We are all creative. It is self evident that some people are more naturally creative than others, but we are all capable of developing our creativity from whatever level it is currently at.

Creativity is about seeing or making new connections. As Albert Szent-Gyorgy, the discoverer of Vitamin C put it, ‘Genius is seeing what everyone has seen and thinking what no one has thought’.

Thousands of books and articles have been written about creativity. The subject is very wide and of course creativity means different things to different people. Picasso’s perspective on the nature of creativity is likely to have been different from that of a business person looking for new ways to market products; certainly the output of their thinking would be different! However, if creativity is essentially about making new connections there are some things we can do to maximise our chances of making such connections.

Here are EIGHT ideas for building your creativity ‘muscle’:

1. Find activities that allow you to express your creative energies…sing, dance, write, draw, design, speak, invent. You are much more likely to be able to be creative when you need to be in your work, if you are regularly giving vent to your creativity in other areas.
2. Spend time wandering and wondering. Look at the things around you (preferably in new environments) and wonder about them. Try to imagine things different to how they are, wonder about the origins of the things – make up your own history for them. Think deeply about the sorts of questions that give you the greatest insights.
3. Ask questions. As Rudyard Kipling put it ‘I keep six serving men, they taught me all I knew, their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who’. Ask questions constantly and don’t accept the first answer you come up with. ‘Why’ questions are especially powerful. Ask four or five levels of why questions and look for patterns in the answers.
4. Practice making new connections.
   Take two randomly chosen objects and look for:
    - ways in which ways in which they are similar
    - ways in which they are different
    - ways in which they can be combined
   Choose from the following list at random to get you started; comb, horse, telephone, book, tree, rabbit, fence, desk, light bulb.
5. Take time out to relax. The brain does its best work when it is relaxed. It often said that the conscious mind is like the tip of an ice berg and that the subconscious and unconscious mind is the much larger submerged part. This is undoubtedly true. So it is important to allow the conscious mind time off. Relax in whatever way works for you – but do it regularly and often. Build fun and relaxation into your schedule.
6. Get and/or stay fit. Exercising regularly has two clear benefits. The brain is usually around 2% of the body’s weight, but uses 20% of its oxygen. The fitter you are, the more efficient the body is at getting oxygen to the brain. The more oxygen in the brain, the better it works. ‘Mens sana in corpore sano’ – a healthy mind in a healthy body.The second benefit relates to the previous point. If you are exercising you are giving your brain an opportunity to relax!
7. Listen to your intuition. Just because an idea appears to come from the ether with no apparent logical basis, it does not mean that it should be rejected. If we stay open to stumilii from all around us and make use of our subconscious minds, ideas are likely to appear as if from nowhere. The trick is to capture the ideas. There will inevitably be a time for analysis and refinement or expansion of ideas; perhaps even rejection of them. However, firstly accept them as being of value, even if you can’t work out where they have come from.
8. Use music. There has been a great deal of research in recent years about the effect of music on thinking and learning. Slow frequency music by seventeenth and eighteenth century composers such as Bach, Vivaldi and Pachelbel is excellent for learning and remembering. Above all it is important to realise that the more you practice being creative, the easier it becomes. We are all creative and can all take steps to unleash that creativity. Higher frequency music is great for revitalising the mind and body. Experiment with music and notice its impact on you and your creativity.

Above all it is important to realise that the more you practice being creative, the easier it becomes. We are all creative and can all take steps to unleash that creativity.

We run a number of one and two day courses that help organisations enhance creativity for individuals or teams. Find out more at www.illumine.co.uk/innovate

Tags: Personal creativity

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