it and see how much fun it is! When you have done that, focus on making those ideas and thoughts more clear until you have refined them into something that resembles a solution.
14. More Than One Way To Skin A Cat
Watch out, Tibbles! Seriously, realise that there is more than one solution to a problem. Take for example how humans have wanted to fly for so long. Before the Wright Brothers turned a bicycle into an aeroplane, we had other ways of getting in the air such as hot air balloons and gliders.
15. Consider Different Angles
When approaching a problem, ask the question, "What if...?" If you take a specific approach, what will be its outcome. By looking at different alternatives beforehand, you will be able to develop creative solutions to problems. Take for example the man who invented the flame thrower. There was someone who wanted to burn someone without using a match!
16. Look For Inspiration
Never expect creativity to just happen - at least not when you want it to happen. Look for new sources of inspiration that will give you fresh ideas and motivate you to generate unique answers to questions. Read a book, visit an art gallery, surf the net, listen to your favourite music or engage in a long conversation with a friend. Utilise whatever works best for you.
17. Embrace Your Mistakes
Similar to loving your mistakes, this one means that if you do make a mistake, ask yourself, "Whats the best that can come of this?"My high school science teacher once told me, as part of his class, to never be afraid of mistakes as some of the world's best discoveries were the results of accidents.As an example, superglue itself was a mistake. It was originally an attempt to create a plastic rifle sight. The same for Post-Its. The chemist who made them was originally trying to create an adhesive that was stronger than any other. Instead he created a weak adhesive that was re-usable.
18. Try the Snowball Technique
Sometimes one awesome idea leads on to another. It just can't help itself. If the idea you come across isn't a match for your current project, put it to the side and work on it later or implement it in another project in future.
19. Creative Diary
Keep a journal of your ideas, good or bad. Just write them down. They may not make sense at the time but when you come to them later, another piece of inspiration may come to you and that little thread may be just what you need.
20. Find New Ways
Okay, so you found an awesome idea that will solve the problem. Challenge yourself and try to find some new ways to do it. As I mentioned before, there is more than one way to skin a cat but why skin the cat for its warm coat when you can shear the sheep which grows more wool for more coats?
These are just 20 ways that you can stimulate your creativity. However there are other ways as well so don't just stop there. You probably know of many more yourself that you use. Think back to your creative times and think about what you were doing at that time. What were you touching, where were you sitting or standing? What colours were around you? What smells were in the air?
Do whatever works for you. If nothing seems to work, look for new ways to stimulate it. Simply by looking for alternative methods is creative in itself.
Please feel free to share some of the ways you stimulate your creativity here.
ESPecially Best Wishes,
Chris Johnson - Mentalist
Chris Johnson is an Australian Mind-Reader, performing as a mentalist and psychic illusionist at corporate and special events around Australia. His work is based around what is possible with the human mind when its potential is tapped and utilised.
