Why are some People so Creative?
How can you be one of those People?
Wouldn’t it be great if you could turn creativity on like a light switch? What if you could just summon it to show up no matter what head space you were in, how much pressure you were under or how tired and overworked you felt? What if you could just pop a switch and BAM instant solution right at your fingertips? Yeah, that would be pretty great. Too bad it doesn’t work like that.
So how does it work? Why are some people are so gifted creatively while others struggle? Creativity is an acquired skill. Sure, some people are naturally more creative than others, but that doesn’t mean you can’t improve your skills. Practice makes perfect after all. Any athlete knows (despite natural talent) the more they practice the better their skills become; the same goes for creative thinking. The more you practice the better you will become. At a loss? No worries, let’s take a look at how you can rock your inner creative genius.
The buddy system
Creativity is basically problem solving. You solve problems all day long, right? Creative thinking is almost exactly the same except you will be expanding another part of your problem solving skills — the creative part. A great place to begin is by working with a team. Working with other creative thinkers will help you begin to understand how to expand your mind and think outside, inside, underneath and around the box. Being able to bounce ideas off a team will allow you and others to build on your ideas.
Time
Start by setting aside time each week to meet with your team. Creativity suffers when time is overly restricted. Make sure to plan ahead so you don’t feel rushed or confined. Having enough time will allow you to fully explore your ideas without worry. The same goes for your team. Exchanging ideas will suffer if everyone is looking for a quick exit.
Trust
Surround yourself with trusted team members who will not squash your ideas. A supportive team is an important key to success. Without trust you may find yourself having a difficult time opening up and expressing your ideas. That will not only kill creativity for you but also for the rest of the group. You may be surprised to find that thinking creatively is not that different from how you already arrive at your own decisions. As you start to feel more comfortable, try exchanging some of the ideas you might not normally voice. Do not hold back. Fear is the enemy. Practice being fearless.
Being fearless
Want to be more creative? Set aside your fears. Practice being fearless with new ideas and fearless about sharing them. Let go of judgment and quiet that little voice in the back of your mind that tells you not to share your ideas. Stop worrying about whether your ideas are stupid and nobody will like them. Start opening up and letting go.
Try this the next time you are in a brainstorming session: As soon as you hear that little negative voice inside your head begin to whisper, put it on hold. Ignore it even if your mind is telling you, this is stupid and no one will like it. Don’t listen; instead try putting your fear aside just long enough to present your idea. No matter how stupid or awkward you feel, put your stupid idea that nobody could possibly like out there and see what happens.
In a supportive environment (like the one you’ve built) one of two things will occur. The first is that the idea will be accepted for all its greatness and you will be crowned the King of Creativity. The second (and more likely) is that your idea will be accepted, improved upon by others and grow into something even better. A supportive team knows that good ideas feed great ideas and the more team members contribute the more creative the ideas will become.
Setting up the ground rules
Setting up a supportive team goes a long way toward inspiring creativity. If your team does not operate in a safe supportive environment that can be a huge problem. In order to be sure you create a suitable environment, you may want to lay down a few ground rules:
- No idea is a bad idea. Some may be better than others, but no idea is rejected during a brainstorming session.
- Ideas can and should be built upon. Any way you can improve on an idea is strongly encouraged.
- Negativity of any kind is highly discouraged.
- All team members should be supportive and generous toward one another. Creating a safe atmosphere is key.
- Participation is important for nurturing a creative environment. Voice your ideas and your support. The more supportive the environment, the more ideas will be generated and shared.
- Keep it fun, keep it light. Unreasonable deadlines and added pressure will squash creativity turning your session into wasted time.
- It is not a competition and there are no rewards for the most or best ideas. It is a team effort. If one person does well the whole team benefits. If all do well, all benefit. There are no winners or losers — just a team of people searching for great solutions.
- Ideas shared during a brainstorming session will be sorted and evaluated after the session is complete. Too much focus on evaluation will grind a meeting to a halt.Try saving evaluation until the end of your session when all your ideas have been exhausted. This practice keeps ideas fresh and creativity pointed in the right direction.
- Record your ideas. Generating ideas is great but if they are not being recorded you will quickly lose them. Assign one person in the group to record ideas. This frees up others to be more creative. A whiteboard is a great way to keep all the information available to everyone in the meeting without the distraction of taking notes.
Once you’ve established the rules, guard them diligently. Refer to them often and do not allow anyone to ignore them. Creativity thrives in a world of support and trust. When people feel safe, they will open up. When people open up, they become creative thinkers. Provide the proper environment and your team’s creativity will flourish.
