Betty & The Belrays at La MaMa ETC

Think Outside The Box: 5 Unobvious Sources Of Creativity

 

We hear it everywhere that it’s super important to be creative. Well, no doubt about that! New unconventional solutions help us succeed at work and in personal lives alike. But how to come up with those? Is it possible that some of us are just… uncreative? That’s hardly so. Most likely, we are just overlooking some sources to draw inspiration from.

 

Daydreaming

 

Wait, shouldn’t you stop daydreaming? Nope. Turns out, letting your mind wander can be incredibly beneficial for creativity. When you allow yourself to daydream, your brain can connect seemingly unrelated ideas. And it’s this mix of new unusual connections that results in innovative thoughts and solutions.

 

So, instead of filling every spare moment with tasks or distractions, try setting aside time to just let your mind roam free. If the context permits, you can even combine it with vaping some natural products. Just research their effects first. For example, if you are choosing between indica vs sativa strains, your pick is certainly the latter as the former will make you more sleepy than creative.

 

Childlike Play

 

Remember how imaginative you were as a kid? Of course, a lot has changed since then but you can still access some of those creative pathways:

 

1. building with LEGO

 

2. finger painting

 

3. playing a puzzle, etc.

 

All these may stimulate creativity. At least, they can let you see things from different perspectives. Plus, they’re just plain fun! So, don’t be afraid to get a little silly.

 

The thing, however, is these tricks will only work if you are rested. And that’s actually relevant to all the tricks discussed here. Your brain needs to be able to shift the focus to something else besides the usual worries, to-do lists, and all that.

 

Create Restrictions for Yourself

 

Ehm, aren’t restrictions bad for creativity? In fact, not. It might sound counterintuitive, but they can even boost it! Of course, that’s only relevant for some restrictions. Try to remember a project where you were limited in terms of your resources or because of specific rules. Perhaps, this forced you to think more creatively to overcome these constraints, right? So these are exactly the restrictions you need. Those that deprive you of something and motivate you to look for how to compensate for this lack.

 

Okay, where to start then? For example, try creating art using only two colors. Or, write a story that

 

1. takes place in the future

 

2. has only two characters

 

3. mentions dolphins

 

4. contains an element of suspense.

 

So you got the idea. Of course, you need time for that. But if you do have some, such self-imposed challenges can be super effective.

 

Arts

 

Arts are incredibly inspiring and this works for everyone not only for people with creative professions. The thing is that each piece of art is a concentration of someone’s creativity. It feeds your brain and gives it the resources to invent something, too. There are actually two ways how you can interact with art.

 

The first strategy is to interact with it as an observer. You go to a gallery and watch the paintings. Or you go to a concert and listen to the music. Your role is passive here but the inspiration may still be strong.

 

The second strategy is to create art. You take pottery classes and learn new skills you never thought you’d have. Here, your role is active and the inspiration may be particularly strong.

 

Silence

 

We rarely think about it but we badly miss silence today. Just try to remember the last time you were in complete silence. Can you remember such times at all? It seems like nothing grave but it’s in fact a challenge for our mind. Imagine that every noise is a piece of info it must process. It’s no surprise we don’t feel creative often. Our brain is ongoingly occupied with processing those background sounds.

 

So, if that is possible, spending at least a few minutes (okay, not too few) in silence should help. You’ll give your brain a break and it may give you some cool ideas in return.

 

***As you see, whether or not we are creative depends on how our mind is feeling. If it’s overwhelmed and constantly occupied with work, well, it’s no wonder it has no resources for innovating. But if we give it a chance to reset and rest, it should be thankful and reward us with those outside-the-box ideas.