ACQUIRING CREATIVITY - NO LONGER A SECRET!(20 ways to improve creativity)

20 qualities of a creative person, this article will improve your imagination power and creative thinking.

If anyone will ask you .. are you creative? I am sure you will pause for a moment to speak out the answer! Or when someone will ask us to take some names of creative profession, why don’t we think of CA or law or medical?? When we talk about a creative profession, why designing field, a film maker and a story writing  first strike our head? Is it an untold function stored in one corner of the brain? or it  is an  imagination?? What does the word creativity mean? How can a person be called as creative? Or what an individual should do to be creative? Well, after a lot of research I have written this article to solve our common questions. The curiosity is a fundamental aspect of facilitating creativity. It makes an individual think deeper and out of the box (about anything). Every person must have thought once in life How to enhance creativity? How to improve imagination power? What are the ways  to enhance (increase) the creativity and creative thinking? They must have made a strategy. This article is not only for a designer rather it is for all creative professionals.

Below I have listed down 20 such activities and qualities (of a creative person) which can help you in improving your creativity, improving your imagination power, enhancing your creative ideas. It also helps you to stay young (in thinking) and to be humorous.  So, out of 20 such qualities check  how many qualities you already have.

1.    Make a virtual story  & Think out of the box

Do we remember the inspiring stories narrated in a beautiful and excellent manner by your mom when you were a kid to keep you engaged in a work? And the stories you cooked up in front of your parents to show your bravery? Those created were a false story . We often hear kids saying “cha-cha I went to the forest, one lion came and roar in-front of me, I said hey Sher I will kill you. Lion took a step forward; I plugged all his teeth out. ) It seems funny, but believe me it give your mind a direction. It is called imagination. The creative person has very strong imagination power. You must have heard about the artist/scientist “Leo Nardo DA Vinci” who had imagined airplane 100 years before the invention. That time it was hypothetical, magical, no connection with reality. He drew exactly, the shape of aircraft which we are seeing today. So think beyond the limit, think hypothetical people will say you insane, but one day your ideas may knock the door.

2.    Keep your “inside kid” alive

“If you still think like a kid, play like a kid, enjoy every moment like a kid then you are alive, The day when your inside kid starts vanishing you are dead” I believe in this quote. Being a kid gives you the freedom to think exception, you feel energetic automatically it will be replicated to your overall personality. (Hey.. Common! I am not suggesting you to go into the meeting and start behaving like kids!) Being like a kid means being humorous, be natural,  be an attention seeker, make the next person laugh. By doing this Your friend circle will increase, you will get connected and ultimately you will learn a lot.

3.    Play at work

Enjoy your work, no matter how boring it is, if you have a tendency to mingle with surroundings, you will gradually start liking your job (When I say job it means our work). Whatever situation is there trying to be a part of that situation, keep your ego aside. Keeping status aside and work with any person irrespective of his income and status. Learn from them and never show off. It helps to be grounded. When I was studying in NIFT, Delhi, my batch-mates were from a strong and powerful background like minister’s family, a  son/daughter of an IAS / IPS officer but every one remain grounded and no one boasted about their richness. They were too crazy to eat street side “Chola Kulcha” along with other friends. They shared the same hotel with us when we went for our internships.this attitude in a person helps to win the confidence of the surrounding people and you actually start loving your company. To enjoy your every moment, to enjoy your work mingling with people and loving your work are essential. Do whatever you want, jump, dance, do mimicry of someone, share joke…etc in short BE CRAZY!

4.    Become tech savvy & Play video games

Research has proved that the person who play video game has sharp IQ than others (please note- I am trying to relate it in today’s context it doesn’t mean the person who is not tech savvy or who do not play Video game they are no creative). It fastens your time of reaction to the incident. In today’s context being a tech savvy helps in different verticals of life, you will become updated. Technology is being upgraded every day, for example) -  we started with telegrams and are now living on smart phones. If you will not adopt new technology, the technologies and new generation will discard you, and you will be known as ‘old age’ person.

5.    Laugh , smile , sing random lines, mummer,  make sound

Doing these kinds of activities are common phenomena of a creative people. You can easily see a painter, an artist, a lyricist a director, a designer use to play music while at work. They do unconventional things. Though it is not planned, but naturally they start doing these kinds of activity.

