“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou
Most people think creativity is something reserved for a chosen few that is highly gifted. The truth about it is that it is not art, it is not design and it most certainly is not the sole preserve of the geniuses and mad scientists.
It is important to define this creativity that I am talking about as it may mean different things to different people. Creativity is the capacity within individuals to develop ideas for the purpose of solving problems and exploiting opportunities. Since creativity is a capacity, it means it is something that we can all learn to use effectively. It allows us to develop ideas to solve problems in different ways and to spot, adapt to, embrace and capture opportunities. Creativity is important as it leads to innovation. Innovation is the application of creativity to give rise to a new concept, product, service or process delivering something new and better to the world.
Let me share with you few techniques that will help you improve your creativity.
- Ask yourself meaningful questions like – What is the one thing that I need to do today to make my life better than what it is now? Write down all possible ideas that you come up with and then choose the one that will have the most impact and work on it immediately.
- Ask for Advice or Feedback – Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. A fresh outside perspective, or three, or five, may be just what you need to spark some new creative thinking that will get you where you need to go.
- What else can this be used for? Say for example a 300mm ruler, besides using it to draw lines, what else can you use it for? Think of as many things as possible and write them down. This will exercise your thinking muscles and improve your creativity.
Asking meaningful questions to the obvious or status quo is a powerful way of improving creativity. Do this as often as possible and you will soon notice a difference in your thinking ability.
Don’t be put off by your initial ideas, all brilliant inventions and ideas were first ridiculed and rejected before being accepted. You are God’s highest form of creation, your gifts and talents were given to you to make this world a better place than you found it, flatly refuse to take them to your grave with you!
Veli Ndaba is a Professional and Motivational Speaker, Life-Coach and Neuro Linguistic Programming Practitioner, Author of two books (You Are Born to Win and Your Dream is Calling You), Newspaper Columnist and Entrepreneur. To book him to help you and your team unleash your greatness, contact him on veli@velindaba.co.za , www.velindaba.co.za and 083 304 9773
