How to Cultivate Creativity: Stay Silly!

Creativity is just intelligence having fun – Albert Einstein

One of my biggest joys is watching my daughter create with fearlessness. She paints, sings, dances, and plays with abandon simply for fun. She trusts in her own creativity so much so that she identifies as an artist and proudly shares her ideas and work with the world.

As adults, we are amused and inspired by these little artists all around us while failing to recognize and believe that we, too, are creative beings. Somewhere along the way, we got the idea that “creativity” is only bestowed upon children or a special few who can actually make a living as an artist.  Sadly, not only do we grow up and start to consider ourselves generally uncreative, we will often make firm proclamations just so nobody dares think otherwise. It usually sounds something like, “Oh, not me – I’m not the creative type. Ask so and so to help you.”

Creativity is not reserved for designers and artists; it is in of each and every one of us and essential if we are to be successful in our work and happy in our hearts. In a crowded world, it is our curious, creative, and open minds that serve as our biggest gift and offering.

So how do you go about cultivating creativity?

1.      First, know that you ARE an artist. Yes, you. Just because you might not be the next Picasso or Beyonce doesn’t mean you aren’t creative. Whether you realize it or not, you are already creating all around you. If you think about it, you design your life experiences every day. What you wear, how you prepare your meals, how you choose to spend your time.  Even the simple act of being a thoughtful and caring person takes many forms of creativity.

2.      Engage in Combinatory Play. Einstein coined this term for the “act of opening up one mental channel by dabbling in another.”  In other words, just do anything to get your mind out of a rut. Einstein had some of his biggest insights about physics after playing simple scales on his violin. Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of the bestseller Eat, Pray, Love started gardening while suffering writer’s block and then went on to write another bestseller about  rare and ancient botany in The Signature of All Things.

3.       Have Fun and Relax. Why do some people have their biggest ideas in the shower? Or running solo down the road?  Because they are free of distraction and able to just think Whatever. Thoughts. They. Want. We live in a hectic, sleep-deprived world tied to our digital devices and calendars. Whenever possible, relax and give your brain a break. It’s no coincidence that creative geniuses ranging from Oprah and Bill Gates to Richard Branson credit the power that unplugging and living a little more lightly lends to their success.

So don’t wait for permission or some sort of magic inspiration to start tapping into your own creativity and inner artist. Remember how wonderful it felt as a child to lay in the grass and watch the clouds, doodle in a notebook, or write a nice note to a friend?  It can be as simple as that, but remember to make it a regular activity and always stay silly!