ARE YOU CREATIVE?

WHAT IS CREATIVITY?

Creativity is the ability to associate two disparate ideas or a process of meeting criteria in ways that aren't apparent and thinking in ways that other people haven’t considered or thought of before.

Creativity is also seen as a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed. i.e, a process of bringing something new into existence that challenges prevailing assumptions. It’s fundamental to human existence.

SKILLS OF CREATIVITY

• The Adventurer, whose Improvisational Creativity is exemplified by photographers, jazz musicians, and talented sports figures

• The Navigator, whose Adaptive Creativity show up in determined inventors and impressionist painters

• The Explorer, whose Catalytic Creativity is like that of Walt Disney and many serial entrepreneurs and successful marketers

• The Visionary, whose Futuristic Creativity is represented by internet gurus, prophets, and strategists

• The Pilot, whose Strategic Creativity we see in skilled project managers and organizational designers.

• The Inventor, whose Paradigm Shifting Creativity is found in philosophers and architects

• The Diplomat, whose Collaborative Creativity is revealed by humanitarians, civil rights activists and caring leaders

• The Poet, whose creativity is thoughtful counsel

WHERE DOES CREATIVITY COME FROM?

For most people, creative thinking is a process, and one that is best manifested when it isn’t forced. If you’ve ever been in a brainstorming session, you know how hard it is to come up with new ideas on the spot, but given the rapid introduction of new products, services, and apps today, companies must constantly be looking for ways to push the envelope and improve—or risk getting surpassed by their competitors.

More and more companies are trying to develop and hone their creative processes and environments in order to facilitate creative thinking, which begs the question: where exactly does creativity come from? People are focused. People are creative by nature. Is it nature or is it nurture? Are there lighting bolts of inspiration that hit us out of the blue? Is creativity the same as going to work (meaning, it just happens when you show up to do it)?

There are so many studies, so many business books, so many more questions on this, specific, topic. One thing we do know: When we see something creative, it typically sits with us. We remember it. We talk about it. We share it with others. We are all in this creative business. For the most part, we're all trying to get our ideas (which, at their core, are creative) to be heard.

The average person’s mind is often too busy dealing with distractions and the “executive functions” of the body to be creative, but when relaxed and free from distractions, the brain is more available to make those connections.

Steve Jobs once said, “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it; they just saw something and it seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.”

Although it sometimes feels this way, ideas don’t just come to you out of nowhere; they’re influenced by knowledge you already possess and your personal experiences. Regardless of how much you know or how much you’ve done, however, you can’t just force your brain to make those connections and come up with new ideas whenever you want. Having time to get into that relaxed and creative state of mind is crucial for being able to think of new ideas, because the less distracted we are, the more available our minds are to make different associations.

CREATIVITY ON THE DECLINE

A new research in 2012 by StrategyOne conducted as an online survey, reveals a global creativity gap in five world's largest economies, the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan. The research shows 8 in 10 people feel that unlocking creativity is critical to economic growth and nearly two-thirds of respondents feel creativity is valuable to society, yet a striking minority of only 1 in 4 people believe they are living up to their own creative potential.

Japan ranked highest in the global tally as the most creative country while conversely, Japanese citizens largely do not see themselves as creative. Globally, Tokyo ranked as the most creative city (except among Japanese) with Newyork ranking second. Outside of Japan, national pride in each country is evident, with residents of the United Kingdom, Germany and France ranking their own countries and cities next in line after Japan.

The middle east is also not left out, as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are quietly catching upwith the rest of the world, and regarded as highly creative with their innovative buildings and tourist attrations that has grabbed the world's attention in more ways than one ranging from the Burj Al Arab (the world's most luxurious hotel), the Burj Khalifa (the tallest man made structure on earth) to the Dubal mall (the largest mall in the world), amongst other fascinating infrastructures. Qatar likewise is creating milestones especially in flying, is regarded as the next attraction of the middle-east

Despite high level of creativity, these ace countries are generally concerned about their creativity gap/decline especially in the workplace (75% of respondents said they are under growing pressure to be productive rather than creative). And in education (More than half of those surveyed feel that creativity is being stifled by their education systems), and many believe creativity is taken for granted (52% globally, 70% in the United States).

NURTURING YOUR CREATIVITY

Nurturing your creativity and boosting your intuitive awareness are essential to living a creative life. When you give yourself the right internal tools and external environment in which to flourish creatively, you will see the difference in your creative practice and the full on effect in every area of your life. Read on for 10 simple ways to nurture creativity and boost your intuitive awareness starting today.

1. Pursue interests that energize you.
   Do things that light you up inside and give you natural energy. Some tasks naturally drain us while others fill us with amazing energy. Find what things work for you and make a point to do them every single day to boost your energy and nurture creativity.

2. Take time out for regular meditation and reflection.
   When you meditate, you calm your mind, allow the endless chatter to subside and give yourself a chance to refresh. Meditation heightens your intuitive awareness making you more open taking in everything around you, which in turn nurtures your creativity.

3. Experiment with creative materials.
   Take some time out to experiment with your creative materials. You don’t need a master plan or end goal, just play and see what happens. You’ll be surprised at what comes out. Every time you experiment creatively, you are nurturing and growing your creative capacity.

