If you can be creative, you can be successful. Why? Because to stay on top of virtually any field or topic of study, new ideas are the key to being relevant. Being able to think outside the box and come up with unique ideas is what sets some of the most successful people apart from the rest. That’s because moving forward in your career or hobby means learning new things and trying out ideas that you’ve never used before.
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While it’s one thing to understand that creativity can make you successful, it’s another to put it to work. No matter how you’re trying to be more creative, these tips and tricks should help you out. If you still have a hard time being creative, consider seeing a professional, who can help open you up to new ideas.
1. Foster A Positive Environment
No one can be creative when they are not in a positive working environment. Research shows that happy people are much more creative than unhappy people, so if you want to be creative, it’s important to find something to be happy about, both at work and at home.
The experts suggest nurturing your own personal happiness by making time to do the things that make you happy and keep you feeling positive about life. Take a break from stressful situations and make time for what truly makes you happy in life so that you can maintain a positive and happy mood, even if you have a stressful job or are in a hard life situation.
If you have trouble seeing things from a positive standpoint, consider seeing a life coach or therapist who can teach you new ways of thinking and behaving in situations that are usually conducive to negativity.
2. Try To Relax
Have you ever noticed that you have the best breakthroughs when you are doing something relaxing like going for a walk, taking a shower or just about to fall asleep at night? That’s because when your mind is relaxed and you aren’t really focused on something else, your brain gets the chance to tap into creativity.
Allow for some relaxation time each and every day and you just might notice that you get more and more creative as time goes by. The trick is finding opportunities to relax, which is hard when you have a busy schedule. The most creative people say they get most of their insight when they are walking or otherwise taking a break. Build small pockets into your day for an exercise break, a soak in the bathtub or to simply meditate or sit down without a bunch of pressing things occupying you.
3. Be Consistent
Creativity, like anything else worth pursuing, requires consistency. You’re going to have to make a conscious effort to be creative and give yourself chances to do so. It will be difficult at first because the habit isn’t ingrained, but it will come with time. The more you are creative, the more it will become something you look forward to and make an effort to create time for in your schedule. The trick here is to take the pressure off your creativity. Don’t set deadlines or get impatient with yourself.
Instead, have mercy on yourself and work hard toward creating the right habits, and pretty soon you won’t have to worry about consistency because it will be a natural part of your routine. You might need to add your creativity breaks to your schedule at first so you don’t forget to take a break for your pursuits.
With time, however, you’ll notice that you look forward to your creative opportunities so much that you don’t have to worry about forgetting to include them in your day. Once you make creativity a priority, it will become a normal part of your life.
4. Quit Hitting The Snooze Button
Research shows that when your brain is slightly sleepy and disoriented, it’s more open to creative ideas, so quit hitting the snooze button. Get up out of bed, and let that early morning be the time when you foster your creativity. When you build time into your day that allows you to work on creative pursuits free of pressure and guilt that you need to be doing something else, it’s an easy way to let creativity become a natural part of your routine.
You might even consider setting your alarm just a few minutes earlier and practicing getting out of bed right away instead of hitting the snooze button. Again, this will likely take some practice, and you’ll have good days and bad days, but you might be surprised at just how productive you can be with just a few extra minutes in the day.
5. Spend Time In Nature
Studies have proven time and time again that being in nature has positive effects on your creativity. You could definitely benefit by spending more time outside, whether that means taking a walk in the park or gardening in your own backyard. However, bringing nature in to you has similar benefits. Place houseplants of potted flowers in your home and office, and you’ll notice a boost in mood, which helps generate more creativity.
There are no wrong or right choices, so go with what you like best. Small and large plants and flowers are equally as beneficial, so don’t worry if you don’t have a lot of space to put plants. You might even consider hanging plants to give you more room in your space without having to give up your nature. In addition to helping you be more creative, plants can encourage a healthier lifestyle, which optimizes your brain function, something that is important for healthy creativity.
6. Look For Contradictions
You might be surprised at what kinds of things generate creativity. Sometimes it’s something you would never expect to inspire you. One of the most important things that drive creativity is being able to see things from a new perspective. Giving yourself the chance to see and experience new things gives you new ideas and can drive new creative pursuits.
New places, cultures and people all have the potential to inspire you and help you use your creativity to succeed. This may be out of your comfort zone, but you will be amazed at how much your creativity goes up and how that in turn increases your creativity.
You might not think that creativity and success have anything to do with each other, but multitudes of research studies have proven that the two go hand in hand. In fact, when you can drive out distraction and let your brain wander, you are doing yourself a huge service. You might think these ideas would get in the way of being successful, but with some time and practice, you’ll see that the opposite is actually true.
