Author: Bob Mar 24, 2021 6 min read
Steve Jobs said:
“Creativity is not just about innovation, but about the company’s growth
One of the most popular questions: how to develop creativity?
Creativity is hard to find and easy to lose… yep, I think you know what I mean.
Creativity often manifests itself as a paradoxical and mysterious phenomenon. For some, creative thinking is a constant feature, and for others is activated by a situation.
Psychologists have conducted several studies and identified the qualities that unite people with creative thinking.
1. The ability to dream
According to the research, we dream when we are active. Neuroscientists have established that daydreaming is associated with creative processes.
2. The ability to observe everything and everyone
The writer Joan Didion always carried a notebook with her and wrote down her people’s observations.
3. They work at a time when they feel like working
For example, Vladimir Nabokov began writing immediately after waking up, that is, at 6 a.m. Frank Lloyd Wright used to get up at 3 a.m. to work and then went to bed again.
4. The ability to be alone
“In order to be open to creativity, you need to overcome the fear of loneliness,” writes the American theorist of existential psychology, Rollo May. It was in solitude that creative people produced their best works.
5. Interest in everything new
Creative people always experience new sensations and states.
6. Curiosity
During the conversation with a friend, a creative person simultaneously studies how this world works.
7. The ability to take risks
The genius Einstein wrote: “creativity is the ability to create something from nothing. The ability to make public that was born just in your imagination. This task is not for the timid.”
8. Surround yourself with beauty
According to research, musicians have an excellent taste for objects and clothes.
We use all these qualities in our work, creating animated videos. Here at Wow-How Studio, we work on creative projects every day thus, we know a lot about this topic. That’s why I decided to share a few life hacks with you on how to develop your creative muscles.
Yes! Creativity is a skill that can be developed.
1. The first rule for a creative person is to fall in love with the project.
Yap, find the features in the project or just in the task and open your heart towards it. This will allow you to empathize with your customers.
2. Look at beautiful pictures in the morning.
It can be imaged on Pinterest, maybe an art account on Instagram, or an article about visual trends with video examples. Let the bright world of images appear in front of your eyes. Load visual images into your brain. The time will come when they will become keys for you.
3. Draw… whatever!
This exercise is not for a public confession, just for the process itself, for the development of imagination. A good exercise is to draw with pen squiggles, without lifting your hands, abstract lines. And after that, connect with dots and paint over elements, for example, a cat’s face.
4. To reflect.
Put on your headphones and turn on atmospheric music, preferably without lyrics. Take a piece of paper and a pen. When the music is on, start writing, without punctuation marks, without stopping, describe the picture that was just born in your head while listening to music, your clip. Grammar is not so important; the more important is to express in words what you feel.
5. Creativity is not just about freedom but also about the ability to focus. Engage yourself in meditation, any type of meditation that will develop mindfulness, the ability to focus on one thing: a meditation on a candle, on breathing, on your sensations. Science suggests that meditation improves mental abilities, memory, and concentration, and stabilizes the emotional state.
6. Include creative people in your environment.
We are a mirror of what surrounds us. It’s great to meet and recharge from creative people. Even Aristotle wrote that an important component of leisure is conversations with smart people, exchange of ideas, discussions. This will give you confidence and broaden your horizons.
7. Detox from the information.
In fact, the brightest ideas and insights strike us when we are in a calm state. It is necessary to remove attention from the devices, do small detoxes from the information. It can be walking in parks, contemplating nature, listening to music, doing simple household chores.
8. Last but not least, the creative tip is being able to protect yourself for a time from the internal sensor.
We like a saying: an alive cat is better than a dead lion. It’s better to do a big project step by step and go forward than to look for the perfect words for a hundred years.
For a dessert, I have a question with a task: what unites Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, and Jimi Hendrix? All these great minds were ambidextrous. That means they were equally good at both right and left hands. Try writing your last name on a piece of paper with a different hand. If you succeeded, congratulations; you have an innate talent. And if not, there is a way to develop this skill. It means you can develop neural connections in your brain. Practice different tasks with your left hand if you are right-handed and with your right hand if you are left-handed. It can be anything, from brushing your teeth, writing a text to work on a computer. This skill develops the brain so well and helps to remove the established behavior patterns.
I used to think that creativity is a gift only the chosen ones can have. As I plunged deeper into this topic, I realized that literally, anyone could develop creativity. There are algorithms that help expand our abilities, and we are fortunate that nature has given us the opportunity to be multifaceted. Thanks a lot for being with me and pumping your creative muscles together.
See you soon, guys, on my blog’s page!
