How I Unleashed My Creativity

There are a LOT of articles, lists, and blogs on how to be more creative.

I have never read any of them.

I figured I was one of those non-creative people who are really good at math instead.

Then, something strange happened. I took one of those fun and highly validated personality assessments. Creativity came back as one of my interests. I was thinking, "No way, this thing is way off."

One important thing to understand (which I didn't until recently) is being creative means more than being good at music, art, or improv. It also means you are good at finding creative solutions to challenges. This resonated with me, and I was good with harnessing this strength.

I found myself thinking differently and being more interested in finding new challenges to solve to test out my creative problem-solving skills. It's been fun and is actually something I am good at.

I also became more interested in creativity because I was listening to a book, and the author talks about how EVERYONE is creative. I started being more open-minded to the fact that I could be creative - not only in the sense of problem-solving but also, thinking of interesting or funny things to say or write about.

I still cannot draw, paint, or create eye-appealing art.

I noticed myself coming up with funny LinkedIn posts about Vari furniture. I also noticed I was coming up with good business ideas without trying. I started to wonder where this was coming from and how, all of a sudden, I became a creative person. So, here is a quick list of the things that I think contributed to the change:

• I am listening to books and podcasts that are not my typical go tos.
• I am more open-minded to the way other people think.
• I stopped caring so much about what other people think of me. Overthinking is the #1 creativity crusher.
• I am on the 5th round of the Headspace pack on creativity.
• I am more aware of things I am resisting or attracted to. Both of these restrict your creative thinking.
• I write down any idea that could be something. When I look back on these ideas, new ideas stem from them, and my idea evolves into something it would not have if I simply sat down and forced myself to think of a good idea.
• I've stopped trying to be creative.
• I realized that I continue to spend so much time riding my bike because it is the only way I can get myself to stop thinking long enough to come up with great ideas.

We all have something inside us to share with the world, and allowing the creative juices to flow will bring this to fruition much quicker than trying too hard to be someone you think you want to be because someone else seems satisfied.

If you want to find out more about yourself to make a move into your mission, please reach out, and we can talk about taking you through the same assessment that I mentioned at the beginning of this post.