Creativity Can Keep the Spark Alive in Your Relationships

This might seem obvious, or perhaps you have never thought about creativity being a guiding force in happy, satisfying relationships. The truth is that people in relationships (especially long term ones) have a tendency to get into routines with one another. And, let’s be honest, relationships can become dull if the people involved don’t make that extra effort to enhance the time they spend together. Sure, we all become comfortable with our significant other, and comfort can be a good thing, but so can spontaneity, which springs from creativity.  

Can relationships be more than places to settle in for a life of predictability or a struggle for part of what you want?  The answer is "Yes!"  

 
Co-creativity  There's a new train of thought about co-creativity in relationships - one in which you both flow in combined creative ways that enhance the vitality of each.  In order to do this, there are attitudes to avoid or drop, and attitudes and practices to take up. Each time you come into a relationship interaction with openness and a willingness to grow, you pave the way for co-creating.  Make the conscious decision that you don't need to be right, and put your focus on generating love, joy and gratitude in all your relationships.

Play!  Play is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. Playing together for the fun of it brings joy, vitality, and resilience. Play can also heal resentments, disagreements, and hurts. Through regular play, we learn to trust one another and feel safe. Trust enables us to work together, open ourselves to intimacy, and try new things. By making a conscious effort to incorporate more humor and play into your daily interactions, you can improve the quality of your love relationships, as well as your connections with coworkers, family members, and friends. Play teaches us how to cooperate with each other.  It's also simultaneously a source of relaxation and stimulation for the brain and body. When we play with other people, whether they’re friends or strangers, we're reminded that we're not alone in this world. We can connect to others in delightful and meaningful ways that banish loneliness.  (excerpted from HelpGuide.org)

Despite the power of play, somewhere between childhood and adulthood, many of us stop playing. We exchange play for work and responsibilities. When we do have some leisure time, we're more likely to zone out in front of the TV or computer than to engage in creative, brain-stimulating play. By giving ourselves permission to play with the joyful abandon of childhood, we can continue to reap its benefits throughout life.

Keep the spark alive and learn how to play again!

"Playology is about waking up our senses, infusing our organs of seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, tasting - and the higher cognitive senses as well, with the spirit of play. Play ignites creativity and spontaneity. Playing together leads to trust and cooperation."  - Ellie Katz

How You Kill Your Creativity Every Day – and How to Stop It

Are you feeling "stuck" and uninspired?  Creativity is on the decline, and you're not the only one.  Two of the main reasons people allow this to happen is because they don't believe it's important, or because they're scared. But, no matter your age or what you do, it’s vital to have more creativity in your life.

There are many things we do daily, bad habits we've formed, that get us to this state.  The first step is acknowledging that there's a problem and then recognizing what we're doing wrong.  

30 things you probably do every day that kill your creativity

• Blindly follow your habits
• Don't trust your intuition
• Get distracted by your "clutter"
• Stop being curious
• Compare yourself 
• Skip physical exercise
• Get overwhelmed by information - "analysis paralysis"
• Don’t take action
• Follow trends
• Buy things pre-made and pre-packaged 
• Overly plan 
• Avoid time alone 
• Adhere to standards 
• Fear ambiguity
• Only take on creative projects that are hugely ambitious
• Don't question things
• Never try anything you haven't tried before
• Get discouraged by unsupportive comments from others
• Behave like a grown-up
• Spend too much time on your mobile device
• Watch too much TV
• Don't hand-write 
• Get trapped by false limits
• Stay tight in your comfort zone
• Be critical of yourself and others
• Avoid taking action
• Always think the way you've always thought
• Don't waste time recording ideas or making notes
• Avoid mistakes
• Don't embarrass yourself
  
  

One thing you should also recognize is that it really isn't your fault.  Our educational system and society in general are often not supportive of creativity, so it's no wonder that we do things - intentionally or not - to kill it.  So now that you know this, what can you do to stop?
  
Change your habits - Small changes in your habits really can make big changes in your creativity.  Every time you make yourself do something a little different than before, you're expanding your creativity. Think of the ways you kill your creativity most and start there.  Be conscious of your attitude. Over time, you'll find you develop a "how can I do this differently today?" way of thinking.

Spend 20-30 minutes each day on a creative exercise - Or 10 if it's all you can manage.  Look around you and pick something interesting, or not interesting at all.  Now, think of 10 ways that it can be improved upon.  Write it down.  The "thing" can be silly - a new name for the sandwich you're eating, the revised tag line on a billboard advertisement, whatever.  You could also spend the time drawing, or writing poetry, or playing an instrument.  Feel free to do something different every day, but do something.

Tapping back into your creativity takes practice.  But with some time, and diligence, you'll be amazed at how it comes back.

"Creativity, as has been said, consists largely of rearranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know. Hence, to think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted."  - George Kneller

Expand You Creativity at Work

Many people think creativity and business don’t go together. The thought is that business is a practical pursuit, while creativity is indulgent and prone to chaos, which is the antithesis of what we want our businesses to be. This is a matter of how creativity has been defined for us.

