The 5 Golden Nuggets For Your Creativity

Are you creative juices drying up? Do you feel like it’s just too difficult to come up with new ideas? Believe it or not, creativity is not something that only comes and goes with a Muse. Creativity can be generated and conjured simply by becoming active.

Here are three terrific ways to stir up your creativity and generate fresh inspiration today:

1) Spend A Day Out

If you are always in the office, you probably hardly ever stop to take the time to get out. Make a “play” date with yourself. Visit a local museum or take a trip to an aquarium. Do something totally out of the norm. You’ll feel inspiration stirring soon!

2) Get A Hobby

Do you always feel overworked? If you don’t take time for yourself, you’ll constantly be stressed out. A hobby can not only help relax you, but take your mind off work for a while.

3) Go For A Walk

Studies have shown that exercise helps to promote creativity. If you’re feeling especially low on ideas, put on your walking shoes and head outside for a 2-0-minute walk. Bring a pocket notebook or camera to capture ideas as they come to you.

4) Listen To Classical Music

Great classicals can stir your creativity like nothing else can. Go for Beethoven or Bach. Close your eyes for the first few minutes as you allow the musical notes to waft over you.

5) Solve A Problem

If your lack of creativity right now is mostly due to a personal problem, there’s only one way around it. Grab a pen and paper and write down the problem. Now brainstorm ways to solve that problem.

Creative Flavor Through Your Everyday Routine

We often link creativity to artistic pursuits, but we can add a dose of creativity to our everyday activities too. In this way, we are able to make our entire lives more creatively inspired, rather than saving creative inspiration for those odd moments when we have time to engage in creative activities.

Below you’ll find simple and effective ways to weave creativity into your daily activities:

Bring natural beauty indoors. Flower arrangements or mini-fountains are good ways to bring a creative flavor to a mundane setting. Stop by a floral shop on your way to work and buy a small arrangement of flowers to beautify your workspace, or stop after work and buy some for your home.

Even better, buy a few small arrangements and mix and match them to create something entirely new. Buy a mini-fountain or build one out of river rocks, and let the trickle of water soothe and inspire you.

Surround yourself with color. Experiment with different colors and pay attention to how they make you feel. You may discover, for example, that red makes you feel more empowered and inspired, so you might wear a red scarf or tie on the days when you feel out of touch with your creativity.

If your job is very stressful, try placing a lavender-scented candle in your workspace. Even if you can’t light it, you can look at the soothing color and take a whiff of the calming scent from time to time.

Shake up your routine. If you always visit the same coffee shop in the morning and order the same flavored coffee and the same plain bagel with cream cheese, why not try something new? Leave earlier and visit a diner for a hearty breakfast of eggs or pancakes. Try taking a different route home, or find a local park and take a walk before heading home.

Visit your local library some Saturday morning and explore new subjects. The more you can open your mind to new experiences, the richer and more creative your life will seem.

Just add music. Rather than doing chores and driving in silence, why not turn on some pleasing music? Even better, explore different types of music than you may be used to. Try hard rock while exercising, or opera while taking a bubble bath. Or if you usually listen to music, try tuning into a radio talk show to open your mind to new ideas and alternative views.

Engaging your mind and emotions while performing mundane activities can make the time seem to pass faster while also stimulating your creativity.

Spice up your diet. If you’ve gotten into the rut of eating the same old foods every day, try including new foods to tantalize your taste buds. Buy a book of interesting recipes or take a cooking class to experiment with different dishes. Ask friends with different ethnic backgrounds to share some of their favorite recipes with you, and share some of your favorites with them.

Visit new restaurants in your area and try menu choices that you wouldn’t ordinarily order. Since food is such a large part of our daily lives, expanding your food choices is a great way to add flavor and richness to your ordinary activities.

3 Ways to Make Creative Activities More Fun

As adults, we often get wrapped up in the seriousness of our everyday responsibilities and lose touch with that light, joyful part of us that used to laugh and play.

As a result, we lose touch with our creative side and we begin seeing our creative pursuits as very serious business too. Instead of enjoying creative activities, we approach them with the expectation of perfection, and get frustrated if our creations don’t match the vision we expect to see.

