3 Ways to Tap Into Your Creativity

You need to come up with a solution, find a new angle, figure out what to do next, but nothing’s coming.  Your mind is blank. Or it’s so full of conflicting thoughts that you can’t find a thread to follow.  You take out a pen and start to map it out, but instead of drawing a picture, you’re scrawling back and forth until all you have is a blotch. You’re frustrated and all clenched up.  Here are 3 simple ways to unclench and move forward.

Find your flow.  You do this by letting go. The harder you try, the tighter you clench, and the tighter you clench the more frustrated you become.  It’s a vicious cycle.  The solution is to break that cycle.  Just walk away and go do something else.  Exercise is great for this.  Take a walk or do some yoga.  For me, I get on an elliptical trainer, plug in my favorite workout mix and get lost in the music.  After about 15 minutes, my mind starts to relax, and my creativity comes through.  By the time I’m done, I have so many great thoughts.  I had to buy a little digital voice recorder to get them all out of my head so I wouldn’t lose them.  Go with the flow.

Trust in the power of the group.  This was one of my favorite pieces of advice to the project managers on my team.  Groups have tremendous creative powers and can come up with solutions and ideas that you, working alone, cannot.  Napoleon Hill wrote the seminal work on this topic  Think and Grow Rich.  Don’t have access to a group?  Even with as few as 2 people working together, the engagement creates a third mind, a mastermind.  A best friend, business partner, mentor, manager, or coach (like me!) is a great place to start.  The give and take of a group will leapfrog you out of your current environment and take you someplace you would never have thought of on your own.

One great group activity is brainstorming.  Sometimes when I’m brainstorming with a client who’s stuck, they spend time trying to shoot down every idea.  That’s a huge no-no.  In brainstorming most ideas aren’t workable, but that’s not the point.  The purpose of brainstorming is to open your mind – to get you out of your own way and expand your thinking.  While a specific idea may not be it oftentimes the answer lies in a derivative of an idea, or a combination of ideas that provides the inspiration for a new way of looking at something. 

Beware of the negative.  When I ask clients what they want to accomplish or where they’d like to take their life, they typically start with a long list of what they don’t want, and that list is always relative to what they have today.  It’s like they’re clinging to the side of a swimming pool afraid to let go and swim out to the deep end.  What if what you really want has nothing to do with what you have today?  How can you possibly hear your inner voice if you won’t let go?  Take all the energy you’re spending hating your current situation and channel it into getting in touch with the voice of your inspiration – your inner Dreamer.  Let yourself want something even if you don’t know right now how you’re going to get it. You have to start somewhere.  Start with what you want.

Oftentimes when I’m coaching my radar sounds an alarm:  does this person really want to move forward?  Are they ready, or do they just want someone to validate their current position?  Funny thing about coaches – we don’t validate the status quo, especially if you’re stuck.  We’re all about forward movement and change.  You came to us for a reason.

Last week I was in the Bay Area attending a course with Dream University learning a powerful ten step process for tapping into your inspiration and realizing your dreams. Contact me for a free consultation when you’re ready to get unstuck and build your life around your dreams. (pnorton93@comcast.net)