5 Activities to Catalyze Your Creativity

Why does it seem that some people are more creative than others? Whether it's art, music, design, poetry, etc., it's like these things are so easy for certain people. Yet for others it seems like they don't have a creative bone in their bodies.

Creativity is not simply an issue of nature (born with) vs. nurture (learned). It's both. For some, creativity is a natural gift. For others it's developed over time. In either case your creativity needs to be stimulated.

With the incredible mind that God has given us, His expectation is that we would use it more creatively than we often do. Furthermore, utilizing creativity is an important tool for implementing your dream.

Unfortunately, many people are intimidated by the thought of being creative so they don't challenge themselves in this area. Interestingly, new research supports the concept of "use it or lose it", i.e. brain cells can die if they are not stimulated (click here for the story).

Well, it's not as hard to stimulate your brain cells as you may think. You can "catalyze" your creativity using five easy activities:

1. Initiate: Don't wait to get hit in the head with a great idea. Pursue new ideas through interactions with the Internet, people, books, museums, nature, etc.
2. Imagine: Schedule time to brainstorm and write down random ideas. Also, keep a journal or voice recorder close by for when these thoughts come to you.
3. Investigate: Explore subjects outside of your expertise or interest. You may find incredible ideas and concepts in unexpected places that you can transfer to your situation.
4. Innovate: Don't just think about it - try it! You never know what's going to work if you never put anything new into action.
5. Inspire: Share your ideas with others. You might be able to inspire someone else with something that didn't seem so great to you. Also, they may be able to add something to your idea to complete it.

In order to continually stimulate your creativity, you need to intentionally venture outside of your daily routine. In fact, these types of activities should be part of your daily routine!

Lately, I've be re-inspired by spoken word artists to write some of my own poetry (which I haven't done in almost 10 years!). I am by no means a poet, but I enjoy poetry and attempting to write poems helps to fuel my creativity.

How do you catalyze your creativity? What is the most creative thing you have done lately? Leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.

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