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.

Creativity And Self-Esteem

Whether you consider yourself to be especially creative or not, you can use positive self-esteem to bring a greater flow of creative inspiration into your life. Your self-esteem has a lot to do with your creativity, simply because everything you create contains a little piece of your unique essence.

This means that no two creations can be identical, whether they are paintings, sketches, floral arrangements, or written works. Even if you tried to duplicate a work done by someone else, yours would likely vary even in subtle ways. That’s because with everything you create, you bring your own personal perspective and experiences into the mix.

This is especially interesting when you consider that how you view yourself will be reflected in any of your creative works. If you think poorly of yourself, you might not put forth the same amount of effort and joy and passion into your work as you would with healthy self-esteem.

A poor self-image is usually accompanied by a sense of defeatism, a feeling that there is no point in trying to create anything beautiful because you probably wouldn’t do it right anyway. A poor self-image also nearly guarantees that even if you did create something beautiful, you wouldn’t see it as beautiful. You’d obsess over flaws and inconsistencies, and you would dismiss any compliments others tried to give you about your work.

A healthy self-esteem creates just the opposite effect. With positive self-esteem, you wouldn’t be afraid to engage deeply and meaningfully with your creative self. You would focus more on enjoying the creative process rather than obsessing about getting it “perfect.” You would take pleasure in the act of creating itself, as well as taking pleasure in the finished result of your efforts. You would enjoy the compliments that others give you about your works, and allow yourself to feel good about what you have accomplished.

Here are three simple ways to build your self-esteem and enhance your creativity:

Honor your uniqueness. Most of us spend a large portion of our adult lives trying desperately to blend in and be like everyone else, but eventually we come to the realization that such an intention diminishes our joy. Instead, take time each day to honor yourself for who you are. Let your uniqueness be a plus rather than a minus. Strive to make everything you do your own unique creation, whether you are focusing on mundane chores or work projects or a piece of artwork.

Love the process, not just the end result. Allow yourself to tap into your natural creative inspiration and engage fully with whatever you are doing. Let your creative self lead the way, and don’t worry about perfection or what others might think of you or your work. Allow yourself to enjoy every minute you spend in the act of creation, for it enhances your enjoyment of the end result too. If you don’t enjoy the journey, you won’t enjoy the destination either.

Know you deserve time to yourself. Creative activities are one of the things we tend to eschew when we get very busy or when we struggle with a poor self-image. Since they are typically viewed as unnecessary activities, we feel guilty taking time for something we enjoy doing.

Consider your creative activities as vital to your well-being as breathing and sleeping. Give yourself time to do things you enjoy each day. Affirm and know that you deserve the pleasure you get from exploring and expressing your creative side.

While healthy self-esteem can enhance your creativity, engaging in creative activities frequently can also help boost your self-esteem! Creative pursuits have a way of connecting us with our deeper selves in profound and beneficial ways.

The more you allow yourself this needed respite from the more mundane aspects of your life, the more the rest of your life will seem to transform into something beautiful also.

5 Ways To Bring More Creativity Into Your Life

Many of us live lives that are focused on everything BUT creativity. We’ve got heavy obligations, meetings, chores, commitments and endless demands coming from every direction. Who has time for creativity, and who has the energy for it, even when we have the time?

Fortunately, even small amounts of time spent in a creative mind-set can expand our creative vision, and in the process add a greater sense of enjoyment to every aspect of our lives. If you’ve lost touch with your creativity and want to recapture it again, there are very simple techniques you can use to do so – even if you don’t have a lot of spare time available.

Try something new as often as possible. It’s easy to fall into a rut of sameness in our lives. We travel the same route to the same job and do the same activities day after day. This puts our minds into a trance of sorts, because we can accomplish most everything on autopilot.

If we go on long enough like this, we forget that our lives could be any other way. Make a commitment to add at least one new activity to your life each week. It could be as simple as trying a new recipe, shopping at a different store, or taking an alternate driving route. Shake up your routine and you awaken your mind – and your creative inspiration.

See things from a different perspective. When was the last time you really LOOKED at the people and objects surrounding you? Are you really seeing them, or do they blend into the background because you’re so focused on other priorities? For a few minutes each day, take some time to really SEE what’s around you.

Notice your friend’s radiant smile, the way the sunlight plays on the clouds and trees, and the scents carried in the breeze. Lie in your back yard and gaze up at the clouds, or flip over and study the grass and insects. Observe everything more closely and you’ll suddenly realize you’re “seeing” much more than you did before.

Seek creative outlets more often. One reason many of us avoid creative pursuits is because we believe we don’t have time for them. You don’t have to spend a lot of time to get a lot of enjoyment from engaging your creativity. You may not be able to abandon your obligations but you can definitely squeeze in 10 or 15 minutes to write, paint, dance, sing, or stitch each day.