Remember when you were a child and you dove into creative projects just because they were fun? You didn’t care if your creations weren’t perfect because you actually enjoyed creating them. Your parents probably hung them on the refrigerator and proudly displayed them to family and friends, which filled you with pride and satisfaction.

You can recapture that sense of freedom and lightness again by purposely making your creative activities fun. Here are three simple ways to do that:

Get silly. Instead of trying to make a “serious” piece of art, act like a kid again. Make a finger-painting, construct something funny with clay, make some macaroni necklaces, or trace your hand and make a “turkey.”

Sitting in front of a mirror trying to draw a self-portrait can easily get you giggling uncontrollably; or if you’re already accomplished at sketching or drawing, try doing a caricature of yourself. With any of these activities, don’t worry about what the creations look like afterwards. Just have fun with the process of creating them.

Get outrageous. Make it your mission to be as bold and unorthodox with your creations as you can. Try making an abstract painting, writing a dirty limerick, or experimenting with new dance moves. Let go of your inhibitions and step away from known or traditional ways of doing things.

Let your creative vision burst forth in riotous color and come up with something completely original. Remember, no one has to see your creations but you! The more you can enjoy the process of creating them, the less you will care what they look like when you’re done.

Get emotional. Try infusing strong emotion into your creations. Imagine that you want to express your emotions in your artwork, so that anyone looking at it would know instantly what you were feeling at the time you created it. Use colors, shapes, words, numbers, and symbols to express strong feelings of love, anger, hate, sadness, joy, or anything else you wish to express.

Consider which colors express your emotions most accurately, and then use them boldly. Also experiment with different mediums. For example, you might want to write when you’re feeling sad, and paint when you’re feeling inspired.

There are many more ways to make creative pursuits fun; we have covered just a few of them. The most powerful way to have fun with your creativity is simply to let your heart lead you. Visit a hobby or craft store, and pick up a kit to try something new.

Buy a book about a creative activity you’d like to learn. Then simply spend time playing with it each day. Before long, you’ll have forgotten all about any notion of perfection and instead will have tapped that childlike joy of creative inspiration again.

3 Simple Ways to Stimulate Your Creative Inspiration

When you’re not used to tapping your natural creative flow, it can seem incredibly difficult to awaken it. You may be so used to working long hours, dealing with problems, fighting traffic, or living your life on autopilot that you’ve forgotten how it feels to be creative and inspired.

You may be surprised to learn that awakening your creative inspiration can be a simple and quick process, if you use the right activities to do so.

Below are three simple suggestions for stimulating your creative inspiration.

Exercise. Exercise helps your body release all those feel-good endorphins that benefit you in so many ways. Besides better health and clearer thinking, your creative inspiration is naturally triggered by physical activity. Not just any physical activity, but those that make you feel happy and energetic.

Try walking briskly through a natural setting, dancing to upbeat music, or even engaging in a more soothing exercise like yoga. After your exercise session, spend a few minutes gently stretching your muscles and relaxing your body. Not only will you feel wonderful physically, but your senses will awaken and your creative inspiration will flow more naturally.

Meditate. Meditation is great for stress relief and spiritual pursuits, but it can also create a harmonious environment for your creative inspiration. In order to tap into your creativity, you need to feel relaxed, peaceful and happy. Meditation can easily help you achieve this, and it’s not as complex as you might fear. Meditation can be as simple as sitting quietly with your eyes closed for 10 or 15 minutes.

The objective is to quiet your mental chatter and rest in a state of inner peacefulness. This may be challenging at first if you’ve never meditated before, but the more you do it the stronger your mental focus will get. It’s not uncommon for people to start with only 10 minutes of meditation a day, and quickly decide they like it so much that they extend that time to 30 or even 60 minutes! If you stick with it long enough, you’ll notice that not only do you feel more creative, you feel calm and in control in all areas of your life.

Breathe. Deep breathing gets ALL of your energy flowing more freely, which also boosts your creative inspiration. Most of us are shallow breathers, using only a portion of our lung capacity. This is especially true if you have a hectic and stressful life. Get into the habit of taking very slow, deep breaths several times a day and you’ll quickly notice a difference in how you think and feel.

A “deep” breath is one that starts in your abdomen. Place your hand on your tummy and allow it to expand as you begin inhaling. Once your abdomen is expanded fully, continue expanding up through your chest, fully filling your lungs with air. Then slowly exhale until your lungs are deflated. Do this 2 or 3 times, slowly so you don’t hyperventilate and get dizzy.

