Developing Your Creativity in 8 Practical Ways

The Human Element

In order to understand the secret to developing your creativity, let’s look at a movie.  In the movie I, Robot, Will Smith plays a detective investigating a murder where the prime suspect is a robot.  The plot conflict arises over whether a robot could do something outside of its programming – could it murder a human being when it has been programmed according to Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics the first of which states:

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

In the movie, one of the robots experiences an “awakening” and begins to experience emotions and “think” on its own.  And while Hollywood has taken the theme of artificial intelligence to just about every possible conclusion, as of yet, we don’t have a true artificial intelligence that can think in the same way that humans do.  One of the areas that really distinguishes human intelligence from artificial intelligence is creativity.  And while some have attempted to employ computers in the creative arts, the human element still, in my opinion, holds the edge.

Creativity and Art

When we talk about creativity, we look to art as a primary example.  For ages, humans have employed the muse of creativity to draw, compose, paint, sculpt, design and build.  The results of human creativity span from the Mona Lisa to Handel’s Messiah and from Hamlet to the Duomo di Firenze.  Even in our time bloggers, selfie-takers, podcasters, and indie musicians all use their creativity to bring something of beauty into existence.  And though the beauty and artistic quality of these creations is subjective, the creative element is something that lies within every human being.  Of course, there are those who will say that they don’t have a creative bone in their body, but I would argue differently.  We all possess an element of creativity by nature of our humanity and it is for us to develop that element.  Again, there is no doubt that some people are gifted with a seemingly divine artistic talent and when we find someone like that, we can only express admiration.  But the truth is that all of us have the ability to create and even more importantly, we can all improve our own creative thinking.

Why Improve Creativity?

For those of us who don’t think we are very creative and our artistic abilities don’t seem to come naturally to us, we might ask the question “Why should I improve my creativity?”  A short answer might be you would do it for your own personal enrichment.  When you create something it gives you a sense of fulfillment and purpose in life.  You feel like you accomplished something and regardless of how commercially acceptable it might be, you can be proud of the fact that you did something.  I believe that some of the greatest art is created by those with no desire for commercial success but who create simply out of the desire to create.  In fact, a lot of the greatest artists did not find commercial success and their art didn’t become famous until after they died (see here for a list of some of them).

However, there may be a commercial reason to improve your own creativity.  With the advance of robotic technology, companies are increasingly finding ways to replace human capital with robotic technology.  In the capitalist economy where profit margins are tight, it makes financial sense for companies to buy robots who can do the work that, in the past has been done by humans.  Think about it, a robot doesn’t call in sick.  A robot doesn’t need health insurance (though they do need repairmen or repair robots).  A robot doesn’t need a lunch break or vacation time.  A robot can work three shifts and start again tomorrow.  A robot doesn’t get into an argument with another robot and cause drama in the workplace.  Robots don’t ask for raises (yet).

The Neo-Luddites

The situation today is eerily reminiscent of the story of the Luddites.  The Luddites were a group of English textile workers in the early 19^th Century who, upon finding out that their jobs were being replaced by machines, protested and destroyed the machines.  While today the term Luddite commonly references someone who is anti-technology, the reality is that the Luddites understood what effects technology would have upon their livelihood – namely the loss of their jobs, the loss of their income, and the loss of their standard of living.   As Neal Postman once said, with the development of any technology, there are always winners and losers and it is in the winners’ best interest to convince the losers that they are really the winners.  That statement is no truer than what we see in our culture today.  The development of computer technology is hailed by one and all as the advancement of the human race but in that advancement, real human beings will lose their jobs and livelihood to robots and automation while the big corporations and the tech giants run all the way to the bank.  Yes, the rich get richer while telling the poor who are getting poorer to be satisfied with their new IPad and the incredibly awesome ability to put their photos on Facebook.

This isn’t to say that big labor should decry technological advancement but the question for the rest of us should start to become clear – How can individuals position themselves for the new economy?  Let’s be honest.  Big corporations are not going away.  Technological development will not stop.  There’s just too much money involved.  There will not be a Neo-Luddite revolution with people destroying computer servers to protect jobs and livelihood from robots.  In light of that, what can we do?

