The creative individual is bold and rebellious. When life hurts him, he does not react by letting himself go, but with creativity, making the most of difficulties, sensing opportunities, listening to his own instincts and giving original answers.
Written and verified by the psychologist GetPersonalGrowth.
Last update: 15 November 2021
Starting a creative life requires taking a stand outside the lines. But above all, it requires us to dare to break old patterns and habits that make us continue with vicious circles. Creativity is synonymous with reinventing and daring, two words that are best combined and that help us to live a freer reality, compatible with our potential.
Often, when we address the issue of renewal and the importance of using a creative mind, we take it for granted that this competence requires only the ability to have new and original ideas. But this is taken for granted. Creativity goes far beyond the cognitive universe, because it requires action.
This was the conclusion reached with the last world conference on the subject, which took place at the Marconi Institute for Creativity in Bologna. An idea is useless if not molded. A project is not realized unless accompanied by commitment, responsibility and audacity.
For example, Sherlock Holmes would never have existed if Conan Doyle hadn't worked with dedication to his writing skills, even putting aside his medical profession. Beethoven, on the other hand, composed the None Symphony despite his poor hearing. We could mention thousands of other names to understand that being creative is more than having imagination. It requires persistence, audacity and even sacrifice.
If you hear a voice within you saying "you can't paint", then paint, whatever the result, and the voice will be silent.
-Vincent van Gogh-
Stop reacting badly - take action and start leading a creative life
Don't think - Ray Bradbury said - that rational thought is the enemy of creativity; you simply have to dare to act. This sentence contains valid points of wisdom that deserve to be taken into consideration. Many of us are not used to reacting to life; certain events happen and we just react to them like leaves in the wind that are dragged from side to side.
We forget that between the stimulus and the response there is a really important space of time, in which our capacity to be free is found. Our opportunity to act differently, free and completely new.
The study conducted by the US Association of Psychology (APA), in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam, put the spotlight on the fact that leading a creative life greatly improves the well-being index.
Creativity that translates into action helps us leave negative patterns of behavior behind. Thanks to it, we relate better to ourselves, because desire and attitude go hand in hand. But also because we have more alternatives to solve a problem and because the creative person is the one who, in the end, makes the world go round. But how can we do it? How can we start living a creative life when our reality is so routine, inflexible and structured? Here are some methods.
Lateral thinking
Lateral thinking is a concept introduced by Edward de Bono in 1967, in his book Lateral Thinking. In this text he marked an exceptional progress at the basis of creativity. But what does this proposal consist of?
- Lateral thinking helps us see problems from new perspectives.
- It means going far beyond the logical sense, playing with reality, making associations, looking for correlations, daring, breaking old patterns ...
- At the same time, this technique invites us to tease the thought to choose new and unexplored paths.
- It means going beyond the simple comfort of logic.
Get rid of the "must". You will change more things than you think.
In our minds the burden of shoulds and musts abounds. They are two voracious enemies who subject us to a life marked by the obligations, stress and anxiety caused by not fulfilling inner orders.
All these thoughts need to be turned off and rephrased. There will, of course, be duties to perform. However, by analyzing each branch of those mental trees, we will realize that many of them are of no use. Indeed, they prevent us from growing, from flourishing… So, do not hesitate to "prune" everything that feeds useless suffering.
Experience new things, let yourself go to start living a creative life
To start living a more creative life, you have to be daring and do different things than usual, as suggested by Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, scientific director of the Institute of Imagination of the Center for Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Creativity does not arise in oppressive contexts. Routine oxidizes motivations, dreams, innovative ideas and intuitions.
Sometimes there is nothing else to do but move away to see things from another perspective. Being able to get out of our daily bubble offers our gaze new light, as well as giving our mind new stimuli and enthusiasm to our heart. Immersing ourselves in new experiences, for example, means being able to open our minds, to learn, to read everything that comes our way, to meet new people, to connect with our reality on another level, etc.
Starting a creative life will help us stop reacting to everything that happens to us. If something hurts us, we will not react by inertia, we will do it in a completely new way, to adapt better, to gain in audacity and resilience. Only in this way will we give shape to the reality we prefer, to the one that best suits our values ​​and our desires.
