The word Creativity is used a lot in our language and culture these days, but do you consider yourself a creative person?
Being creative can be a scary subject for some, as David Kelley, founder of IDEO related in his TED talk How to Build Your Creative Confidence. To help with making Creativity a less intimidating subject, just look at creativity as a daily part of our lives, in fact, we do it all the time. As Tom Wujec explains in his book Five Star Mind, the creative process is very much like cooking a meal, and we have all experienced that process.
Components of Creativity
There are three main parts to creativity, and when you understand what they are, you will begin to see that in fact you are being creative all the time, and it is something you practice often during your day and during the week. Of course, paying attention to being creative and being mindful of the process can really help us refine what we are doing, recognize and enhance the skill, and feel more confident in its application.
Do something new
The first key ingredient to creativity is doing something new. This doesn’t mean “never been done before”, but can simply mean new to you, your workplace, your family, and maybe new can also mean just a change or iteration on something that already exists. Below in this article, you will find things you can practice today to get this process going and feel more creative. As with any skill, practice, practice, practice is vitally important: the more you do it the better you will get.
Make it real
Secondly, being creative also requires producing something tangible, and real. Distinguish daydreaming, staring at the clouds and thinking up grand ideas. Write your ideas down, draw a sketch, paint a picture, make a prototype mock up out of cardboard and duct tape. There are many ways to get your idea out, but the important thing is that being creative means making your ideas tangible.
Follow a passion
Finally, a big component of creativity is that your subject something you are passionate about. In our over-scheduled lives, finding time to do something for the sheer pleasure of it is really important. Whilst being creative at work is awesome, it is more rewarding and restorative when we can do something just because we enjoy it, without deadlines, or external goals in mind.
One thing you can do today to feel more creative!
To get you started, try this exercise when you have a moment:
- Find yourself a quiet spot and put your phone in airplane mode for a moment
- Close your eyes
- Take a deep breath in, and then release it slowly, and as you do that release your tension and relax your body
- Visualize an apple sitting in front of you
- Start the apple off as a nice green apple
- Now see the apple turning red and maybe having streaks of color alternating between green and red over its skin
- Make the apple turn another color of your own choosing
- Begin to pattern the skin. Do you like swirls, or squares, dots or stars? You choose
You are making a new apple no one has seen or imagined before, it is your very own - Now imagine the apple becoming translucent, you can start to see through it.
Perhaps it becomes made of crystal, or colored glass, or diamond. You can make the most beautiful apple you have ever seen. - Hopefully by now, you are smiling!
- When you are ready, open your eyes and write down a couple of words, or make a quick sketch, to describe your apple idea. Make it as real and tangible as you want.
Just do it
As you go forward in your day, think about those aspects of creativity: of making something new, making it real and having fun doing it.
Being creative is simple, fun, and very powerful in our lives. Try it, practice it, take notice!