The first mistake people make is misunderstanding the creative process. We think of it as something that is haphazard. A creative person waits around for an inspiration to hit and can do nothing until that happens. Many artists are guilty of furthering this misconception because it makes their lives seem that much more romantic and dramatic. The truth is that the most creative artists are the ones who simply produce art, all the time, without waiting for the muse to whisper in their ear.

The second mistake is thinking that creativity is reserved for gifted people and not available to us run-of-the-mill human beings. The truth is that everyone is creative. If it seems otherwise, it's simply because someone, somewhere along the way, convinced us that we weren’t.  By believing in this un-truth, we limit our joy and become more close-minded.

Reawakening our creativity is fairly easy once we realize it isn’t dead, we've simply put it to sleep. By increasing our awareness - allowing our self to see when we've come up with a creative idea, or solved a problem creatively, or dealt with a troublesome individual in a creative way - we can reawaken our creativity and begin to grow.

So, what does this have to do with business? What is a business besides a mechanism to make money by solving a particular problem?  That's exactly it!  Expanding our creativity at work allows us to be better problem solvers.  Creativity is required to first see the problem that needs solving. Then, it's required to devise a solution.  Once you know you're creative, begin to waken it up, you will see that your business life will begin to explode in unexpected and wonderful ways.

Another problem with losing our creativity at work is that work it becomes dull, the daily grind, something we dread going to every day. So how can we get back to that excitement?  Here are a couple tips to get you started -

Daydream - It's here that our great ideas show up. As an exercise, for 1 week, set aside 5 minutes a day to just to sit back and daydream. After a week of this, you'll notice that you have more energy, your ideas are beginning to flow again and you may even find you have new, creative ways to solve the latest problems or issues you’re encountering. It isn’t magic, it’s just you allowing the communication to your subconscious mind to open back up again.

Matrix Brainstorming - This is a simple yet incredibly productive ways to generate new ideas.  Start off with a blank sheet of paper.  On the top of your page, write a question which is the concept you're wanting to generate ideas for. For example, a question like “How can I increase sales?”. Think about your question for a moment, then give yourself 10 minutes to come up with 20 answers to your question. You must come up with 20 answers no matter what. The first 7-10 answers will be extremely easy to come up with, but then naturally it will start to get more difficult. If you find your mind is completely blank, don’t stop. Stay patient and come up with everything and anything you can. Once you have your 20 ideas, its time to turn this into a matrix by adding a new layer of ideas. This means that for every answer you had to your question, you will find 5-7 specific and unique ways of achieving and implementing that answer. This may also require some serious thinking, but will be well worth it. Once you’ve completed the exercise, you will have over 100 ideas to your question. All done in the space of 30 minutes or less! Using this technique consistently will help you to generate lots of ideas extremely quickly, and naturally. You will find your mind is a lot sharper and your concentration, memory, and focus will be greatly improved. Try the exercise and see for yourself. 

"First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination." - Napoleon Hill

Tiny Ways to Be Creative Every Day

cre·a·tiv·i·ty  (noun)

1. the state or quality of being creative.
2. the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.
3. the process by which one utilizes creative ability:

Feeling uninspired, bored, depressed or just generally "stuck"? Maybe you need a creative boost get get you back on track.

Don't think you're creative? Take this fun creativity quiz and find out.

Start thinking about the what's, who's, when's, where's, why's and how's of creativity.

What's your goal?
Would you like to be more creative in solving problems at home, or in your work?   Do you want to pursue an artistic hobby?  Do you want to be a better storyteller at parties?  It could be all the above.  The best way to reach your goal is to define it.  It’s not enough to be creative, you have to be creative at something. Creativity is doing, rather than being. The doing comes from discovering goals, and achieving them. To discover what your goals are, you need to ask yourself questions.The questions you ask aren’t important. However, it is important that they be open-ended questions. That is, that they have more than one answer, and that they lead to other questions.  Asking yourself questions opens you to possibilities. Then, experiment with the answers you come up with. If you do this playfully, you'll not only  have fun, but you’ll improve your life in all kinds of ways.

Who inspires you? 
A family member, friend, mentor, boss, writer, artist, musician, etc.  Write down why each of them have inspired you, and what you've learned or what you are still learning or enjoying about them.

When + where can you designate time for creativity?
It can be morning, evening, on the bus, during your lunch hour, whenever.  It doesn't have to be long, but pick a time to explore your creativity every day and stick with it. 

Why is it important to access your creativity? 
Because the energy of creativity is fundamental to everything that we are. Creativity can manifest itself in so many ways - your work, your relationships, and most importantly in your own mind and spirit.  The great news is that the more you use it the more it will blossom.

But I still don't understand how to start!
Just find a way. Buy a small notebook and write anything you think of - a thought, a song lyric, a silly idea, whatever. Try cooking a new recipe. Write a haiku - they're super easy!  Make a crazy doodle of your pet or coworker.  Try something new.  Anything. 

Here are more great suggestions.

Have fun!