As you breathe deeply, imagine that you can feel your energy flowing freely through your body, awakening all of your senses. Besides being very relaxing, you’ll quickly notice that deep breathing makes your mind seem sharper and clearer, which helps you more easily tap into your creative inspiration.

Of course, once you’ve awakened your creative inspiration, it’s a good idea to set aside time for the expression of it. Even if you have limited time available, devote a few minutes a day to creative pursuits that make you feel good. By doing so, you keep your creative energy flowing more steadily.

Creative Problem Solving And How To Use It!

Few things in life are more aggravating than having a problem with no clear solution. Whether the problem applies to your personal life, your work, or your financial situation, not knowing what to do about it makes you feel powerless and out of control.

Most of us try to force a solution to appear, which can not only leave us feeling drained, it can result in magnified problems if we act out of desperation and make poor choices.

Rather than continuing to struggle with problems, let your creative insight lead you to the most productive solution. Below you’ll find four simple ways to do that:

See it from a different angle. Most of us view our problems as very rigid and inflexible, when they might not be that way at all. For example, if you are unhappy with your job you might think the only solution is to get another job. If you can’t find a suitable replacement, you will feel trapped and unhappy.

However, your creative insight might reveal other options that would work just as well. You might be able to speak to your boss about changing your duties, revising your work schedule, working from home, or perhaps a simple attitude adjustment could help you enjoy your job more.

You can apply this process to any problem by simply looking at it from a different perspective. Think of your problem and the types of solutions you’d like to have, and consider the possibilities. Turn it upside down in your mind and see if you can find a way to make it work. Start from the solution you’d like to have and work backwards, considering each step needed to make it happen.

Do a puzzle or maze to stimulate your creative juices. Puzzles and printed mazes are great ways to open your mind to new ideas. Because they require a bit of intuition combined with mental strategizing, they naturally tap into your ability to recognize alternate ways of thinking. Set aside your problems and work on a puzzle or maze for a few minutes, and you might find the best solution to your problem lurking within it.

Work on something unrelated to your problem. If you’re stuck on a project at work, switch gears for a few minutes and do something unrelated. Take a break if you can and go out for a walk. Call a friend and chat for a few minutes. Write out a shopping list, balance your checkbook – the activities don’t matter except that they remove your attention from the problem for a few minutes. When you return to your problem, you might be refreshed enough to see another way around it.

Ask the universe for help. Grab your favorite book of quotes (or any other book with gems of wisdom) and hold it in your hands. Think about your problem and mentally ask the universe for assistance in finding a solution. Open the book randomly and let your eyes fall on a passage.

Very often this can trigger an idea you wouldn’t have considered before, which can make all the difference. Whether this insight really comes from the universe, your higher self, or your subconscious mind ultimately doesn’t matter – just the fact that you came up with a viable solution does!

Ultimately it doesn’t matter how you engage your creative thinking ability. You might find that watching television works best for you, or reading a book, taking a shower, or any of the suggestions above.

Go with your gut feelings and believe that a solution to your problem is right around the corner. That alone can make you feel better than believing that a solution doesn’t exist.

Can Creative Thinking Benefit Your Business?

As a business owner, creative thinking is a vital part of what you do on a daily basis. Whether you’re developing new product lines or forming a marketing strategy, your creativity plays a large role in the process.

Very often, your creative side is largely dormant, only peeking out when you’re working on something big. However, you can learn to actively tap your creative inspiration more frequently and use it to benefit your business.

There are many ways to do this, but here are a few to get your creative juices flowing:

Study other creative businesses. If you’ve ever read about a company that started in a man’s basement and grew to a multi-million dollar enterprise, you were likely fascinated and inspired by the story. Spend more time reading stories like this, or simply study other companies on your own.

Observe a small start-up company and see where it goes. Check out their marketing campaigns and product lines. What are they doing that you’re not? What are you doing that they’re not? Don’t try to copy other business models, but rather use them as a source of inspiration for your own ideas.

