Keys to Staying Creative: Unlocking Our Innovation Potential

Creativity is not just a trait that belongs to artists, writers, or musicians. It's a skill that can be nurtured and developed, regardless of your profession. Creativity allows us to see the world from different perspectives, solve problems uniquely, and express ourselves in distinct ways. But how do we keep our creativity flowing consistently?

Here are some practical keys to staying creative to unlock our innovation potential:

1. Embrace Curiosity

Curiosity is the fuel for our creativity. It's about caring enough to ask questions, explore new ideas, and venture into the unknown (or yet to be discovered). To stay creative, cultivating a curious mindset is key. As we get older and more "professional" in our respective fields, it's often tempting to bank on what we know or what has worked in the past. Resist the urge to just accept things at face value (or business as usual); dig deeper, seek to understand, and dare to ask 'why' and 'what if'.

2. Surround Yourself with Diversity

Creativity thrives in diverse environments. Surrounding yourself with people who have different backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints can often expose you to fresh ideas and perspectives. Take a look around. Do the people around you look and think just like you? Maybe it's time to explore new environments outside of the usual. Engage in new conversations, meet new people, attend a conference outside your areas of expertise, and open your mind to different cultures, philosophies, and ways of thinking.

3. Make Time for Solitude

While interacting with others can spark creativity, solitude also creates space for us to reflect, digest, and transform the ideas we glean from others into something uniquely ours. Set aside quiet moments for introspection and document your thoughts. This could be during early morning walks, late-night stargazing, or simply sitting quietly with a cup of coffee during a break from work. Creativity needs both interaction with others as well as solitude.

4. Keep Learning

Never stop learning. Every new piece of knowledge you acquire is an addition to your creative toolbox. Attend workshops, read books, take online courses, or simply watch a tutorial online about something that sparks interest. The more you learn, the more resources you will have to draw upon when you need to think creatively. Innovation is often the result of two or more seemingly unrelated ideas intersecting with each other. Create a sandlot of ideas through learning from multiple fields of study and experiences.

5. Cultivate Resilience

Creativity often involves taking risks and dealing with failure. Not every idea will be a winner, and that's okay. The key is to learn from these experiences, pick yourself up, and keep going. Resilience allows us to see failure not as a dead-end but as a much-needed experience to build towards something more meaningful.

6. Look After Your Well-being

Your physical, emotional, and mental well-being greatly impact your ability to think creatively. Regular exercise, a balanced diet, adequate sleep, and mindfulness practices like meditation can help maintain your overall health, boost your mood, and clear your mind, making room for creativity to flourish. Never forget that it's your whole being that inspires creativity.

7. Practice Creativity Daily

Creativity is like a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Make creativity a part of your daily routine. This could be through writing, drawing, self-recording, cooking, gardening, or any activity that encourages you to think outside of your own box and express yourself.

Creativity is an adventure that takes courage, curiosity, and persistence. But with these keys, you can unlock your innovative potential and keep the creative juices flowing. Remember, creativity isn't about producing a masterpiece every time; it's about enjoying the process and growing along the way. So, get out there, stay curious, explore, create, and most importantly, have fun! Life is too short not to practice creativity. Our world needs your ideas to flourish.

Q: What are some other ways you stay creative in the day-to-day?