How To Nurture Your Creativity
Creativity is a fickle beast.
One day you can be full to the brim with ideas and desperate to get creating, and the next day the muse can have fled and left you wanting to spend all day on the couch, watching TV reruns and eating Doritos.
Creative blocks are just something all creatives have to deal with at one point or another. But there are ways to nurture your creativity, to make it feel loved, and persuade it to stick around as much as possible.
So here are a few ways to cultivate your creativity, and help it grow:
Consume the fruit of other people’s creativity regularly.
Creativity is all around us, even on the days when we aren’t feeling inspired. There are books and articles and blog posts by the millions out there, all waiting to be read, and art galleries filled with the results of someone else’s muse. There’s endless music out there that you’ve never heard, and even technology was dreamt up in the mind of creatives. So every time you use the latest app on your iPhone you can admire someone else’s work!
Consuming other people’s creations is a great way to nurture your own creativity and plant the seeds of an idea in your mind. For example, as a fiction writer, I’m never more inspired to write than when I have just read something amazing. Reading great books reminds me of the pure joy books can give, and the desire to tell my own stories becomes far stronger.
I imagine it’s the same for other types of creatives. A guitarist listening to their favourite rock track might find themselves itching to play their guitar, or an artist at an art gallery may be inspired to try some new techniques.
Creativity breeds creativity, and so, by seeking out the results of other creative minds, you allow your own to grow and expand.
Use journaling to explore your thoughts and feelings in private.
A lot of creative blocks are emotional blocks: perhaps you worry your ideas aren’t good, or that what you’re creating isn’t as good as it could be. So your mind decides it’s not worth the risk, and this manifests as a creative block.
One way to explore your feelings, and the things that are holding you back is by journaling, whether that’s a written journal chronicling your day, just random musings, or even an art journal where you splash about some paint and doodle all over the pages.
The key thing is that the journal should be private, because here you are letting your creative mind run free without fear. You don’t need to worry about the judgement of others, or that your work won’t be good, because it doesn’t need to be good. It’s just a way to get past the initial creative block, even if what you’re creating is for your own eyes only.
Experiment with different creative mediums, and don’t worry about the quality of the results.
Another way to nurture and grow your creative mind is by experimenting and trying new things, as opposed to sticking with what’s comfortable and what you feel you’re best at.
So if you’re a writer, maybe try out painting or sculpting, or some kind of crafting, and if you’re a musician, you could try writing or photography. Trying out different mediums makes you think differently, and because creativity is all about thinking and coming up with ideas, this is a great way to expand your mind, as well as your skill set. Even if your attempts at whatever you’re trying aren’t great, there’s value in the experience, and it can get you out of a creative rut.
Get out and about.
Nothing is more stifling to the creative mind than being stuck within the same four walls, or, as is common in modern life, the monotony of simply going between work and home.
Therefore, a great way to nurture your creativity is to get out and about, to visit different places (admittedly, this hasn’t been easy the last year or so!), meet different people, and to engage with the world.
It may be tempting for introverts especially just to hole themselves up in their artist’s garret and think that all the time alone with their own thoughts is good for their creativity, but the truth is, it isn’t. The creative mind needs stimuli to keep it sharp and ticking along, and there’s nothing like visiting a new place or meeting new people to get those gears turning.
Get enough sleep.
Coming up with ideas and innovations requires energy, and so one of the best ways to cultivate your creativity is to make sure you’re getting enough sleep and are allowing your batteries to recharge. To create your best work and come up with your best ideas, you need your brain to be working at full capacity, and there are so many long-term benefits to consistently getting enough sleep that your creative mind will undoubtedly sharpen because of it.
Everyone is born with the capacity to be creative, and it is one of the most valuable assets you can have both in being successful and living a fulfilling, rewarding life. So don’t neglect your creativity: nurture it, and let it grow.
