Scadez's Blog

How You Can Improve Your Creativity

Most of us were very creative as children, before we learned the rules about how things are supposed to be. We can resurrect our ability to be more creative by exploring some of the many techniques that have been developed to improve creative and artistic ability, as well as to improve creative problem solving.

Some of the techniques that are used to improve creativity include brainstorming, mind-mapping, various forms of hypnosis, meditation, and guided imagery.

Most of us have an inner voice that is running a constant commentary on everything we think and do. We might barely notice this inner voice most of the time, yet it has a great impact on what we can accomplish in our lives.

When we come up with a new idea, our inner voice may be saying, “This idea is stupid.”

Your inner critic isn’t being evil when it criticizes you, or when it tells you your ideas are not very good. Your critic is actually trying to protect you from being ashamed or embarrassed by the potentially negative comments and reactions of other people to your ideas.

But, if your inner judgmental dialogue is mostly negative, your creative abilities will suffer.

You can’t be creative, and be critical at the same time. The critical, judgmental, analytical function of the brain is not the part that knows how to generate creative ideas.

Even the types of brainwaves that you generate when you are being rational and analytical are quite different from the brainwaves that go with maximum creativity.

When it’s time for you to be creative, you have to send your “inner critic” out for a walk.