Creativity is Hard Work!
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Creativity has a mystique about it. People who consider themselves uncreative believe that some people just are creative, and that they have the ability to just go off into a room somewhere and emerge a few hours later with new brilliant ideas.
Here's the big secret of creativity: Creativity is hard work!
Just like any other endeavor, tapping into and applying your creativity is less a function of natural talent or inspiration and more a function of discipline and effort.
If you want to unlock and apply your creativity, do the following three things:
1) Be consistent
Creative inspiration is wonderful; it is also rare. Once in a while I will be suddenly struck with an idea for a story, article, or speech. When this happens, it's great. But if I just waited for these moments, I would accomplish very little.
The problem is that most people wait around for inspiration. They are paralyzed with non-action because nothing comes to them.
This is where consistency becomes important. People who write for a living will tell you that the most important thing is to "get the butt in the seat." That is, everyday, inspired or not, they need to sit at their desk and write. This type of consistency generates a volume of creative work, regardless of inspiration.
If you are trying to use your creativity for any purpose, then be consistent! Put some work in everyday, even if you feel blocked up. By being consistent, not only will you continue to generate ideas, but you will also be cultivating your creativity so that inspiration is more likely to hit.
This approach can also be applied to cultivating creativity. There are drills and exercises that can unlock and develop your creativity. However, these drills and exercises are useless if not used. They are also ineffective if not done consistently over a period of time. Just like a physical muscle that needs to be gradually strengthened over time, so too does your creative muscle.
How do you keep going even when you feel blocked up? That's the next point…
2) Be willing to be bad
When someone uses their creative skill to generate a new idea, the only thing the outside world sees is that one brilliant idea. What the world doesn't see is the dozens, or hundreds, or even thousands of bad ideas that led to the one good one. As you develop your creativity, be willing to be bad. Be willing to tap into your resources and keep coming up with bad ideas. The willingness to do that will unlock and increase your creative flow to a point where the good ideas will come.
Julia Cameron has a great quote "You take care of the quantity, and let God take care of the quality."
Use that as a reminder when you feel that your ideas aren't good enough.
3) Be persistent
Consistency is coming back day after day. Persistence is sticking to a task until it is done.
Because of the romanticized notion of creativity, people believe that ideas should come immediately. If nothing comes in a day or two, there is a great temptation to quit. We believe that we are out of ideas.
This is where persistence becomes paramount. Be willing to stick to it and keep creating when you feel you should quit. You must realize that your creative mind is more powerful and more resourceful than your conscious mind. Your limitations and desire to quit are in your conscious mind.
The person who comes across as truly creative is the one who persists in these times. Not because they have a great idea, but because they trust that by persisting their creative mind will give them something.
If you want to be a super creative person, be willing to keep at it, even when you are sure you have exhausted all ideas.
It is hard work to be consistent. It is hard work to be willing to be bad; to be willing to keep creating when you feel the quality is not there. It is hard work to be persistent. And yet these three things will help you unlock and apply your creativity immediately.
Stop thinking of creativity as a magic tool only a few special people possess. With some hard work and discipline, anyone (including you) can be immensely creative!
Avish Parashar is a dynamic professional speaker who shows organizations and individuals how to get what they want using the Art and Science of improv comedy. He weaves together humorous stories, witty observations, and interactive exercises from improvisational comedy to get people laughing, learning, and motivated! Avish is most commonly called upon to deliver programs on Motivation, Sales, and Communication
For more free articles, downloads, and resources, visit http://www.AvishParashar.com
To learn how to apply the powerful principles of improv comedy to your own business or life visit http://www.ImprovforEveryone.com