The Creative Option

Considering the future, it makes sense for people to develop the talents that distinguish them from their potential robotic competitors – to foresee what might be coming in the future and prepare now.  In a recent interview, Mark Cuban made a prediction of what the number one job skill will be in 10 years.  He noted that the next technological development will be the automation of automation.  Robots and artificial intelligences will ultimately get smart enough to program and fix themselves – to take away the jobs of the programmers and engineers.  In light of this (which is not really hard to imagine considering where technology has come and the possibilities of artificial intelligence), he said that the number one job skill will be creative thinking and that there will be a greater demand for liberal arts and humanities majors than for programming and engineering majors.

A true education, however, is not necessarily the product of a university or institution.  It results from our own curiosity and passion to learn and understand.  I would bet that most of “the creative class” would tell you that they have learned far more about their craft and creativity through their own life experiences than what might have been gained in a classroom (Steven Spielberg is just one example of this).  This doesn’t mean that a degree isn’t important but that we can all learn and grow our talents whether we are enrolled in a university or not.

So, what are some things we can do now to improve our creative thinking?

8 Ways to Developing Your Creativity

1.  Change Your Routine

Habit is a blessing and a curse. Neuroscience shows that the more we do things in particular ways, the more ingrained those particular neural networks in our brains are strengthened and habits are formed.  And while habits help us to accomplish the tasks we need to do and get through our day, they are an enemy of creative thought.  To think creatively, we need to learn how to think outside of how we are used to thinking.  We need to think differently.  One of the ways to help foster this in your life is to do things differently.  As an example, we usually go about a daily routine and for the most part, we do those things without conscious thought.  Our brains operate on autopilot.  To stimulate creativity, you need to begin to stimulate new neural connections in your brain.  Doing things differently begins to engage your brain in new ways.  It can’t operate on autopilot anymore.  It is forced to engage with what’s going on in its world and this can lead to greater creative thoughts.

2.  Meet New People

One of the greatest ways to stimulate new thinking is by engaging new people. Human beings are unique and finding ways to meet new people and hear their story can be an enlightening experience.  You can learn new things.  You can have new experiences.  All of which helps to force your brain into new and different neural patterns.  New people can help you to learn new things and to see things from different perspectives.  They broaden your understanding of the world.  Neuroscience has discovered how our brains are designed and wired to connect with others.  When we meet another person, our brains begin to interact with a network of feelings and emotions with the other person.  Our social interactions kick in emotions which then trigger hormones – adrenaline, serotonin, testosterone, and others – all of which have been shown to affect our thinking and neural processes.  Meeting new people is a creative endeavor.

3.  Visit New Places

Along the same lines as the previous two, visiting a new place can stimulate creative thinking. In a study on creativity, Robert J. Sternberg proposed what he calls an Investment Theory of Creativity.  According to his theory, creative people “buy low and sell high” in the marketplace of ideas and that creativity requires a confluence of six resources.  One of which is thinking style.  (the other five are: intellectual abilities, knowledge, environment, personality, and motivation)   The theory shows how the decisions we make about how we think about the world affect our creative ability.  A larger perspective on the world – thinking about the forest rather than getting bogged down in the trees – can help us to think about things differently.  Additionally, another study showed that our physical environment defined by spaces: (1) with a complexity of visual detail, (2) with a view of the natural environment, (3) that use natural materials, (4) that have a warmer color palate, and (5) that use less manufactured and composite surface materials contributes to greater creative performance.  So, visit a new place to stimulate creative thinking and consider upending your environment to make it more conducive to the creative process.

4.  Listen to Instrumental Music Scores

Listening to instrumental music can help stimulate creative thinking. When we listen to music with lyrics, our minds will drift off and tend to focus on what is being said in the song.  Of course, we can “tune” that out when we are in a focused “zone” of creative thought, but eliminating lyrical music and tapping into the power of instrumental music can stimulate creativity.  A particular favorite of mine is instrumental “epic” soundtracks.  Think about it, Hollywood has employed creative talent to score films to one end – eliciting an emotional response in the audience.  If you doubt this, try watching a horror movie without the music.  The elimination of the musical track eliminates the dramatic tension and can even make the movie seem laughable and ridiculous.  The musical background contributes so much of the emotional content of the movie.  Why not use this to your advantage in your creative endeavors.  When our emotions are engaged, it stimulates our creative thoughts.

