Some people seem like they are born with a natural creativity, and some of us have creative moments that come and go. Accessing our right brain, the side that is responsible for creative thinking, is possible for almost anyone. Just like the rest of our muscles, our brain needs to be used and engaged to function optimally and there are many different ways to exercise that muscle to get the creativity flowing.
Physical exercise is the first way to help creativity. Regular physical activity not only builds muscle and keeps your body healthy, but also benefits your mind. Staying healthy puts less stress on your body and frees your mind to focus on more right brain activity. Yoga and meditation can be especially helpful in improving and focusing on more creative functions.
Listening to music can stimulate areas of the brain responsible for emotion, concentration, creativity, and other cognitive functions. Classical music is shown to be beneficial in the area of creative thinking, but any music that you find positive, motivational, or uplifting can do the trick.
Research suggests that our ability to come up with creative ideas or innovative solutions to problems can improve when we think of something in the past or future. This technique requires you to use your imagination and picture an event that took place in the past or sometime at another location in the future. Letting your mind wander and setting a specific scene in your head can get your mind moving in creative directions.
Gesturing with both hands while talking or explaining something is another exercise that can stimulate creativity. Studies suggest that using both hands in this way can push the brain to consider problems from multiple perspectives, and come up with a more creative solution.
Something as simple as exercising your eyes can help stimulate creativity. Moving both eyes back and forth a few times can promote interaction between the right and left hemispheres of the brain, boosting creative thoughts.
Change some habits and try new things. Routines can be comfortable but tend to sap creativity. When you do the same things all the time your brain starts to run on autopilot. Trying something different or doing things a new way can help engage more of your brain and challenge it to figure out new activities. Try a new sport or exercise class that you might find challenging, or take a different route home. Even doing things with your non-dominant hand can make your brain wake up and fire on all cylinders.
Writing down all the ideas or tasks floating around in your head when you get stressed or rushed can alleviate worry and make room for creative thinking. Putting all the ideas on paper makes it easier for you to revisit them later on and come up with creative solutions for using or dealing with those ideas and problems.
Getting a good night’s sleep can also foster better mental creativity. Exhaustion will make your brain sluggish along with the rest of your body. Making sure you are well-rested will improve mental clarity and creativity. A power nap can help you gain perspective when you’ve hit a mental block.
Practice these ideas for fostering creativity and you might be coming up with the next big innovative idea to make the world a better place!
- article contributed by Larry Mager