Revisit procedures now and then. Just because a certain procedure or protocol worked best for your company at one time doesn’t mean it still does. Get into the habit of reviewing your business procedures and see if you can improve upon them. Are you wasting too much time on administrative tasks? Should you be outsourcing certain jobs instead of doing them yourself? Is it time to hire a manager to oversee daily operations so you can free up your time for more creative pursuits?

Get other perspectives. Ask your employees, family members, or colleagues for their thoughts on your business. You can do this for both operational procedures as well as the business itself. Ask them for their opinions on how you might improve your business direction, products, or procedures. You might be surprised by the great ideas you receive, while making your associates feel good that you sought their input.

Think outside the box. As trite as that phrase has become, it holds a true gem of wisdom. By opening your mind to allow in creative ideas, you can make any business venture much more effective, enjoyable, or unique. Rather than following a traditional or normal route in your business activities, consider whether something might be done better in another way.

See if you can expand upon your business ideas, your products, the level of services you offer, or any other aspect of your business. The more you focus on opening to other possibilities, the more ideas you will trigger.

Make room for daydreams. You might think that doing “nothing” is a waste of time and productivity, but time and time again it has been proven to be a lucrative activity indeed! Don’t your best ideas come to you when you’re relaxed? That’s because your mind is naturally more receptive when you’re calm.

In addition, this enables you to more easily connect with your authentic self, from which all creativity flows. Make it a habit to set aside a few hours a week to daydream. Let your thoughts roam randomly, or think about a specific aspect of your business that you want to get insight about.

Don’t try to puzzle out a solution, just let your mind drift. Keep a notepad handy and jot down those ideas as they fly into your conscious awareness!

Starting Your Creative Pursuits

You may think that creativity is all about the physical activities of writing, painting, drawing, or dancing, but creative pursuits are also valuable for what they awaken within you.

When you engage in creative activities, you tap into the essence of yourself. Some might call this your soul, your spirit, or your divine nature. This is the part of you that experiences consciousness, the part of you that loves and laughs and feels joy, and yes, creates. It is the part of you that is the unique expression of who you are at a core level.

When you’re out of touch with this vital part of yourself, your life may take on shades of gray. You may find yourself feeling bored, uninspired, depressed, aimless, or disinterested in just about everything.

When you awaken your authentic self, your life takes on brilliant colors. Everything around you seems brighter and clearer and more robust, including your job, your energy, your relationships, and even the food you eat.

Awakening your authentic self may seem daunting, but only until you realize how simple it can be when engaging in creative pursuits. When you do any creative activity, or even make an effort to think more creatively, you automatically tap into this core essence of yourself.

This can benefit and enhance your life in many ways, but here are just a few:

You feel calmer and happier with yourself. When you are engaged fully with your authentic self, you don’t worry so much about what others think of you. You are able to be genuine in your relationships with others, as well as being honest and respectful with yourself.

You find yourself wanting to do nice things for yourself more often, like taking better care of your body and making time to do things you enjoy. Inevitably, these activities will boost your self-esteem and contribute to a lasting positive self-image. Even better, the better you feel about yourself, the more likely you are to continue taking time to indulge your creative side, which keeps the positive cycle going.

You experience and hold less stress in your body and mind. Even when you’re not actively engaged in creative activities, you may discover that little things don’t seem to bother you as much as they once did. You are better able to let go of unproductive thoughts and unhealthy relationships.

Your authentic self is by nature very peaceful and joyful, and by connecting more frequently with this aspect of yourself you are able to carry these traits into every area of your life. As a result, you are better able to handle stressful moments, as well as let go of the stress when it threatens to take over your life.

You are more in touch with your passion. Passion has the ability to transform nearly any situation in your life, but it is most effective when applied to situations that are unfulfilling in some way.

Perhaps your job has become a bore or your relationships could use a little boost, but you’re not sure what to do about it. Connecting with your authentic self through creative pursuits gets you in touch with your inner passion and awakens your intuition about how to use it effectively. With a little introspection, you’ll know the best steps to take to turn around any dissatisfactory situation, or simply to add more passion to otherwise acceptable situations.

It may seem like too much effort to make time for your creative activities, but once you start incorporating even small changes you will quickly notice a difference in how you feel.

If you take it a step further and make your creative pursuits a high priority, sit back and watch in wonder as your authentic self awakens and takes over your entire life, painting it with rich colors, pleasing scents and meaningful experiences.