The ability to be truly creative is a prized and cherished asset of a leader.
According to a study of corporate executives around the world, creativity was found to be the most important leadership quality needed to succeed in todays business world. This view is supported by what is experience daily in the workplace. You regularly have to come up with novel ideas and solutions to challenges at almost a moment’s notice.
However, for many people the creative mood is not something that can be generated with the snap of a finger. It seems that creativity strikes when we least expect. And when we want to be creative, we find it difficult to summon that creative mood.
Thankfully, there are ways in which creativity can be nurtured and you can increase your ability to be creative at all times.
So here are 7 methods for increasing your creative spark.
#1. Get Regular Exercise
Studies have shown that exercise has a major effect in boosting creative thinking, and that this effect can last for several hours.
It is believed that the ability of exercise to put people into a positive mood is linked with the promotion of creativity. Whatever the case, engage in regular exercise to get both the physical and creative stimulation that your body and mind needs to get the creative juices flowing.
#2. Idea-Storm
Another way to boost creativity is to come up with as many ideas as possible about the issue or challenge you are examining. Don’t worry about whether or not these ideas are applicable. Your primary objective is to come up with as many ideas as you can dream up.
The more ideas you come up with, the more you are likely to find a creative solution to your challenge.
#3. Take a Break When Stuck
You can jump start the creative process by taking a break whenever you hit a roadblock. When you return to the problem you will suddenly be able to approach it with a fresh point of view. This is known as the incubation effect, where illumination or insight often takes place on resumption of a task that you have taken a mental break from.
The next time you are in a creative rut, take a break from the task at hand, and you will be surprised to realise that you suddenly have a creative solution to a problem that you previously found challenging.
#4. Adopt a Creative Community
Creativity can be infectious. The more creative people around you, the more likely you are to catch the creative bug.
By surrounding yourself with people who are themselves creative, and by promoting creativity in the workplace and other environs, you too will be inspired to become more creative.
#5. Grow Your Experiences
Having a wide range of varied experiences can make you more creative.
Steve Jobs believed that you can draw creativity from experiences you have personally gone through. It follows therefore that your creative potential will increase with an increase in the number and diversity of your personal experience.
Seek out new experiences. Put yourself in different environments and suddenly your creativity will flourish.
#6. Embrace Absurdity
By letting your mind run wild and by thinking of radical or even absurd ways of addressing an issue, you can jump start creativity.
Because of the restrictive rules and norms that have been imposed on us by society, we often limit our creativity unconsciously. Using your imagination and not letting yourself be bound by every day limitations allows your mind to shift and you see things in novel ways.
#7. Project Yourself Into The Future
Projecting yourself or your issue into the future is another way to boost your creativity. By visualising yourself in the future with the problem solved, you can connect the dots and creatively figure out what you need to do to achieve your goals.
Creativity isn’t something that can be studied in a book or memorised. Your creative mind must be used and exercised regularly to enable it to continue turning out solutions to your everyday problems. These 7 simple steps will help you unleash your creative potential. And your ability to lead your team and your business will increase.
For more information, check out this course that will help to build your creative muscle.