Many roles in life require creativity—employee, employer, co-worker, parent, spouse, friend, and student, to name a few. Creativity is also important for personal development and fulfillment. If you feel you’ve hit a rut in any aspect of your life, or have found your creativity has dwindled, the following ideas will help you break free and jump start your creative spirit. Be sure to try the exercises at the end!

Try Something New
It’s easy to fall into a routine, and routine can damper a person’s creativity. If you don’t frequently try new and interesting things, your brain isn’t challenged. Challenging yourself, and in turn, your brain, is an important aspect in thinking creatively. People exposed to different activities, people, and experiences, are usually better able to think outside the box. Research has also shown them to have more active and healthier brains.

Step Out of Character
Put on someone else’s shoes for a day! If you’re a stay-at-home Mom, dress as a businesswoman and walk around town. If you’re a businessman, put on a pair of coveralls and play gardener, handy-man, or mechanic for a day. You’ll be surprised how changing your role can alter the way you think and feel about life. Pay attention to these feelings, and how differently you perceive yourself and people perceive you. What did you learn? How can you use your experience to express yourself?

Get Moving
Sitting there trying to drum up a creative thought? Get up and move instead. Exercise has been proven to stimulate mental activity. So, go for a walk around the block. Do fifty jumping jacks. Stretch those tight muscles. Or just wash the dishes. Let your body work and your mind relax. You’ll be surprised at what will pop into it!

Write Down Your Dreams
Dreams can be a great source of creative inspiration. They are also often a place where you work out your daily problems. Try keeping a dream journal next to your bed, and jotting down the aspects of your dreams you remember upon waking. How did your dreaming self confront a tough situation? What images, thoughts, and experiences can you take from your dreams and use in reality?

Don’t be Afraid
Fear is the enemy of creativity. If you’re afraid to let go, try new things, and think new thoughts, your imagination will suffer. Instead of living in fear, try taking one thing you’re afraid to do, and do it. Touch a snake, try a new food, talk to a stranger. Your courage will make you feel alive, and you will have a new experience to take inspiration and ideas from.

Just Do It!
If it’s not fear or lack of vision holding you back, could it be procrastination? The only way to beat that is to get off your butt and do it. Whether it’s a project you need to write a proposal for, a painting you want to start on, or dinner needing to be made, procrastinating will only make the act harder in the end. Take a stopwatch or clock with you, and make yourself work on what needs to be done for 15 minutes. Even if nothing comes to you during the 15 minutes, put in the time. After 15 minutes, if you need to, take a break. Then come back and work on it for another 15 minutes. Don’t do anything else during this time. No exceptions.

Eat Brain Food
Research shows that eating the right foods can improve brain function. A diet high in whole grains, fiber, fruits, veggies, monounsaturated fats, and omega-3 fatty acids have proven to positively affect brain performance. Caffeine in moderation is also beneficial.

Clear the Clouds
Brain feeling fuzzy these days? Perhaps there’s too much stress in your life. If you can find an outlet for your stress, your body and brain will thank you. That outlet can also be a way to jump start your creativity. You may find painting, reading, or cooking relaxes you, and it may inspire you to work creatively in other aspects of your life. Some people are also able to use stress as a source of fuel. Perhaps a problem at work or with your spouse prompts a short story. Or chainsaw art.

Talk it Out
Find a willing ear and talk about your creativity slump. That person may just be able to throw a few ideas your way that you can build off of. Talk to several people if necessary. Each one of them will probably have different ideas and different perspectives. And sometimes you’ll surprise yourself at just how many creative thoughts you have rumbling around in your head that you haven’t given voice to!

Allow Yourself to Fail
Perhaps the most important aspect to thinking creatively and allowing your imagination to take hold is to allow yourself to fail. Not every idea will work. But how do you know it won’t fly if you don’t try? As they say, every failure is a stepping stone to success. Every time you fail, you learn. If you take what you learn and apply it to the next task, you’ll be one step closer to succeeding.

The following two exercises can be applied to a variety of creative endeavors.

Two Characters Exercise
On a sheet of paper, list 5-10 characteristics of a character, real or imagined. List such things as occupation, physical appearance, deepest desire, family life, etc. One or two lines about each subject is adequate. If you’re using a real character, and don’t know the answer, make it up!

On another sheet of paper, list 5-10 characteristics of a completely different character, real or imagined. Use different characteristics, such as bad habit, pet peeve, best quality, etc., if you like.

Think about these two characters and how they differ, and how they are alike. Now, imagine the two characters meet in an office, on the street, become family members, etc. Put them in a situation together. How do they interact? Based on their personalities, how do you think they would solve a problem together? What would they do for fun?

Word Basket Exercise
Cut several pieces of paper into approximately 2 x 2 inch strips. On each strip of paper, write down one single word. You can write down any word. You can use a variety of words across a variety of subjects, or use words focused around a specific topic such as birds, business, or household. Put the slips of paper in a bag, basket, or bowl. Draw one slip of paper. Read the word. Draw another slip of paper. Read the word. Now, combine the two words in some way. Use the two words in a single sentence, create an unusual new word or idea out of them, or find a word that expresses how the two words are alike in a way that you wouldn’t normally think of. Stretch. Be as creative as possible, even if it doesn’t make sense!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 5:00 am and is filed under Creativity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.