How to boost your Creativity

Almost all of us marvel at a beautiful painting or a well-written music piece. A well-choreographed dance makes you jump on your feet. But soon enough you start realizing your limitations. You start to wonder, if only you were that creative. Although it sounds counterintuitive, subjective matters like creativity also evolve with objective steps. Even new ideas need to sprout from strong roots. For example, a painter cannot write a piece of music just because he/she is creative. Practice plays an important role in honing an individual’s creative acumen. Try the following steps to boost your creativity.

Practice eclectic reading

If you love to read, you have got the first part of the task covered. However, a creative mind requires you to encompass different perspectives to look into something. When you have the habit of reading books and articles from different genres, your horizon expands and you are free of biases. It also apprises you of strategies to make a livelihood out of creative thinking. 

Connect your body and mind 

You must have heard that all work and no play makes you dull. Our mind and body have strange connections and it is wise to experiment with them. Physical activities not only help your physique but also improve your overall lifestyle. You start to focus on diet and sleep well, which keeps you energetic and can focus better. 

Practice mindfulness

We fill our minds with so many thoughts and emotions every day. But some of them affect us negatively and we tend to lose focus easily. Emptying your mind is a useful method to let new ideas and thoughts flow in. Methods like meditation and chanting help you to control your thoughts. A clear mind helps you to find new perspectives to look into things. 

Try dopamine detox

Have you felt immense boredom while writing an essay and immediately start watching a movie or a soap instead? You do feel good about it because of a hormone called dopamine. Dopamine is a pleasure hormone secreted by the human brain. The problem is that later you feel guilty for procrastinating your task. Dopamine is addictive. Hence, you must learn to control your urge. There are some ways to make your urge beneficial to you. Suppose you love anime and are an artist. Instead of binge-watching, try to recreate a scene on a canvas instead. Writers can start by writing reviews for films and soaps that they watch. Language enthusiasts can jot down new words with their meanings and usages that they learn from watching a movie or soap. You can also try to watch documentaries instead of commercial programs. The goal should be to extract benefit from even an apparently unproductive activity.

Create a reward system

Train yourself to work for rewards for dopamine detoxing. Reward yourself with something you like only after you can complete a crucial task. This will train your mind to work under pressure. This system requires you to be honest with yourself. Also, don’t make the fun too long lest it starts showing negative effects.

Take a walk to boost your creativity

The benefits of walking perhaps surpass everything else. Research suggests that walking can help you generate new ideas almost instantaneously. Next time you feel vexed because you are stuck at something, take a walk. Since walking does not require much attention, you can contemplate solutions to your problem while walking.

Explore other interests 

Great scientists having something other than their logical minds that we often ignore: Their creative side. This helped them take their minds off of impending problems and providing them with new perspectives. You can also try a similar approach. Try music, art, gardening, anything you like to do apart from your professional field. You will discover surprising new connections. Ultimately it will lead to you being able to culture a creative mind. 

Learn by mimicking

You must have heard the proverb “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. Yet we conceive copying or mimicking as unethical. It may so be for professionals but does it apply to everything?  We all learn by doing what our elders do. Even when it comes to creativity, a beginner can always look forward to learning by copying. In essence, putting together various art styles is a creative and new art style. Most important is to discover the techniques used by experts. Techniques that can be put to use in your own compositions.

Record and revisit

Keep a notebook or voice recorder handy. This will help you to record epiphanies. You can visit them later and draw inspiration from them. 

Practice the skills

Try to remember, how long ago did you learn to ride a bicycle? Perhaps you don’t ride a bicycle anymore but can pick it up any day and ride it. Practice is the key here and it is the same with creative thinking. The falls and injuries did not demotivate you then and shouldn’t now.

The next time you’re lacking in creativity, try one or more of the above steps to give your creativity a boost.

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