5 Ways To Get Life-Changing Ideas And Get Out Of A Creative Rut
Creativity is a muscle. If you want to boost it, you have to train it regularly.
If your creative muscle is well-trained, then you can come with good ideas in any situation in life. Here are a few tips you can use to get out of a creative rut and come up with life-changing ideas.
1. Get into the creative state
Stop. Breath. Check-in with your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual state.
These are negative states you want to avoid:
Emotionally
- Unsettled
- Dissatisfied
- Irritable
- Frustrated
Physically
- Stressed
- Tense
- Restless
- Exhausted
Spiritually
Disconnected from:
- Self
- Others
- World
- Job
Mentally
- Unfocused
- Worrying
- Unsure
- Distracted
If you find yourself in any of those states then you can do the following activities to break the negative state:
- Go for a walk
- Change rooms
- Make a cup of tea
- Listen to music
- Exercise
- Sing, whistle, …
- List reasons to be thankful
- Breathe deeply a few times
- Meditate
- Reframe the situation, look at it from a positive perspective, a funny perspective…
- Drink some water
- Chat with a friend
- Play a game
- Have a meal mindfully
- Write/speak out loud your thoughts
- Daydream
- Read
- …
Once you’re in a creative state you’ll feel:
Emotionally
- Excited
- Happy
- Contented
- Playful
Physically
- Comfortable
- Flexible
- Relaxed
- Energetic
Spiritually
Connected from:
- Self
- Others
- World
- Job
Mentally
- Focused
- Clear
- Confident
- Open-minded
Ask yourself how you’re feeling in each of the mental state. If all the states are in check, it’s time to come up with life-changing ideas.
2. Be silly
When you come up with ideas, don’t take yourself seriously. Think less, feel more. Lighten up your mood by finding humor. Think like a kid. For a kid, there are no rules. Playfulness plays a huge role in creativity.
No idea is useless. Even the ridiculously bad ideas have a purpose. They help your mind to get relaxed and then the ideas start to flow smoothly.
If you want to be creative, you have to let go of the fear of coming up with bad ideas. Don’t let bad ideas hurt your self-esteem. Let go of the fear of judgment. If you don’t do that, you may miss the good ideas hidden underneath all the bad ideas.
3. Be curious
Question assumptions and seek answers. With the help of the internet, you can find the answers to the questions that spark your curiosity. If you have a problem that you need to solve, chances are that there has been at least one other person who had the same problem and he/she solved it. The circumstances may vary but always look for inspiration.
4. Diversify your perspective
Hire different perspectives to look for solutions in different ways. You can look from the perspective of:
- Your higher self (Your better version)
- Your future self
- Your past self
- Friend
- Stranger
- Expert (different areas)
- Old person
- Child
5. Shake things up
Get off of your routine and break life patterns. Experience novelty by trying something new. Notice the small things that you ignore every day. You can daydream, choose random items to focus on, get on a random bus or try a new activity such as drawing, dancing, playing, etc.
Your mind will get new stimuli and you’ll be filled with new ideas that you may have never thought of before.
Once you have a lot of ideas on the table – eliminate the bad one; mix and match the good one and finally consider the ones which light up energy in you.
Learn to listen to your intuition. Our intuition doesn’t always roar. It sits in silence and waits for us to pay attention to it. As soon as you notice a spark, your state will change and it’s our job to find that little voice of intuition. So, stop. Breath. Listen to the spark and then turn those ideas into reality.
