You’re more creative than you think
By: Felicity Thompson
Tags: Creativity, Creative Writing, Mind, Thinking, Productivity

For most of my life I denounced my personality as analytical and logical, without a creative bone in my body.

I suppose I put this blind acceptance down to my inability to produce anything remotely lifelike in art lessons, but I guess I will never know.

What I do know, though, is that creativity is about more than just the ability to draw.

What I also know is that I AM creative, but it manifests itself differently than it does in, say, my artist housemate.

It has taken me starting a career as a copywriter at the ripe old age of 25 to realise that being incapable of drawing does not mean that I am uncreative.

I no longer panic when I have to come up with my own ideas, writing off my ability to come up with anything interesting or unique.

And neither will you, if you remember these 5 things:

1. Be open to inspiration from the most unexpected places

I am literally now that person who writes down ideas as soon as they come to my mind, no matter where I am.

We all know that sitting outside under a tree is where the best ideas are supposed to come from, but in reality every single place you go can inspire creativity — if you let it.

It is also not cheating to take inspiration from the people that you admire. Obviously, I am not condoning copying in any way, but even Picasso had his mentors, probably.

Taking inspiration from experiences you have and leaders in your field is by far the best way to grow. So:

· If you notice someone else doing something amazingly, let it inspire you.

· If you suddenly wonder why an animal is acting a certain way, keep wondering — and take notes.

· If you get into an argument with a stranger, be inspired by their different way of thinking.

2. Creativity can be learned

As Steve Jobs once said: “Creativity is just connecting things.”

We all make sense of things differently, so embracing that fact is a simple way to think creatively.

My train of thought will be hugely different from yours, even when we both look at the same object, so we will gain two very different, equally creative ideas from it.

We are constantly learning, so the potential for new ideas is always ongoing! Even if you have two awful ideas, the result of their connection might be incredible!

So, practise connecting the things around you in weird and wonderful ways, and creativity will become second nature.

3. Create in the morning

This might go against the routine of the night owl, as I know that many people work better at other times, but there is actually a scientific reason behind the early-birds-are-more-creative philosophy.

It has something to do with the fact that our prefrontal cortex (creative brain) is most active in the morning, and that its activity deteriorates throughout the day.

I use the first few hours of every day to come up with the most difficult ideas that will need the most creativity, because that finite amount of prefrontal cortex activity I have during the day makes it much easier to connect my ideas in creative ways early on.

4. The more you come up with new ideas, the better they are

It took me about 2 months to come up with an idea for something to write on here.

I knew I wanted to write, but I never felt particularly taken by any idea, and was also waiting for my lightbulb moment.

I tried random noun generators (as suggested by someone) but soon gave up on that idea when I reminded myself that “I am just not creative”.

But, when I finally decided to just write something, anything, (and stopped thinking it had to be the next Macbeth), I found that each idea led to another, and suddenly I was actually finding some creativity inside me!

The best thing I have discovered is that creativity is like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it becomes.

I had always had an ongoing list of ideas, but none of them seemed great enough to spend time on, until I actually tried.

Which brings me on to my most important point:

5. Your ideas are GOOD

Perhaps they aren’t, obviously I have no idea. But they are most likely better than you think they are.

Just stop thinking and start DOING. Whether you want to paint, write or invent new tech, creativity won’t happen if your imposter syndrome stops you even trying.

And, if the ideas aren’t that good, you will soon find out, and then you can move onto the next one!

And the next one will be bigger and better, guaranteed.

So, go get creative!

We don’t all have to be Big-C creatives, with Nobel prize winning ideas. In fact, we can’t all be, because then the award would mean nothing.

But even the most analytical of mindsets can unlock their creativity by being constantly inquisitive, connecting unique ideas together and actually starting to create.