Creative

Think back to when you were young. What was your favorite day of the year? You are probably imagining your birthday, right? That special day once a year when you got extra attention, plenty of cake and ice cream, and of course, every kid’s favorite: presents!

What child doesn’t love presents? But as you may recall, there’s some- thing funny about children and gifts. No matter if it was a brand-new bike or the latest, greatest toy, most of us eventually found ourselves putting down the gift itself in favor of playing with the giant cardboard box it came in.

This box was our castle. Our spaceship. Our fort. And for good reason. During this time in our early childhood, we were all thinking “expansively.”

Our little minds knew no constraints, and so through the power of Divergent Thinking, a simple box could be anything our hearts desired.

But then one day along came school. Soon enough, we had teachers telling us that our favorite spaceship is “just a box,” and in that split second all of our creativity and imagination started to crumble. This would go on to be compounded by traditional education and employment, where we were taught to think “reductively” (Convergent Thinking) instead of Expansively. The endless leaps and bounds of our imaginations were reeled in and con- fined.

This is why so many people believe they are not creative. Instead of thinking Expansively and believing anything is possible, they were taught to think Reductively and to believe that “Creativity” was a special skill set limited to the ability to play music, paint, or act.

Personally, I have a much broader view of creativity. We are all creative. We all played with the box once upon a time and turned it into a vehicle that sailed the seas or reached the stars. But we have been told we’re not creative so many times that we’ve simply given up, and now we leave creativity to the “creatives.”

I define creativity as the ability to have an idea and innovation as the ability to get it done. But like every other muscle, your creative brain (the right side) needs regular exercise. Thankfully, I have five simple tips to exercise the creative part of your mind to improve creativity:

1.  Go for a Walk

Both Walt Disney and Steve Jobs could always be found walking the campuses of Disney Studios, Pixar, and Apple. Indeed, they would tell you it was these walks where they got their best ideas. So, find time each day to get out from behind your desk and get some creative inspiration while out on a stroll!

2.  Seek Freshness

Have you ever gotten home from your commute, only to wonder how you got there? Believe it or not, your brain shuts down on the way home be- cause there is never any fresh stimulus. It’s the same car, the same route,

the same sights, and the same sounds.

I’m a great believer that “no new stimulus in” equals “no new ideas out.” Try commuting a different way to work once a month, and see what you notice that wasn’t there before. Listen to a different radio station once a week. Even small changes can have a profound effect on how your brain functions, and these new stimuli could be just the thing you need to kick- start creativity.

3. Be Curious

Einstein famously once said, “I am not particularly clever, I am just innately curious.”

As kids, didn’t we ask “why, why, and why” again? Asking “why” was how we learned. But then education and corporate training taught us there is only one right answer, so we stopped looking for the second one.

Creativity and the insight for innovation often come from asking the fourth or fifth “why,” never just the first one. So, condition yourself to keep asking why, and you’ll find new creative ideas become magically unlocked.

4.  Practice Mindfulness

We all know our daily calendars look like the bar code on the side of a cereal box. We also know that time is generally considered to be the biggest barrier to innovation, yet we continue to pack our diaries with meeting after meeting and then complain, “I don’t have time to think!”

Scheduling a mindfulness routine can counteract this endless cycle. Try meditating first thing in the morning. Even as little as five minutes can help, especially if you are one of those people who gets their best ideas while falling asleep or waking up.

5.  Be Playful

Did you know that only 13 percent of your brain is conscious, and the other 87 percent is subconscious? We use only 13 percent on any given day because when we’re stressed at work, the reticular activation system (think of it as a door inside your mind) between the conscious and subconscious brain is firmly closed.

Yet the moment we play and laugh, that door opens, giving us access to both sides of our brains. It’s these moments when creative solutions to problems can really shine through. So take advantage, and work at times during the day when you can let your brain “play”!

With these quick, easy exercises, you’ll be able to greatly enhance your ability to function creatively on a daily basis and reactivate that expansive thinking from your childhood. And with enough practice, not only will you be an unstoppable force of creativity and innovation; you’ll find yourself turning every box you see back into a spaceship!