I believe that everyone can benefit from using and developing imagination and creativity.
Why?
First of all, there is something divine about the creative process. When we enter the flow of creation, we don’t feel the time passing by and the inner excitement overflows. The driving force of a written piece of content, of an innovative solution, of a painting coming out of an artist’s hand, is sometimes called a ”work of God”. God, or ”creator”, or anything we call this force, has admittedly created nature and its inhabitants, breathing life into everything surrounding us. This story of the creation of ”everything” strongly resonates with human creations. Humans use creativity to breathe life into their work, just like the ”creator” did. By entering the creative state, we enter the divine state, hence acquiring the ”mind of God”.
Nothing feels better than the magic of disconnection from reality through the creative process. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls this state a ”flow – a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity”. When disconnecting and entering the ”flow”, we might create something really beautiful which will make us proud. This creative satisfaction can be the source of the feeling of purpose, necessary for a fulfilling and happy life.
Tapping into the deeper world of our thoughts and ideas greatly expands our possibilities and potential. It increases our engagement in meaningful activity leading to better results of our efforts. Not only it helps produce work of better quality, but also makes the hours spent on some project perceived as fulfilling and pleasant, and not as a forced activity we perform in exchange for money. To succeed and grow in our métier, we must foster creativity.
A lot can be said about the importance of growing a creative mind, but as in any domain we want to succeed, we need to put words into practice. So what can be done?
How?
Everyone as a child enjoyed creative self-expression activities, be it reciting a poem, drawing a tree, or making a collage. This quality doesn’t disappear, it simply remains buried in our subconsciousness under tons of adulthood responsibilities and routines. Our task is to wake it up, digging the well in our minds, and finding some cues. Even when your job is the least creative and you need to enter data into the excel sheet, fill your free time with an inspiring hobby that might shake your world and motivate you for a change.
If you think right now ”I wish I had time and energy to dig this well or at least a shovel”, most probably you just underestimate your resources. The trick is that the more activities which spark creativity we do, the more space and energy we create for ourselves. As a rule of thumb, appetite comes during the meal, and once you show up, the flow will take care of the rest.
The list of activities that make your creative juices flow is enormous, and it is up to you to choose one or many or to mix them. Writing the morning pages, making a vision board, painting, exploring a new neighborhood, taking another path to work, dancing, doing yoga, meditating, listening to a podcast, jog in the park, you name it. Even 10 minutes per day of breaking from your routine and having new experiences can dramatically change your life and bring up new ideas that you’d never thought you’d have. Once you feel stuck, take a break, turn the music on and go shake your body, and you’ll be surprised how the fresh energy will flow and you’ll find yourself making new connections between old ideas. Such small steps will grow into a daily habit of learning and trying new things, pushing the boundaries of your imagination, and helping you think ”out of the box”.
I truly believe that everyone has the power to tap into an abundant well within ourselves, to touch our inner ”gods” and release сreative energy by making small steps every day.