For example a designer is  sketching very silently, suddenly he jumps and starts shouting wowwwwwwwwwwww, yesssssssssss, this is the thing I want, baby you look so beautiful in this dress (his intention is not to show these activity to others, it comes naturally, even if room is locked, and nobody is there to watch, then also he will do the same) so don’t restrict yourself, don’t think that you are doing something wrong, or don’t think that you are insane being a creative people it is natural. If you listen to Kishore Kumar song.. edlayi edlayeee ..”uhooo, edlayee edlayee uhooo”..”hurrrr…hatth hurr huth” these are the sound comes from a creative heart. You will see when a creative person works they start talking to one’s work.

6.    Try something new (doodling/scribbling..etc)

Make it a hobby to do something new no matter whether it is good or bad, it has meaning or not. Even if you are drawing a straight line it has meaning, something is there in the creator’s mind that’s why, drew a straight line. If you will read about the artist Van Gogh (who made a famous painting called Potato eater) you will find that time nobody recognized his talent, but the day came when his painting become world famous and he has been regarded as a creator of a new style. You can start with something very small; it may or may not be a part of your professional career. To make something as a hobby,  suppose you are a designer designing a garment and graphics is your job responsibility now if you started making cartoons, making clay artwork, installation, craft work( which you like the most) or started writing a poem it is not your job responsibility but you are doing it because you like it ‘the most’. It will motivate you from inside and definitely it will improve your creativity.  Now if your creativity will improve it will help you in your professional career as well.

7.    Note down ideas

It has been seen that creative person thinks much and recalls many things during bedtime ( or while traveling). Sometimes they think in that extent, so whole night they could not sleep. In the Morning they think that's why I have spent whole night  thinking silly. It is not right, in the contrary, I must say that thinking was not silly; actually you remember only silly things and forgot good ideas. Good things comes in mind very fast and goes even faster, so the best way is, start noting down your ideas once it comes in your mind. You may feel laggard, but if you will start noting down, it will help you in two ways (i) useless and silly ideas will not come frequently and (ii) good idea will not be missed out.

8.    Spend time alone and do introspection

After a certain period of time go for a walk alone, or spent time on the roof (make small trip) don’t think about your responsibility in the family, don’t take tension of a job, don’t consider day to day problems. It’s like a meditation. Talk to your soul very honestly, first ask questions from your soul and then reply by yourself.   When I was a student one of my professors suggested me to do this exercise in a closed dark room. He said closed yourself in a room for an hour (in the night-) switch off all the lights, switch off your phone, nobody will be visible, not a single object will be visible to you, don’t try to hear noise from outside, you will not hear anything, the only two things you can feel are ‘one- you and another your soul’ the only two voices you will hear are the question what you will ask and the answer you will give. After doing this exercise for a couple of days, we all started feeling a sensation, calmness, patience. It will help you to improve your imagination, and a materialist approach towards accomplishing the goal.

9.    Make a room like mood board

Your workplace should be your mood changer, in designing, movie or any kind of creative media designer/artist/director they work on a particular theme. In hard core designing, designers use to make a mood board, the main objective behind taking the theme, making mood board, writing, write-ups, researching on that particular theme- is to focus on the targeted line.  When a designer starts working on a particular theme, first he/she starts decorating the place accordingly. It helps the designer to think again and again (in this way they feel connected) they start living in that theme. So here I would suggest whatever creative work you do (creative writing, designing, painting, directing, story writing or any other) decorates your workstation in such a way that it looks like narrating a story. When you enter that place believe me, you will be forced to think in that specific area. 

