Creativity starts with understanding what it is. Many people go through life without ever reflecting on when they are creative. They solve problems, come up with ideas, improvise or adapt, but don’t see it as creativity. And if you don’t see what you do as creative, it’s not something you can consciously develop either.
It’s like lifting heavy things from time to time without thinking of it as physical exercise. You may even lift in a way that strains your body, without knowing it. Only when you start to reflect on how you lift, and what makes you stronger, can you improve your technique.
Intrinsic motivation is key
Creativity is closely linked to intrinsic motivation. You need to want to understand, want to improve, want to play. Those who are driven by desire, curiosity and meaning often find creative ways. But that will can also be trained. Just as you train your muscles or your vocabulary in a new language, you can train your ability to think new things. It just requires something completely different than repetition. Creativity needs variety, new perspectives and exercises that break patterns.
The problem with training creativity
There are lots of apps for physical exercise, meditation or language learning. What they have in common is that you repeat something every day. But that is exactly the opposite of what creativity needs. To become more creative, you have to actively challenge yourself not to do what you usually do. You need to expose yourself to the unexpected, the unfamiliar and the uncomfortable. This means that training is not about doing the same thing every day, but about consciously doing something new. It makes it feel strange and maybe even unnecessary, but if it weren’t, it wouldn’t have any effect. It should feel a little strange.
A four-week training program for creativity
Here is a training program that helps you develop your creative ability by breaking habits every day, challenging thought patterns and creating space for new ideas.
Week 1 – Break patterns in everyday life
- Wear your watch on your other arm all day
- Brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand
- Take a new route to work or school
- Eat breakfast for dinner and dinner for breakfast
- Walk backwards in an empty hallway or room
- Wear an item of clothing you haven’t worn in a long time
- Go to a place in your city you’ve never been to
Week 2 – Explore new perspectives
- Talk to a stranger, e.g. in a waiting room or on the bus
- Read a magazine or blog you would never normally read
- Write a letter to yourself in 10 years
- Call someone from your contacts you don’t know well and ask for input on a problem
- Draw a self-portrait without looking at the paper
- Write a poem about something you find boring
- Watch a documentary about a topic you knew nothing about
Week 3 – Create and construct
- Build something out of Lego, cardboard or clay
- Find a new recipe and cook it for dinner
- Paint a picture using exactly three colours
- Change the way things in your home sit
- Redesign a room to be more functional than it is
- Create your own board game and play it
- Write a short story of 100 words
Week 4 – Deepen and combine
- Combine two previous exercises into a new one
- Create a manifesto with three rules for how you want to think creatively
- Go to a restaurant you would never normally choose
- Record a video pitching an invention you came up with
- Explain a complex topic to a child
- List five things you always do, and don’t do any of them today
- Write down what you’ve learned in the last 27 days
Reflection makes a difference
Doing something differently is only half the battle. It’s only when you reflect on what you’ve done and how it felt that you begin to understand what creativity is to you and it becomes a skill. Ask yourself the question: When did I use creativity today? What made me feel creative? Was it difficult, fun, frustrating?
By training yourself to discover these feelings and reflections, you develop not only your creative capacity but also your self-awareness. And just like physical exercise, you will notice that what at first felt complicated becomes easier over time.
Start over and see the difference
After four weeks, you’ve probably started to see the world a little differently. Your usual tasks may feel more inspiring, or you’ll find more ways to solve problems. Then it’s time to start the program over from the beginning and see how much more you dare, have the energy and want.
Creativity is not something you have or don’t have. It’s a muscle, a perspective and a habit. It just needs to be trained properly.
