Creativity. We want it, chase it, and crave it.
Sometimes it feels like elusive gossamer juuust out of our reach. Other times it’s a geyser erupting in great spurts we can hardly keep up with.
The truth is, creativity is always present—it just doesn’t always look or feel the way we expect it to.
We each have preconceived notions of what creativity is and how much of it we do or don’t have, so we turn it into this fixed thing when it’s really always fluid.
It’s constantly moving, shifting, and evolving. Stasis kills creativity because there’s no air and room to move. No Bueno!
If you’re a creative (and we all are), you’re constantly on the lookout for ways to spark explosive creativity.
You want to do your best work, smash past your limitations, and do it often enough to make a good living.
You also want to feel deeply satisfied, so hey, it’s kinda important you do good stuff.
And how do you pull this off every day or every other day?
Let’s explore the following ways:
1. Travel to beautiful places.
You don’t have to break the bank to do this. I’m not saying travel the world or travel nonstop; I’m just saying immerse yourself in beautiful places as often as possible.
Going somewhere new rearranges your cells and blasts you out of a rut/sucky routine faster than you can blink. Something about the new environment turns your creativity on and keeps it on even when you return to your home base.
Before I travelled to Paris for my birthday, I struggled to write and skipped my daily quota more often than not.
Then I got on the train and wrote. And wrote. And wrote. That weekend alone filled more pages than the previous month had and transformed my client work for the next few months.
Just being in my favourite city on Earth unblocked me and reminded me why I love to write in the first place.
Bottom line?
Beauty unlocks your latent creativity.
Dive in.
2. Explore visual arts.
If you just can’t get away to travel, fill up on the beauty around you instead.
Go to a local museum.
Take a walk in a park or people-watch.
Catch a dance or theatre show.
Go on Pinterest and Instagram and gobble up images of ballerinas and other dancers doing their thing.
Pore over beautiful photographs and how crisp they look.
Stimulating your mind with visual arts shows you what’s possible, what’s out there, and what interests you.
Maybe you’ll find your inspiration on the catwalk.
Maybe a sharp shot of cliffside buildings will give you an idea for a different angle in your work or something new you can try.
Toting a camera can open your eyes to the sights in your city and places you can count on to inspire you every time.
Bottom line?
Visual arts keep you sharp and on top of your game.
What’re you waiting for?
3. Move your body and have fun doing it.
If you’re slogging through something you hate, you’re not likely to feel inspired or creative.
But if you’re taking a Zumba class, surfing, or challenging yourself in CrossFit, you’re stimulating your creativity and your body.
Peak performance is a holistic process, so if you want to do your best work every day, you gotta move your body often enough to clear your mind of the white noise that chokes your flow.
Feeling light and energised in your body translates to better, brighter work.
Act accordingly.
4. Sleep!
I know, I know, it’s super tempting to stay up one more hour to get more work done. Honey child, you’re not doing yourself any favours.
You need to rest your mind and body long enough to stay on your leading edge; anything else is unsustainable and ultimately draining.
Get 7 to 8 hours a night and don’t skimp on your rest. Pushing yourself to work constantly zaps your creativity and fulfilment, so it’s a waste of your time and energy.
Focus on an inspired workflow that gives you time for deep focus, play, rest, and renewal.
An exhausted mind ain’t a creative mind. Sleep!
Are there more ways to spark explosive creativity?
Mais oui!
Start with the 4 steps above and keep experimenting until you find your groove.
Nurturing your creativity is a daily ritual and you have your whole life to get it right.
Ante up.
Talk To Me