10. Deal with sarcastic comments and rejection

Don’t care what others are saying about you, be confident and move on. Here I would like to tell you a real life incidence about Mr. Amitab Bachhan, he has been rejected 3 times by AIR for bad voice (that time  soft and polite voice/melodious voice were in trend Devanad, Manoj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor was super star) they said, your voice is like rowdy but today Mr. Bachhan’s voice is a landmark, he is known for his husky and deep voice (his voice known as ‘sexiest voice of the millennium’).  Accept criticism, if you will do 10 things there are chances that people will criticize 9 out of 10 things. But if one thing is being praised, consider it as an achievement. Even your all work is being criticized by the mass, and then also I would suggest you to keep calm and work silently. Someone very nicely quoted “do you work so silently (with great patience) that your success will create hype/ advertise in the world ( kam etni khamoshi se karo ki tumhari kamyabi shor macha de)

11. Don’t expect perfection

In initial thoughts or in concepts you might feel that there is a numerous mistakes or immaturity, don’t be panic. Don’t give-up, refine your ideas, and work again. We are human being, making mistakes, is in our nature, but you need to overcome, take it positively.   There is a saying about Ramdhari Singh Dinker (a famous poet in 60’s) he used to write whole night, but when he read it in the morning, become upset  and use to tear all the pages. He becomes disappointed, not because he did not write well, he becomes upset because he thinks I can write better than this. So, be positive in your approach

12. List down problems and try to solve one by one

There is a saying you problem is a problem till it is not explored, once you know that this is the problem I have, you start avoiding them, start taking precaution, start searching remedy. So try to find problems inside you. You know yourself better than anyone else knows. Start noting down problems, search remedy for that problem one by one. 

13. Rethink labels

Thinking process should be retrospective, think and think again. Do activity and relate it with other things. Suppose plug a rose from the garden and go home. Defiantly you will do something with the rose (whatever you wish to) after a day recall what all things you did with that rose. For an example I have given a rose to Mr. Raj, he took it and  went home, he kissed that rose 10 times, then he had a curiosity that what is the shape of the petals, he removed one petal, then he saw core part of the rose he unravel  all the petals one by one. He started relating the shape of the bud to the electric bulb, he thinks that what if these petals comes from a single point, how it will look… etc  After a day he noted down all the activity what he did earlier, some of the points may seem weird but some points are notable. 

14.Listening to others and being social

A very known scholar has said “if you are talking, you deliver what you already know, but if you are listening to someone there is a chance to gain something”. In broader perspective listening include listening music, listening motivational thoughts reading books etc. Go to social gatherings, enjoy with friends. Arrange a small party; go for clubbing have some booze. It will help you to become extrovert.

15.Look blue and green

The colors tend to enhance performance on cognitive tasks. As we know Blue is associated with the ocean and sky. It gives the feeling of openness. Our pre-notion of green is growth. In western countries they have started color therapy, for any kind of disease, they suggest a set of colors and take the patient to the place with a respective color combination (garden, palace.. etc) also suggest to do interior of that patient's room accordingly. According to a research it has been found that creative person’s eyes automatically go with these colors first.

16. Exercise the eyes and try some yoga

After a certain time interval (1-2 hours gap) close your eyes for 2-3 min and keep your palm on the both eyes it will relax your eyes and as we know our eyes are directly linked with the brain, so your mind will be relaxed. This exercise will give you strength to think deeper.. You can try Yoga at morning (sirsasan/surya namaskar /pranayam/kapalbharti) and before bedtime (vajrasan) it will help you to stay calm and energetic.

17. Write freely

No matter how poor you are at handwriting, no matter how many grammatical mistakes you do, when you are writing your ideas, write freely, don’t think too much. After a day or in next shift read it once again, read it from the targeted audience point of view and then edit accordingly.  It will add fuel to your thought. 

18. Lie down

Research proved that if you are thinking with a sitting gesture, it will give you conventional thought. But when you lie down, your thinking process improves (it works only sometimes, the maximum time you will fall asleep).  Don’t try this when you are in a meeting or doing formal discussion.

19. Sleep well

In a research it is found that creative persons generally sleep more. On an average, they sleep 7 hours or more. But exceptions are always there. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam use to sleep only 4 hours in a day (since his childhood). Shahrukh Khan also sleeps only 4 hours in a day that does not mean he is not creative!! 

20. Make your own signature style

Everyone is unique in this world, so being a creative person makes your own signature style. The way you talk, the way you behave, the way you dress up should reflect your own personality.  There is a saying “our get-up is the mirror of what we are”. You may face criticism from your friends, your family and from the society, but at the last you are what you are, be confident and do what you love to.