The art of being Creative!

Much has been made of creativity. Especially by those who do not think of themselves as creative or imaginative. They revere it as a rarefied place occupied by painters, architects, poets, writers, and innovators, people who make us wonder if everything we thought we knew about the subject was wrong. But the truth is, creativity, is not the realm of the elite. We are all creative!

Who is a creative person?

If you’re sentient, with a head that can think, ears that can grasp, eyes that can see, hands that can feel and a nose that can perceive, you are creative. If you’re not a piece of wood, but a living thing you can be creative. Every form of life on this planet is creative. Necessity makes creators of us all. The need to find a solution to a problem, to do things differently, to explore the unexplored keeps us on our toes, compelling us to think laterally, creatively.

Necessity is the mother of creativity!

Sometimes we manage to find ourselves in sticky situations. It could be while doing something routine, at work, or while playing a sport, music, or performing just any activity. When we start figuring out a solution to extricate ourselves from the situation or solving a confounding problem, we are experiencing creativity in motion.

You don’t have to be a designer or an artist to be creative.

Everything around us is designed. Even time is designed to move forward. The universe, stars, planetary systems are all part of a design that was born of a cosmic creative moment.

So it’s time to bust the myth that only people who are professional designers or dabble in the arts can be creative. We’re all creative in one way or another. But what most of us fail to do is channel our inherent creativity. The ones who have learnt to harness it are the ones who have emerged card-carrying members of the creativity club.

Capture that lightning in a bottle.

It can happen in seconds, minutes, hours or days. Whatever the frequency or duration, be ready to capture that flow of creativity. Every creative moment is inspired by the world around us. It can be relative to the objective or just abstract, the point is to learn to grab that moment and make it memorable. But it takes practice to keep the mind aware, recognize the possibilities, articulate them, and create a masterpiece!

Be distracted, be creative!

You cannot be creative without being distracted. Distraction helps in expanding the creative frontiers of the mind. It refreshes the thought process, opens up new perspectives, and helps one look beyond the obvious. Alternative skills, a break from the grind, a restful night of sleep, a breath of fresh air, anything that can help you recharge your batteries is a good distraction. However, it is important to never lose sight of the goal. Distraction is only a breather in the journey towards creating magical things.

In short, creativity is not an invite-only club. On the contrary, it is a free-for-all. Find it, nurture it and play with purpose.