Jumpstart Your Creativity!

Although I have chosen various artistic ways to express myself, it is in my daily life where I have learned the most about creating. As a mother, I am continually challenged to find solutions, new ways to inspire and motivate, to juggle schedules inside a highly creative world. As a businesswoman, creativity is utilized daily with new products, marketing ideas, maintaining consistency alongside inventiveness. As a friend, I am sometimes called upon to be a good listener and when asked, I draw from Compassion (the constant companion of Creativity) to inspire new ideas, new ways of seeing a situation. I was asked to offer some Creativity Tips for 2009. I’m not a bullet kind of girl, but I’ll give it a whirl!

1 – Do Something Completely New! Sign up for a class you’ve always wanted to take, or take a trip to an unknown exciting place you want to visit. Take One Step toward some new experience. The point is to step outside your comfort zone. Notice how you feel, what your thoughts are, how you react.

2 – Pick Up An Old Project, long forgotten and lonely. Either choose to finish it or pass it along to someone else (sometimes that means the trash can). Create a “space” through finishing or removing that project from your life. Completion brings its own satisfaction. Clearing out clutter makes room for new ideas to come forward.

3 – Choose One Thing To Improve on this year. Become an expert! Genius is simply about focus. When you allow yourself to delve into a subject/activity that fascinates you, it not only enriches your mind, you will also discover your creative self! The more familiar you become, you will begin to notice similarities between your subject and other parts of your life, qualities in common, processes that can be applied successfully in different situations.

4 – Take The Bus. One time I was “forced” to take the bus in a very stressful situation. I know many people use public transportation on a regular basis. Until that point, I had not had that experience in my life. I was stranded and had to take the bus and what an eye opener it was! I was so unsure of myself, not knowing if I was catching the right one, having to constantly ask strangers who, what and where … I learned so much about my city, about the helpful nature of people, about my insecurities and naiveté. I also learned that creative thinking is a great resource in uncomfortable situations. It literally removes Fear. I use the phrase “take the bus” as a metaphor for putting yourself in a new situation so you can learn about YOU.

5 – Make Some Time For Dreaming. There is no Creating without Dreaming. Our fast paced world puts demands on each of us. Our fast paced world wants it NOW. Creativity takes time. It demands in equal force that we be slow. Repeat after me: Slow Is Good. You see evidence of it everywhere and don’t question it. If you take the cookies out of the oven before they’re ready you have inferior cookies. If you pluck a tomato before its ripe, it will be tasteless. If you hurry a child in his growth, he will not have the experience he needs to succeed. If we don’t allow sufficient time for our ideas, our projects, our lives … we cannot expect the best there is. Give yourself the gift of time in 2009!

Share your ideas for jump starting Creativity! Please comment and give readers your own perspective. We learn from each other!

Until next time,

Kittie