4. Get plenty of sleep.
   Getting a good nights rest is essential to nurturing your creativity and boosting your intuitive awareness. Good rest helps the mind function at full capacity and makes you sharper and more open to creative opportunities throughout the day.

5. Do something special for yourself once a week.
   Do something just for you once a week. When you’re rushing from one thing to the next, you often don’t give yourself the opportunity to indulge, but it’s important that you do. It could be a trip to a local art gallery, morning tea at your favorite café or just an afternoon spent reading a good book at the park. Indulging yourself once a week will provide some much needed creative inspiration and the calmness of mind to take it all in.

6. Spend some time in nature.
   Give yourself the gift of time in nature. It could be anything from a leisurely walk along the beach to a hike through the mountains. Get out there and experience everything our wonderful world has to offer. The benefits to your creativity and intuitive awareness are limitless.

7. Take up a hobby just for fun.
   Not everything you do needs to be tied to a goal or special outcome. Take up a hobby just for fun and enjoy the moment for what it is. By living in the moment you’ll boost your awareness and facilitate the flow of creative ideas.

8. Exercise your imagination.
   Exercise your imagination by giving yourself a fun creative challenge every day. A great way to start is with this simple game. Simply pick a random word like “cat” and a random creative medium like “painting,” and give yourself the challenge of creating something with those two parameters in mind. Exercising your imagination like this every day will nurture creativity and boost your creative abilities long term.

9. Start a daily yoga practice.
   A daily yoga practice will center you while fulfilling the needs of your mind, body and spirit. Yoga is a great way to nurture creativity by clearing the clutter from your mind. It will also gradually improve your intuitive awareness.

10. Read every day.
    When you read, you are exposed to the amazing ideas of others and bring them into your consciousness where they brew alongside your own thoughts to create something magical. Read every day to fill yourself with knowledge and inspiration that will nurture creativity.

THE BENEFITS OF CREATIVITY

• Freedom: There is no right or wrong way to be creative. When we create, it gives us the opportunity to engage with the world without judging ourselves. To return to the feeling of freedom we may have experienced during childhood. Where we did not have to know or be an expert. It gives us permission to take risks, try new things, and strip away inhibitions in a healthy way.

• Self-awareness and Expression: Creativity is the route to authenticity. As we create we begin to access our thoughts, feelings and beliefs. When we take the time and energy to develop our own ideas, we learn to understand, trust and respect our inner self, in turn enabling us to better express ourselves. You may be surprised at the resources, thoughts and impulses that you discover there.

• Faith and confidence in our instincts: When we create, we may start to value our work, even if it is not published, displayed or presented to the public. We can learn to trust our instincts and gain confidence from expressing them. This confidence carries over into decisions we make in other areas of life.

• Stress Relief: Being creative is meditative: Taking the time to use our hands, minds, and energy doing something we enjoy and that makes us happy is of highest importance in life. Creativity is fun, and doing anything that brings joy reduces our stress levels and improves our quality of life.

• Problem solving: There isn't a manual to being an artist, and there isn't a manual for being alive. Obstacles and challenges throughout life are inevitable. However, when we make creativity a habit, we continue to learn new, resourceful ways of solving problems in our artwork, and in life.

HOW TO BOOST YOUR CREATIVITY

• As with any of the personal strengths, you can boost creativity simply by paying more attention to it and intending to incorporate more of it into your life.

• Tap into your child-self and look for ways to be more playful, to make your tasks more fun.

• Try changing a habitual pattern. Take a different route to work, for example, and notice what you see; urban meditation.

• Spend time outside. Being in natural settings taps into all five senses, energizes the body, and, most importantly, stimulates the imagination.

• Renew an old hobby. Dig out your old guitar or your scrap booking supplies.

• Start a new hobby. Keep a journal. Record your dreams. Try your hand at writing stories or poems.

• Buy some art supplies and play.

• Expose yourself to more arts. Visit galleries and museums; go to concerts and the theatre.

• Free-associate. Try this game: Open the dictionary to a random word and write down everything it makes you think of.

• Write freely. Take 10 minutes to jot down anything and everything that comes to mind without judgment, a technique called ‘free-writing’ or ‘free association’. Then go back over the notes and see which ideas are worth keeping.

• Read biographies of musicians, dancers, artists, scientists, business leaders.

• Listen to music; listening to music stimulates the part of our brain that controls motor actions, emotions, and creativity.

• Exercise the eyes. Moving the eyes back and forth facilitates interaction between the right and left hemispheres of the brain, which may boost creative thinking

• Don’t expect perfection. Putting pressure on ourselves to produce something outstanding can actually make it harder to create anything at all. A lot of people sort of secretly feel, ‘I’m not creative,’ but everyone is creative to a certain degree.

• Create a treasure chest. Collect a bunch of inspiring items (photos, quotations, etc.) Take random photos.

FINAL NOTE

You are a lot more creative than you think. Some of us become scared to freely express ourselves due to not wanting others to judge us, which then leads on to judging ourselves and making decisions based on what we think someone else would approve of. I suppose at this point, a lot of us quash our creativeness. Another factor is the fear of failure, if you tried something out and failed, don't be discouraged... Most if not all those successful people you respect and try to emulate didn't get there instantly. Awaken the creativity in you, we need/want what you have to offer!