Admit it. We’ve all felt a little creatively blocked sometimes. Whether it’s trying our hand at writing something or whether it’s trying to find a new solution to something at work, creativity sometimes manages to elude us in the most frustrating of ways. But while creativity may not be an exactly defined process, there are still ways to streamline and take it on to achieve a great outcome. It can be messy. It can be tough. But you can clear away the darkness and shine a light through it with these four powerful tips:
- UNPLUG:
All day everyday we are bombarded with an onslaught of unending stimulation. We wake up and the first thing we reach for, even before our toothbrush, is our phone. After that, it’s our computer. After that, maybe our TV. And all the while checking our phones intermittently over and over again. This relentless assault on our senses paralyzes us.
To be able to make the transition from consumer to creator, we naturally have to first stop consuming. As we detox from social media, our creative senses will start to awaken again and we will be ready to let those pathways in our brains light up like never before.
2. EXERCISES:
Now, we don’t mean physical exercise (although that can be great too!). We’re referring to creative exercises. They originated in the writing world, where if you were having trouble writing something, you would apply some constraints such as only writing using words smaller than five letters. Paradoxically, these constraints actually force your brain into the creative zone. It loves challenges and it applies the full extent of its power to tackle these ones. There have been entire novels written without the letter ‘e’ even though it is the most common letter in the English language!
These exercises can also be applied to business. If you are having a hard time with some obstacle or challenge, one very powerful exercise you can do is try to imagine what your business idol or role model would do in this situation? What would Steve Jobs do? What would Elon Musk do? What would Bill Gates do? Because they’d do something. And it’d be the right thing. You just have to figure out what.
3. FIND INSPIRATION FROM ELSEWHERE:
Our brains are far better at multitasking than we think. In fact, the truth is that the brain uses spare power to put the subconscious to work on problems during idle time such as while sleeping or doing something relaxing. You can go out for a walk and marvel at nature’s beauty, which would not just let your brain cool down but also give you inspiration from the heart of nature itself. You can also look for inspiration from other industries. Maybe you’re in the shipping industry, but you learn about a new breakthrough in the oil industry that actually inspires you to do something similar.
4. COLLABORATE:
We’ve all heard the saying: ‘no man is an island’. Don’t try to be the lone wolf and go at everything alone because you’ll almost certainly fail. Instead, invite opportunities to collaborate, work together, and build together. We are always stronger together and two heads are always better than one. You may be hesitant because you’ve heard that too many cooks spoil the broth. But you know what too many cooks can also do? Make a heck of a lot of broth.
And there you have it. Four ways to escape the creative black hole at full velocity and leap onto new horizons and new paradigms. Let us know which was your favorite in the comments and whether you want to see more such tips!