Do you want to know how to improve creativity skills?
If you do, then read along with us.
Being creative benefits us both in our personal and professional lives.
When a person’s creativity skills are poor, they will not enjoy the benefits that creativity brings.
So, if such a person wants to enjoy the benefits of creativity, they need to work to improve their creativity.
If this is the case with you, then we are here to help.
So, let us begin…
What is Creativity? – How to Improve Creativity Skills
Creativity is one’s capability to reason and think about tasks or problems in different and new ways.
It is when you can make use of imagination to create or come up with new ideas or solutions.
Creativity enables one to find interesting methods to solve complex and simple problems and approach tasks.
It will enable you to see things from different and unique perspectives.
You would find patterns, make connections, and use them to discover opportunities.
Creativity comes with some risk-taking because you will try out new things.
So, if you cannot take risks, you will find it difficult to be creative.
What are Creativity Skills? – How to Improve Creativity Skills
Creativity skills are a set of skills that enables one to be creative.
In other words, if you do not possess these skills, you will not be creative.
These skills work together to enable one to think outside the box and come up with new ways of doing things.
They include:
Asking Questions
To be creative, you need to be capable of questioning things.
If you cannot question things, you will keep accepting the conventional ways of doing things.
As a result, you will not get to find out better and new ideas, procedures, and ways of doing things.
Hence, you need to challenge the way things are done by asking “why”.
Making Connections – How to Improve Creativity Skills
If you cannot make connections between various ideas or thoughts, and then make use of them to solve issues or problems, then your creativity is poor.
Oftentimes, creative person makes connections when they are not actively brainstorming the task or problem they are trying to solve.
They might just be reading about something different, and then they connect the things they are reading about with issues they are facing.
From there, a new idea pops up.
Also, experiencing something different or new can help one make connections that can help them view a task or problem differently.
If you do not possess this skill then being creative will be difficult for you.
Making Observations
If you cannot make observations of the things around you, your creativity will be poor.
This is because making observations can help you to see things that people normally ignore.
When you notice those things, it will give make you see things in a new light or with fresh eyes.
As a result, you will be able to come up with new ideas for doing things.
Experimenting – How to Improve Creativity Skills
Creativity does not stop at having unique perceptions or coming up with new ideas.
It also includes trying out those ideas you had.
If you are not willing to try out your new ideas, then you are lacking a vital creativity skill.
You need to find out if that idea you had will work.
If you do not, you will not make progress with that idea.
Networking
Networking is a creative skill because, it gives you access to different people who have different ideas, perceptions.
It allows you to gather ideas that can inspire you to think more creatively.
So, network and become more creative.
Factors That Can Impair Creativity Skills – How to Improve Creativity Skills
You need to know certain factors that can impair your creativity skills.
Hence, as you work to improve your creativity skills, you also need to deal with those factors.
To do this you need to know them.
So, we will share them with you.
Laziness – How to Improve Creativity Skills
As we earlier said, creativity does not stop at coming up with an idea, you also need to experiment on that idea.
You need to put it through trials and be sure if it would work.
If you are lazy you will be unwilling to experiment with your ideas.
In other words, laziness is can impair your willingness and ability to experiment.
Getting Overwhelmed
Your creativity skills can be impaired when you get overwhelmed with your imagination.
Having big ideas is great, but keeping up with them can be difficult.
When you cannot, you can have a hard time trying to figure out where and how to start.
Consequently, this can cause you to quit.
Fear of Failure – How to Improve Creativity Skills
When you are scared of failing, it can hinder you from being creative.
This is because creativity is all about doing something new and different.
Since it is all “new and different” you cannot tell if it will work out well, until you do it.
Sometimes, failure occurs, other times you succeed.
So, if you are scared of that chance of failing, you will not engage in trying out new things.
Negativity
Creativity cannot flourish when there is negativity.
This is because negativity stops you from seeing new possibilities.
When you have negative attitudes you will be stuck thinking of all the wrong things that can happen instead of seeing the things you can achieve.
In other words, negativity kills creativity.