5.  Make Something

The very act of engaging your brain through motor skills is something few of us really consider but using your body in new ways and forcing your physical muscles to do new things changes your brain. Again, doing things we are good at, or used to doesn’t engage our neural processes as much as when we do new things.  If you’ve never played guitar, for example, trying to force your fingers to move in the particular ways necessary in order to play the instrument can be a frustrating activity.  They don’t move in the ways needed because our brains haven’t engaged those neural-muscular networks previously.  Whenever we engage in a physical activity that we haven’t done before, it stimulates our brains in new ways and can contribute to greater creativity.

6.  Listen to a Podcast (or read a book)

A famous saying goes “There is nothing new under the sun.” Though this is true, the fact is that, as individuals, we don’t usually know everything under the sun.  So, while that saying may be true in a general sense, for us as individuals there can be a lot new under the sun if we know where to look.  Podcasts, books, blogs and other sources of information can all help to broaden our perspectives and give us better insight into the world and therefore increase our creative potential.  Learning new things increases our intellectual skills.  The study that I mentioned earlier mentions our intellectual skills as a major component of our creative ability.  These skills: (1) the synthetic skill to see problems in new ways and to escape the bonds of traditional thinking, (2) the analytic skill to recognize which ideas are worth pursuing and which are not, and (3) the practical-contextual skill of being able to persuade others and sell your idea all can be developed as we learn new things.  And it doesn’t really matter if those things are necessarily relevant to our creative endeavors.  The expansion of our perspectives on the world through intellectual growth can boost our creative output.  Here are some that have been beneficial to me personally:  The TED Radio Hour, The Side Hustle Show, On Being with Krista Tippett, and here are 15 others.  (Shameless self-promo: I have a podcast called Mind For Life as well)

7.  Try Lateral Thinking Puzzles

Creativity is really about being able to think differently than how we are used to thinking. It’s about engaging our minds in different ways than we typically do.  A group called Future Partners works with clients to establish a practice they call Think Wrong.  They encourage their clients to upend traditional thinking to open up creative solutions to common problems.  “Thinking wrong” simply engages in meta-thought or thinking about how we are thinking about something.  Of course, our brains “default” into habitual and traditional thinking patterns and one way we can try to up-end those patterns is through the use of puzzles and exercises that force us to think in new ways.  There are a multitude of lateral thinking puzzles which challenge or preconceptions and force us to employ creative solutions.   Additionally Sudoku and crossword puzzles can force our neural networks into creating new connections.

8.  Apply Posterior to Chair

When I was speaking with one of my professors about how to come up with ideas for articles and essays – a particularly difficult creative endeavor – I got this piece of advice: “The best way I know how is to apply a$$ to chair.” We typically think creativity is some mystical force that comes to us to reveal the mysteries of the universe.  In Greek mythology, the muses are the inspiration goddesses that come to help us to think in creative and engaging ways.  These mythologies tend to lead us into thinking that this mystical creative force will come upon us in some ecstatic revelation and our novel or essay will write itself.  The truth is you simply have to put in the work.  As one writer said, “The muse is a bum.  The muse only shows up when you bait her by putting your butt in the chair.”  And while we admire the creative people like Stephen King, we don’t usually understand that he writes 10 pages a day, every day.  Steven Pressfield talks about this paradox in his book The War of Art.  The real enemy to creativity isn’t new ideas, it is resistance.  Whenever we encounter a “creative block” we stop creating and wait for the muse to show up and give us the answer.  Pressfield’s cure for this resistance is simple – turning pro.  Turning pro means doing what the professionals do and that is simply showing up to work each day.  It is applying your posterior to the chair and working.  We view creativity as some type of voodoo magic, but the pros – those that are really creative – simply go to work.

Creativity is a uniquely human skill that we all can and should improve.  I don’t believe anyone would make the argument that less creativity would make the world a better place.  In fact today more than ever we need creative solutions to difficult problems.  We need more beauty.  We need more art.  We need creativity now more than ever.  So whatever it is you have been putting off, do what you need to expand and develop your thinking in creative ways but most importantly, apply your posterior to the chair and get to work.

 

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Creativity is one of the essential skills you need to be successful.  Check out this article on the 52 essential skills to be successful in business and life and download the Essential Skill Assessment absolutely FREE!

 

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