The 14 keys to enhancing creativity

One of the most fashionable aspects when it comes to personal development is the creativity.

In our societies, the progressive mechanization of work has been displacing the need for low-skilled labor. Workers who once performed hard and heavy tasks have been disappearing because they have appeared machines, robots or technologies that could execute the same faster and more efficiently job. For this reason, companies are changing and tend to demand and promote other more qualified professional profiles.

Creative profiles: increasingly valued

Among the many virtues that companies claim, one of the most requested is creativity. People with creative profiles tend to seek original solutions to specific problems, they are able to see a little further. And this has a reward, and I am not only referring to the greater chances of finding a good job (which also), but to the ability of these people to create works of art of great value or business ideas with an impact on the society.

• It may interest you: "The 7 personality traits of creative people"

Boosting your creativity in 14 simple steps

So that, it is interesting that we become aware of the importance of being creative. That is why I wanted to write this post together with the brilliant marketologist Maria Jordà, to explain some keys to enhance creativity and originality.

It must be remembered that, although the creative spirit has traditionally been related to the world of the arts scenic (theater, film, music ...) and creative (sculpture, painting ...), the truth is that it can express itself in very different. And it is not always shown in a positive sense: have you seen the movie ‘Se7en’ or the first chapter of ‘Black Mirror’? Creativity can sometimes take hideous forms when, for example, a criminal uses his wits to perpetrate crimes. Therefore, it should be clear that creativity is not a good thing per se, and that it can be used for very different purposes. It is up to you to use your ingenuity in an area where you contribute something interesting to the world.

Creative spirit: how to improve it step by step

After this introduction, we are ready to start learning about the fourteen keys to developing creativity. Let us begin.

1. Take time to think and imagine

It seems like an obvious point, but we must not overlook it. It is necessary to spend time developing creative thinking, away from obligations, tasks and sources of stress. It is not bad that, from time to time, you let your imagination fly, addressing topics that particularly interest you, or others that concern you.

Do not feel pressured to draw logical or excessively rigid reasoning about what you think, just let your mind flow, enjoy the moment and do not resist daydreaming.

2. Think beyond tradition and the usual

Just because something is traditional doesn't mean it's good. In fact, many people act routinely just out of laziness, not daring to assess reality from other perspectives. If the habit is no longer useful, why not try changing it with a little creativity? If the traditional is just a form of immobility, it may be time to innovate.

3. Curiosity: enhance it

Curiosity is, in my opinion, the basis of the creative mindset. If you are able to raise doubts about many aspects of reality, it will be easier for you to feel a genuine interest in what you propose to do. This curiosity will lead you to inform yourself and think for yourself, generating a positive dynamic that will ultimately enhance your creativity.

• Creativity requires a thinking mind, freeing the senses and having an artist consciousness

- Maria Jordà (@jorda_maria) May 5, 2016

4. The importance of games

There are many games (practically all, in fact) that can help you foster your creativity. The game can help you find new ways to tackle problems and challenges. If you have some construction games at home, try going back to your childhood for a few minutes and trying to build a castle. It is a good way to let your mind flow, something that enhances your creative and imaginative version.

5. Pose hypotheses and ask yourself for abstract possibilities

Most writers of the science fiction genre they manage to spin fantastic stories based on posing hypothetical situations in which the laws of physics are more flexible than normal. If you try to imagine an ordinary situation but modifying one of its essential aspects and that all we take for granted, you will see that reality changes dramatically and opens a wide range of possibilities.

6. Read fantasy stories

In the previous point I mentioned a genre that I personally like a lot: science fiction. Science fiction stories propose parallel realities in which nothing is impossible. This is one of the creative literary genres par excellence, but it is not the only one. I would dare to say that any reading (as long as it has a minimum of quality, of course) can enhance your creativity. Knowledge is not a condition sine qua non to be creative, but it will most likely help you improve your creativity.

7. Give your thoughts time

Your ideas and previous judgments about things may be more or less accurate, but they should not be disregarded. The ideas that some aspect of reality provokes in you are a good raw material it takes time to develop and come to fruition. Give your intuition the necessary freedom, since over time it can metamorphose or crystallize into concrete ideas.

8. Take some risks

The creative mind is not exempt from leaps and bounds and circling. It is normal in any creative process that this happens, and it is also one of the ways that our brain has to structure ideas. Making mistakes just means that you are closer to having a good idea.

9. The creative process, better in a state of flow

Do you know the flow status? We go into this state of mind when we are so deeply immersed and interested in the task at hand that we lose track of time and we are 100% motivated. The state of flow comes to us when we are passionate about what we do. Consequently, our creativity will have a much greater potential if we dedicate efforts to what really motivates us. Enjoy the process and the flow will work in your favor.

10. Do not give up

May inspiration find you working, as the great Pablo Picasso would say. Notice that there are people who, when putting on their overalls, always expect that all the elements are perfectly aligned in their favor. This is a gross error that only leads to inoperation.

If you want to find inspiration and creativity, you have to take risks (we return to point number eight) and keep in mind that You can only aspire to perfection if you dedicate many hours of effort and genuine interest in what you have proposed.. No one is born taught, you must go your own way. Creativity is a complex skill that you will develop over time. Patience... and luck.

11. Think without thinking

Let your imagination fly, write down everything that comes to your head, do exercises is the same. Nonsense ideas, words, colors, emotions. Try to make a common thread of each of them, that one word leads to another. Write it down on a list and then make sense of it.

12. Forget taboos

To be creative, the last thing you have to have are social conditions. Open your mind, and let yourself go. There is a lot to learn from other cultures and from people who do not meet social standards. Creativity can come at the most unexpected moment.

13. Look for trends

It is always good to learn from others, what is worn or what is fashionable. One idea can lead to another.

14. Listen to yourself and analyze your environment

Ask yourself: Do you need something? Answer yourself: If I had... everything would be easier ... Or have you never imagined something that would save you from what you really hate? Sometimes just looking around you, analyzing your unmet needs, creativity emerges!