How to Tap Your Creativity

Occasionally I post to both of my blogs and this is one of those subjects that will appear in both this blog and www.raggedykingdom.blogspot.com .   I think it's important to nourish creativity and let it flourish.   I am amazed by the number of people that I meet that say something like "Oh, I'm not creative.".    Generally there is an area of their life that is creative and they fail to see it - they are an outstanding cook, speaker, gardener, etc.   There are more ways to be creative than picking up a paintbrush.

This article was published in ROCKHURST, in Spring/Summer 2001.   The title of the article was Unmasking the Muse by William Sturgell PHD.

 

HOW TO TAP YOUR CREATIVITY

 

 

1. You must want to create:   Creative solutions come from intrinsic motivation, from the joy of working on a particular kind of thing, from the love of working in a particular field.
2. Identify a problem in the field or an artistic endeavor to work on.   It must be something that garners your genuine interest.
3. Commit.   You must believe in the value of your creative endeavor, that in the end you will produce something useful.
4. Surround yourself with friends who believe in you and your endeavor.
5. Learn as much about your endeavor as you can.  Not only will you learn, you will discover previously unrecognized problems, which in itself is a creative contribution.
6. Question the assumptions and presuppositions of everything.   Think critically.   Seek your biases.   Test your beliefs.
7. Let your imagination go where it may.   Get playful with your thinking.   Observe Carefully.
8. Get a hobby - Something to take your mind off your creative endeavor.
9. Schedule leisure.   Play.