Have you ever been in a situation where you felt a wave of inspiration that pushes you to come up with a brilliant business idea only for the inspiration to come to a sudden end? Most people struggle with sustaining their thought process and keeping the creative juices flowing. You do not have to be a genius to come up with a good idea. Some of the tips that can help you shift your mindset include:
Acknowledge That Creativity Can Be Grown
There is a big misconception that you heard about creativity being inborn. Right from childhood, you probably grew up with the notion that there are people who are gifted creatives while others are not. This is not true at all. We all have some level of creativity in us, and it is upon you to grow yours without getting distracted by nay-sayers.
Opt for Lateral Learning
There are two ways of learning; vertical and lateral. Lateral learning is where you are subjected to different fields at the same time while vertical is where you specialise in one area. Most logical thinkers tend to focus on vertical learning, but statistically, lateral learning tends to give better results if you are trying to get creative. If you have a wide variety of knowledge to choose from, you are better situated towards becoming more creative since you have a lot of resources to work with.
Treat Creativity like a Muscle
If you study the works of exceptional creatives, whether you look at the ones in the arts or those in business, you will notice one thing that stands out: they all stretched themselves beyond what people expected them. Creativity is like muscles, the more you stimulate it, the stronger it becomes. If you keep toying around with different ideas, you will finally get your big break.
Write down Your Thoughts
One of the basics of being creative is that you need to have a place where you write down your thoughts. It can be a journal or a private blog that you note down all the ideas that cross your mind. Sometimes, reading what you have been thinking through helps you shape up your idea better. Do not be afraid of writing even the ideas that do not seem so huge. It is those small ideas that finally grow to become revolutionary.
Use Both Sides of Your Brain
For a very long time, there was a thought that the right side of the brain is used for creativity while the left is for logical thinking. The reality that most people who train on creativity have found is that there is a need for a balance of both. If you realise that you mostly use the left side and most of your thinking is logical, you need to start tapping on the creative side. Your goal should be to balance between the rational and innovative so that your ideas stand out.
Deliberately Create Time
As much as there are people who say their stroke of genius came when they were least expecting it, you should try and create time for creative thinking. Set aside some few hours or even minutes when you brainstorm ideas and strengthen what you think works. You can invite other creatives to help you finetune your ideas and help you build them.