Do you want to be creative? Most people will respond to this question with an arched eyebrow. To them, creativity is like a gene. We either have or we don’t. There’s no middle ground. But as any decent painter or interior designer will tell you, creativity isn’t the preserve of the few.
Instead, all of us are ingenious in our own ways. The mother who yarns a bedtime story for her little one is creative. The chef who prepares his dishes from scratch is innovative. The home-runner who knows how to cut costs when planning a monthly budget is, well, I think you’ve got the memo by now.
However, simply because all of us are creative in our own ways doesn’t mean that we can’t become better at it. There are simple tricks and tips which we can follow to lit our brain so that it sees the world from a perspective previously unbeknownst to us.
Here are five simple ways using which you can be a more creative person:
#1: Explain things to your mind
What did Isaac Newton, Nicola Tesla, and Albert Einstein had in common? They were better than most of us when it came to explaining complex concepts in an easy-to-understand manner. That, in turn, was because they had knowledge. Lots of it, in fact.
Therefore, if you want to be more creative, the first step you should take is to expand your knowledge. Once you have done that, explain the concept you’ve just learned to yourself. Don’t cheat. You should make sure that by the time you’ve explained the entire idea, you fully understand it.
#2: Go for a walk
Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple, had a reputation for walking meetings. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook is known for being on his feet when holding meetings. Sometimes, when you were mulling over a difficult question, you might have paced yourself and came up with a solution.
A 2014 study by researchers at Stanford offered an explanation for this. It states that whether you’re walking indoors or outdoors, your creative inspiration gets a shot in the arm. The act of pacing around, and not the surrounding environment, is cited as the primary reason behind the increase in creativity.
#3: Say ‘Yes’ more often
All of us have five basic personality traits. More commonly known as ‘’The Big Five,” they consist of neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, and openness. Among them, openness is a trait shared by the majority of creative people.
Creative people are less likely to say ‘No’ to ideas they don’t know anything about. They are more open to new thoughts and experiences. This behavior exposes them to unfamiliar environments and increases the level of their creativity.
#4: Be at ease
Ever wondered why your best ideas come to your mind when your phone is on the charging table and you’re taking a shower? Even if you haven’t mulled over this question, science has given the answer: there is a direct correlation between relaxation and creativity.
Does that mean that you should lock all your gadgets inside the phone charging locker? You might want to if you intend to set your mind free – and draw a straight line between your subconscious thoughts to that phenomenon in front of you which you’re finding extremely difficult to understand.
#5: Change your room’s paint
At the cost of sounding incredulous, study after study has shown that some colors have a more positive impact on your creativity than others. While some of these researches claimed that blue walls spurred innovation, others credited green falls for boasting our creative performance.