Creativity: Always a Choice

I often notice a large percentage of the individuals I interact with falling prey to a belief that their abilities, relationships, career, and even their company’s culture are fixed, stagnant reflections of the future. As children we have imaginary friends, believe we are truly riding a horse when we skip with a broomstick, pretend to eat plastic vegetables, kill bad guys with our fake guns, or make ourselves disappear simply with the power of our mind. Our minds are imaginative, creative, and full of energy to explore what’s possible or rather break through the chains of what is possible to a world with no limits.  

Unfortunately, at some point most adults lose that imagination and the unashamed practice of creativity. Once lost, we buy into the notion that the creative people of this world are gifted, skilled naturals at being creative which further dilutes our ability to muster up creativity and imagination in our personal and work lives. This limiting belief negatively impacts all facets of our life and hinders not only our ability to grow as individuals, but it robs our families, organizations, and communities of our best self, reducing our impact in this world. 

While we may be a product of our past, our future is not destined to the same fate and practicing creativity is a skill we can all develop to create a more interesting and valuable future, both personally and professionally.   

Throughout the chaos of 2020, creativity continues to be a theme separating the “thrivers” from the ones just surviving or worse. Companies and individuals flourishing in profitability, culture, relationships, and overall happiness in these uncertain times have been open to and implemented creative approaches to running their business, guiding their people, and supporting their families.  

The use of creativity unlocks barriers we unconsciously impose on our minds. It frees us to think and explore new ideas, opens us up to new relationships, and helps us more effectively solve problems. As children our parents supported our creative expression and now, more than ever, we need to support that in ourselves and our leaders need to encourage it in our organizations.

So how can we become more creative? While there are unlimited ways to build the muscle of creativity, below are a few that might be an impetus on your journey. 

Be Patient: 
Accept the fact that creativity is a skill that requires practice and repetition. No one runs a marathon the first time they lace up their shoes to run. You build up your muscles, endurance and mental toughness through consistent and scheduled training sessions.

Focus on the process and the results will eventually follow.  When we focus too heavily on the results, we can easily become discouraged and quit practicing what we are aiming to achieve. 

Remove Judgment & Don’t Expect Perfection:
As adults we far too often concern ourselves with what other people think of us. We often hold back voicing our opinion in meetings and don’t share our “big" ideas with our peers out of fear of what they may think.  

Write Down Your Ideas Daily:
If we expect our best idea to happen in a lightning bolt of inspiration, we are setting ourselves up for failure. Best ideas come from exploring our current best idea and building on it. By documenting your thoughts and ideas, you are giving yourself permission to use them as inspiration. 

Learn from Other Industries:
We can learn from other industries or companies we appreciate. Ask yourself what you like and how you can replicate it in your world. When we stay myopic, we just continue to replicate what we or our direct competition is doing. We need to expand our perspective.

Switch Things Up:
If everything looks and feels the same, you will generate the same results you always have (think Einstein). Move your furniture. Clean your desk. Turn and face another direction. Work somewhere new. Add a new virtual background. 

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone:
Part of creativity is getting out of your comfort zone. Comfort creates complacency and when we are complacent, we are not creative. 

For many reasons we don’t flex that creative muscle that once came naturally, and we lose or at least weaken our creative and imaginative mindset and then we falsely believe we are not creative.  

We shrink into a world of fixed beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. We close off to the possibility of a brighter more exciting future and simply stop exploring our potential. These limiting beliefs are catastrophic to our lives and stifle our ability to grow as individuals and provide positive impacts to the world. However, there is good news – we are not destined to a fixed mindset lifestyle where what you see is what you get. Your past does not define your future. Your current mindset, relationship statuses, physical health, and financial well-being are a product of what you have or have not practiced in the past and these facets of life can deteriorate or improve based on how hard you work and practice the skills that support growth. Undoubtedly, we have all driven down a country road to see what was once a beautiful wood barn that now is just a shell of what it once was. That barn didn’t start out that way, years and years of neglect and harsh external conditions slowly ate away at its structure rendering the building useless at best and a danger to life at worst.  

In 2020 most people in the world have experienced a major impact to their way of life. A key element defining the individuals and organizations that are thriving from the ones that are struggling is the use of creativity.  

How can you integrate creativity into your day-to-day?
What about 2020 has changed the way you work?
What will you integrate into your future and what will you quickly abandon?
In what ways do you need to think outside the box as this pandemic continues?