Two Key Things You Need To Be More Creative!

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Be More Creative - shown by young girl with paint all over her handsCreativity can be helpful in ALL areas of your life whether at work, dealing with family and friends, planning your finances or simply planning your week. I wonder, where in your life could you do with some creativity right now? What areas aren’t working as well as you’d like? Well, read on to learn 2 key factors to be more creative!

The dictionary defines creativity as “having the ability to create” and “having or showing imagination.” Of course what this means is that we are ALL creative!

BUT the modern world however is full of stresses and complexity which block our creative thinking ability. How? Well, with our minds crammed full of unfinished tasks and thoughts, past upsets and future plans, we don’t have much room for truly creative thought. All too often we’re left feeling trapped and limited in our choices.

And scientific research has repeatedly shown that when we’re stressed or under threat we move into and use the left-hand side of our brain (responsible for logic and rationalizing). Conversely this means we use the right side of our brains less (responsible for creativity and intuition).

So, when we’re stressed our physiology actually makes us less creative! And these days, rushing from one thing to the next trying to cram everything in, sleeping less, worrying more, we spend much of our time ‘stressed’. And therefore not as creative as we could be. We’re busy trying to do more – instead of taking a time out, resting and finding creative solutions to our problems.

No wonder so many people feel stuck! No wonder we keep doing things that make sense logically – but leave us feeling uninspired about life, lost and trapped.

So, what’s the antidote?

Well, here are 2 Key Things you need to be more creative:

1) CURIOSITY. People who are curious find many subjects and topics fascinating – they naturally ask questions and find inspiration. One fact or idea triggers another.

And while we may think creativity is coming up with brand new ideas and concepts, most inventions these days are variations on ideas that already exist, just put to new use. I call this ‘sideways’ thinking – and it can help you make improvements to your life too. So use curiosity to help you approach life differently – and more creatively.

“The most important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them.” Sir William Bragg

2) PEACE, QUIET and RELAXATION. When our minds are constantly filled with noise, thoughts, worries, tasks, complaints etc. we easily become overloaded. Our mind contracts in order to protect itself, seeing fewer options and limiting us.

Peace and relaxation allow our minds to clear and rest, creating space. And in this space we find our creative mind. We actually get to hear our ideas because the competing thoughts and external noise has ceased. If you’ve ever had an idea while totally relaxed or perhaps last thing at night/first thing in the morning you’ll know what I mean.

SO, WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO TO BE MORE CREATIVE? Simply take time out during your day or week – as little as 5-15 minutes – to pause, relax and get curious. In fact this is actually a form of meditation – inquiry, but what I’m talking about here is quiet time where you ask yourself questions and are open to new ideas. It may just be enough to give you a boost, to help you think beyond the conventional and make some really creative changes in your life.

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” Ellen Parr

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