The Unreasonable Man, Ten Ways to Be More Creative
By Lesley Charalambides
How many times have you thought, 'We need to stand out from the crowd' or ' We need to think 'out of the box''. There are times when we need to be extra creative - but how? Isn't creativity something you're born with? Is it something you can learn?
Have you had the experience of driving somewhere, but you're not really aware of it - you know you were watching the traffic but when you get to the destination you don't remember the journey? Your mind has got stuck on one pathway, it's so familiar you just don't register it any more. And there's the clue. How can we be more creative? By dodging those pathways, going round under, over and through the box, any way so long as we're not stuck IN it!
Here are ten things you can do to help you get started being more creative.
1. Eat ice cream for breakfast - or chocolate cake - or raw fish - anything so long as it isn't what you usually have. Stimulate your senses of touch, smell and taste in a different way to get your brain working along different pathways. If all else fails, just go home a different way.
2. Drink lots of water. When you don't have enough water your brain gets sluggish. If you feel sleepy in the afternoon, it could well be dehydration. The Institute of Medicine says we need 2.2 litres or 9 cups of water a day. Most people don't get that much.
3. Keep a notebook to record your thoughts. Not just so you don't forget them. Writing something down makes it more real to you, therapists use this all the time by getting patients to write letters but not to mail them. As far as the brain is concerned what needs to be said has been said if it has been written down.
4. Activate the other side of your brain. Try writing with your left hand for 1-2 minutes every day.
5. When you have an idea, test it, until you do, it's just an idea.
6. Have an idea quota. Edison had one - minor invention every ten days, major invention every six months, The brain responds to the demands placed on it, so make demands.
7. Power naps - Edison was a big fan; he found he had his most creative thoughts when napping or just after.
8. Mastermind teams. Regular brainstorming sessions with other people can increase everyone's creativity. And they can be fun.
9. Hard thinking and soft thinking. You can't do any thinking unless you set aside the time to think. That's 'hard' thinking time, but follow that with some 'soft thinking time' when you do something else, something which forces you to use your brain differently so your unconscious mind can go on thinking about the problem uninterrupted. Anything where you have to co-ordinate in some way is ideal, playing an instrument or dancing - or sailing was Einstein's hobby.
10. Believe. Not just in yourself - but if you don't think you can be creative, then not too surprisingly you can't. Our brains just love to be right, so to help you do that your brain will come up with ideas and then censor them - that's not how it's done, it would never work, it's not practical. It all starts with the belief. You have to believe you can be creative before you can be creative.
It's easy to accept that things are the way they are for a reason. That there's no reason to rock the boat, that being negative about something is not constructive, that being creative, is just too difficult.
Think about this -
George Bernard Shaw made a great point when he said 'The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.'
Should everything stay safely the same, or will you stop accepting the world the way it is and start being creative? Buy the notebook, take the nap, drink the water and eat the ice cream. Get your creative juices flowing. Let today be the say you stop accepting the world as it is, and start shaping it as it should be. Let today be the today you become the unreasonable man.
About the Author:
Lesley Rice Charalambides is an entrepreneur and author. Originally from Scotland, Lesley was an IT consultant for more than 20 years before she freed herself from the 9 to 5. She now lives in Florida with her husband, two children and two dogs. Lesley has a number of business interests which she monitors via the internet, including Certain Style, a company specializing in luxury and bridal nightgowns. Lesley enjoys writing informative articles about e-business and how families can become location independent. You can follow her blog at http://www.luxury-nightwear.com. |