You may think that such a small amount of time wouldn’t make a difference, but those few minutes can seem like hours when you’re doing something you genuinely enjoy. You might even get inspired to allocate more time for creativity by reducing your television watching, eliminating an activity you no longer enjoy, or even switching jobs to gain more free time.

Recognize the streak of creative inspiration in all things. Have you ever wondered how ideas for common products and inventions were conceived? Look at all the items in your home, from artwork to kitchenware, and consider the process that the creators used to bring these items into your life.

Who thought up that nifty little gadget that helps you open bottles and jars more easily? Who got the idea to put paper towels on a roll for easier storage and use? Can you think of any great inventions that would make people’s lives easier? Can you think of ways to improve on the products you see around you? Whether you take action on any of these ideas isn’t important; just by thinking more creatively, you will be tapping into your own creative inspiration.

Open your mind and let good stuff seep in. One of the reasons we feel shut off from our creative vision is because we don’t spend enough time feeding it with positive ideas. Take time to open and expand your mind.

Read more, learn more, and open to the possibilities in your life. Focus more of your attention on positive, uplifting material. Read books that inspire you, visit an art gallery and look closely at the beautiful creations on display, or listen to music that stimulates your senses. Before long, you’ll be itching to express your creativity.

Remember that there is no right or wrong way to tap into your creativity; go with whatever works best for you. Use these ideas as they are, adjust them to better suit your circumstances, or use them as jumping off points for your own creative ideas. Simply focusing more on creativity alone will help you to tap into your natural creative flow.

How To Enhance Your Creativity With Visualization

If you’ve spent any length of time feeling blocked creatively, it may seem as if your muse has departed on an extended vacation with no intention to return. One good way to entice her back is by using visualization.

Visualization is the process of seeing images in your mind and feeling the feelings you would experience if the images were really part of your physical experience. Many studies on visualization have determined that the subconscious mind does not differentiate between mental and physical experiences; it sees both of them as equally “real”!

This is great news because by simply creating and watching a mental movie, you can bring about positive change in nearly any area of your life – including creativity.

There are no set rules for using visualization to enhance your creativity. Use the suggestions below, or come up with your own. The only requirement is that you have fun with the techniques.

Visualize your mind opening to creative inspiration. If you spend much of your time feeling confused, scattered, stressed or fatigued, your mind is likely closed to new ideas and insights, simply because you’ve got so much going on mentally already. However, you may find that daily visualization sessions can not only stimulate your creative side, they can help you focus better in all other areas of your life too.

First spend a few minutes breathing slowly and deeply, relaxing your body and quieting your mind as much as possible. Then imagine you are looking at yourself from outside your body. Focus on your face and head, and imagine that the top of your head begins to open slowly, like an oval-shaped bowl.

Shift your focus up to the space right above your head and imagine that you can see dozens of creative ideas swirling around, looking for a place to take root. Give them permission to enter the top of your head, and watch as they spiral down to soak into your mind. Then switch your perspective so you are once again inside your body, feeling these wonderful, juicy ideas soaking into you and stimulating your desire to create with joy and abandon.

Visualize yourself being more joyful and creative. Many of us feel cut off from our creativity simply because we forget to focus on it throughout the day. Spend time visualizing the opposite situation. Imagine that you are very in tune with your creative self, and you weave a ribbon of creativity through every experience you have.

Imagine yourself wearing bright colors, laughing robustly, enjoying delicious foods, loving deeply, and taking time to enjoy your life more. See yourself as an accomplished painter, writer, actor, musician, or any other creative persona. How would this version of yourself act? How would he or she live each day? Then make an effort to incorporate these qualities into your physical experiences.

Visualize yourself being more confident about your creative works. If you’ve blocked out your creative side because you fear you’re not “good enough” at it, it’s time to revisit what creativity really means! During a visualization session, affirm that creativity is not about trying to measure up to someone else’s idea of beauty or accomplishment – it’s about YOU expressing the unique qualities only you possess.

Imagine yourself creating with joy and confidence, knowing that the process of creation is infinitely more important than the end result. See yourself growing in mastery with everything you create, and allowing more and more of your unique qualities to be infused into everything you do.

Imagine that the more you engage your creative side, the more confident you become in yourself, and the less you care about what others think. Imagine that with every moment you spend expressing your creativity, you reclaim another little piece of your inner power, which you can then use to further enhance your creativity.

These are only a few ideas for using visualization to enhance your creativity, but you can come up with many more! Think about an aspect of your creativity you want to change, and then create a positive mental movie to make it your new reality.

As with anything, the more you visualize, the better you will be at it, and the bigger impact it will have on your life.