Creativity is a frequently used word, but very often people don’t stop to think what it  really means, how they can benefit from it or how they can increase their own creativity. There is a common perception that “being creative” is something you are born with -or not. While it is true that some people are endowed with extraordinary amounts of creativity, often in a particular field, such as art or music for example, everyone has the ability to be creative in some areas. More importantly, everyone can encourage their own natural creativity and increase it.

Becoming more creative can enhance every part of your life. It can enable you to enjoy hobbies more, or inspire you to learn new skills. It can improve your business or career skills as well. There is always a place for creativity in business, now more than ever, as there are now more ways to market products and services than ever before. There are also more and more products and service to market in the first place, with more being developed all the time. It certainly takes creativity to do any of this.

So how do you improve your creativity or develop it in the first place? If you think you don’t have any to start with, which is almost certainly not the case. Here are some tips to help you think creatively. These can be applied to any area of your life:

If you have a problem or task that demands creativity, write down what you know about it. Then write down some ideal solutions, even if they are (or appear to be) completely impractical. Often, we limit our natural creativity by trying to be “realistic.” By throwing down this barrier, we immediately open ourselves up to all kinds of new possibilities, some of which turn out to be doable after all.

Make it a point to always learn new things, no matter what your age or present level of education. Read books, take courses and ask people how to do things you aren’t familiar with. Even if (perhaps even especially if) it’s something you have no background in whatsoever. Not only will you learn something new, but you’ll be opening up your mind to the fact that you can always expand your horizons.

Do everyday things differently. If you drive to work, don’t always take the same route. Don’t adhere rigidly to the same routine every day. If you like movies, try to watch a different genre of movie than you are used to. The same with books. Try new kinds of food than you are used to. All of this opens you up to new experiences and new ways of looking at the world.

Read a book that presents a point of view that you disagree with. This can be related to politics, economics, religion or anything you have a firm opinion about. You may not change your mind, but you can at least learn how  the “other side” thinks. Being creative doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything (which is hardly possible), but it helps to be able to at least understand many points of view.

Remember, being more creative means getting out of your comfort zone and taking a different look at things around you. The idea is to expose yourself to new experiences and perturbate yourself to discover new perspectives you never thought possible.

It has been a fabulous weekend spent for me at Money & You over the recent weekend (24th – 27th July) in Kuala Lumpur. Just like every single time that I review it, I have new distinctions and new discovery. Life between each Money & You gives us a space to realize, apply and relearned the principles learnt. And when I returned to the safe environment of M&Y again, I would get new distinctions as my life episodes have changed and move on.

Well, this round, I have a very interesting distinction. That is in the area of Creativity. Being a web & digital designer, I often face challenges when my mind just went blank and simply have no creativity at all. All the ideas are adaptation from references of other people’s works and I never uses them cos it is lack of my style and originality. And the worst is I start to “condemn” myself for my inability to create! This round, when I went back to M&Y, a flip chart really “speaks to me” and awaken my creativity!

The flipchart is the Mastery flipchart. it makes me realize that I have forgotten to “stop condemning myself” and push myself ahead and let go of past incidences.

Mastery Flipchart

Step 1 – Removal of mediocrity and commit to excellence (Need to constantly review myself)

Have I been staying in an environment whereby average is the aceptable for too long?
Am I surrounding myself with people that will ask more of me then myself to consistently improve myself? With these 2 questions, I sincerely need to make sme changes to my environment. Cos ” For things to change, FIRST I must change”.

Step 2 – Removal of resentment towards Masters and really learn from them

Probably I might have reple masters from my life in many ways. Its time for me to really listen.

Step 3 – Develop compassion for self (Forgive myself and give myself a break)

A Master, rather than condemning himself for his “ordinariness”, will embrace it and use it as a foundation for building the extraordinary. Time to start using “Thank you for sharing”!!!

Step 4 – Remain open and receptive
Keeping my heart open to receive new ideas and staying positve allows me to attracts new ideas to me. Thus helping me to become more creative in al areas, not just in designs alone!

Well, this really has been a great weekend and having myself taking new steps to achieving Mastery! Hope you all will be able to constatly remind yourself to achieve Mastery as well!