We know we are creative beings. Yet, we are also well aware that
sometimes our creativity stalls, plays tricks on us, or appears
to have vanished completely. It is at those moments that we need
to reconnect with our vitality around our creative process or project
and leverage our inspirational powers to stimulate our ability to
make new connections. The following tips are meant to arouse your
natural creative gifts so you can surmount those obstacles in your
journey and achieve maximum potential. Have fun with them and enjoy
the wonder of discovery as you expand your imagination and allow
yourself to be a conduit for excellent work!
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Keep a daily excitement list about why you are passionate and
committed to your exploration or creative project
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Visualize your end result and make a collage of images that
support that vision and post it where you can see it regularly
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Take a field trip relating to your project to explore a particular
facet of it
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Experience your project using the three learning styles of
visual, auditory, and kinesthetic experiences
a.) Draw a picture of it, make a mind-map of it, or take a photo
of it and play with it on photo-shop
b.) Talk about your project into a tape or video recorder or
teach a real/pretend class on the topic to an audience or your
friends
c) Act it out with props and maybe even other characters
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Record and follow your intuitive clues relating to your project
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Go to a toy store and select a toy that reminds you of your
project and let your inner child play with it
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Set up a series of experiments related to your project with
hypotheses to test out
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Exercise regularly to clear your head
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Find someone who is an opposite thinker (a devil’s advocate)
from you, tell them about your project, and let them challenge/stimulate
your thinking
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Select inspiring music that resonates with your project and
play it at the beginning of your work time
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Create a water experience–sit in a hob tub, go swimming,
take a shower, or visit a spa to increase your flow of ideas
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Take your project away with you as a companion and see how
it changes in a new setting
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Meditate or pray about your topic
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Find a symbol of your creative process and keep it close by
when you are working or contemplating
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Initiate creative rituals, such as lighting a candle or reading
first, to invite your muse into the process
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Look at visual representations relating to your project, like
paintings, or special destinations, or a murder scene
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Send your inner critic to a foreign land so you feel free to
make mistakes and cast about for new connections
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Change your location–work on your project in bed, outside
in nature, in a museum, or simply change rooms
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Take a day or two off so you can take a fresh look at your
project when you return
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Keep a file card packet in your office, car, etc. to jot down
all related ideas and thoughts even if their meaning is a mystery
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Read related books and articles, etc. and take notes to jog
your inspirations
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Look for the metaphors–i.e., how is your project like
a pine tree or a trolley car?
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Keep a separate journal/computer file for each project and
keep track of new impressions
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At the right time, share your project with trusted others and
gather new insights
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Take creative risks using your fascinations as a guide to unique
explorations
Gail McMeekin, LICSW is a creative life choices consultant and
the author of The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women and The Power
of Positive Choices,both with Conari Press. She writes a monthly
email newsletter Creative Success available at her website and she
runs ongoing teleclasses on creativity and fulfillment.
