BEING CREATIVE IS ONE OF LIFE'S GREAT PLEASURES

It always surprises me how many people do not give themselves credit for being creative. They are usually thinking that they can't paint or compose music or write stories, so they must not be creative. Yet many (most) of these same people figure out unique ways to solve problems and accomplish objectives every day of their lives so we are really looking differently at how we define creativity. In his book Human Motivation, Robert Franken does so as follows:

• Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others.

• Three reasons why people are motivated to be creative:
  1. need for novel, varied, and complex stimulation
  2. need to communicate ideas and values
  3. need to solve problems

• In order to be creative, you need to be able to view things in new ways or from a different perspective. Among other things, you need to be able to generate new possibilities or new alternatives. Tests of creativity measure not only the number of alternatives that people can generate but the uniqueness of those alternatives, the ability to generate alternatives or to see things uniquely does not occur by change; it is linked to other, more fundamental qualities of thinking, such as flexibility, tolerance of ambiguity or unpredictability, and the enjoyment of things heretofore unknown.
  So you don't have to be an artist, musician or author to be creative. We see it in the daily lives of housewives, parents, teachers, business people, plantworkers and just about everybody else. We're all creative in our own way. We have to be in order to accomplish anything and sometimes just to survive.
  However, if you feel you need to enhance your creative powers, study the following steps (to which I'll add a few notes in italics):

10 Steps for Boosting Creativity

by Jeffrey Baumgartner
1. Listen to music by Johann Sebastian Bach. If Bach doesn't make you more creative, you should probably see your doctor - or your brain surgeon if you are also troubled by headaches, hallucinations or strange urges in the middle of the night. You can find Bach and other inspirational music on YouTube. “Air on the G String” is one of my favorites.
2. Brainstorm. If properly carried out, brainstorming can help you not only come up with sacks full of new ideas, but can help you decide which is best. Brainstorming works best if done with more than one person. One person's ideas inspire thoughts in others. There is no corner on good ideas. They can come from the CEO or the janitor. Give everyone a chance
3. Always carry a small notebook and a pen or pencil around with you. That way, if you are struck by an idea, you can quickly note it down. Upon rereading your notes, you may discover about 90% of your ideas are daft. Don't worry, that's normal. What's important are the 10% that are brilliant. A small recorder is also a good tool to keep handy and can be found on many cell phones. Learn to use it with one hand.
4. If you're stuck for an idea, open a dictionary, randomly select a word and then try to formulate ideas incorporating this word. You'd be surprised how well this works. The concept is based on a simple but little known truth: freedom inhibits creativity. There are nothing like restrictions to get you thinking. The mind is very complicated and always open to ideas from any source.
5. Define your problem. Grab a sheet of paper, electronic notebook, computer or whatever you use to make notes, and define your problem in detail. You'll probably find ideas positively spewing out once you've done this. For some reason, the very act of focusing on the subject inspires creativity.
6. If you can't think, go for a walk. A change of atmosphere is good for you and gentle exercise helps shake up the brain cells. A nap or good night's sleep also enables your subconscious mind to work for you. Many problems have been solved while you sleep.
7. Don't watch TV. Experiments performed by the JPB Creative Laboratory show that watching TV causes your brain to slowly trickle out your ears and/or nose. It's not pretty, but it happens. I personally have to have a little TV fix but don't let it monopolize your time.
8. Don't do drugs. People on drugs think they are creative. To everyone else, they seem like people on drugs. I can't add much to this. I've never done any drugs but have written a few decent songs after a couple glasses of wine. At least I thought they were decent.
9. Read as much as you can about everything possible. Books exercise your brain, provide inspiration and fill you with information that allows you to make creative connections easily. Reading is a more active process than watching television which I believe is why it is more productive as a tool.
10. Exercise your brain. Brains, like bodies, need exercise to keep fit. If you don't exercise your brain, it will get flabby and useless. Exercise your brain by reading a lot (see above), talking to clever people and disagreeing with people - arguing can be a terrific way to give your brain cells a workout. But note, arguing about politics or film directors is good for you; bickering over who should clean the dishes is not. Reading, working puzzles, learning new languages or skills are all good brain exercise.

“REMEMBER IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START SOMETHING GREAT.”

Get creative, you'll love it!

Gene Rutt