External Discouragement – How to Improve Creativity Skills
If you are exposed to discouragement and let it get to you, it can hinder creativity.
Discouragement can come from your environment, people, and other factors.
A distracting, overly comfortable environment is a discouraging one because it can result in uninspired work.
So, it is important to stay in environments that will encourage and not stifle your creativity.
People can hinder you from being creative by exhibiting discouraging behavior or saying discouraging words.
Impatience
Sometimes, it takes a while to have creative results.
During those times, you have to put in time and effort.
For example, you might not be able to make a masterpiece artwork in a short time.
You might have to labor, brainstorm, unplug, and think outside the box before coming up with amazing work.
In other words, if you cannot exercise patience, you would achieve creativity.
Keeping Away From Others– How to Improve Creativity Skills
As we earlier mentioned, networking is a creative skill.
You need to gather ideas from things and people.
One way to gather ideas from people is by networking and socializing with them.
When you do not, it can hinder your creativity.
Benefits of Creativity – How to Improve Creativity Skills
As we earlier said, creativity comes with benefits.
We will share these benefits with you to encourage you to work harder to improve your creativity skills.
So, below are some benefits of creativity:
It Enhances Thinking
Creativity enhances your thinking.
This is because it enables you to think outside of the box and create new things.
It allows you to think and see things from different perspectives and angles.
This helps you to become a better problem-solver.
Improves Mental Health – How to Improve Creativity Skills
Creativity has a way of making people feel good.
This is because performing creative activities and thinking creatively help to relieve stress.
It makes you become more focused and calm the mind.
When you are creative you will not worry about problems.
Rather, you will think of creative ways to solve problems.
This will help to make you more mentally stable and healthy.
It Improves Confidence
When you possess creative skills, you will be more confident in yourself.
This is because you believe and know that you can think and come up with new ideas that can solve problems and make things better.
You will be more confident in yourself because you understand and view things from different perspectives and views.
Knowing that you are competent at something builds and improves one’s confidence.
Discover New Things – How to Improve Creativity Skills
It is through creativity that ideas and innovation are birthed.
In other words, creativity enables one to be innovative.
That is, to create and invent things that have not been made before.
A creative person can make use of their creativity to earn money and make the world a better place.
It Helps To Express Oneself
Creativity helps one to dig deep into who they are.
It allows one to express themselves in the ideas they generate and the things they create.
Also, it gives you a better understanding of you who are, and help you to share your views and idea with other people.
It Can Increase Lifespan
As we earlier said, creativity makes people feel good about themselves.
It promotes positive emotions that contribute to a general sense of wellness.
As a result of this, it can increase the lifespan of a person.
Tips on How to Improve Creativity Skills
We have discussed the factors that can impair your creativity skills.
So, ensure that you deal with them as you work to improve your creativity skills.
Now, we will be looking at those things that can help you to improve your creativity skills.
We have prepared them as tips that have to be practiced.
Therefore, we advise you to put the following into practice:
1. Commit To Creativity
One important thing you need to do to improve your creativity skills is to commit to creativity.
In other words, devote yourself to improving your creativity.
If you do not commit to creativity you can practice some of the tips we share for some days and stop.
Stopping will not help to improve your creativity skills.
So, consciously and actively work every day to improve your skills.
2. Keep Learning – How to Improve Creativity Skills
Curious minds are rewarded with creativity.
So, to improve your creativity skills you need to learn continuously.
Make efforts to indulge in satisfying every curiosity that you have.
Learn new skills!
Discover more things about and around the world you live in.
Challenge yourself to keep acquiring knowledge that will enable you to grow.
Understand that constant learning boost creativity.
3. Do Things You Love
Doing things that you love can make you open to new ideas and perceptions.
This is because doing what you love helps you to balance creativity so that it does not suffer.
You learn better when you do something you love.
Also, it helps you to relax and deal with stress
Ultimately, this boosts your creativity.
So, when you are stuck trying to come up with an idea, just do something you enjoy doing.
4. Unplug – How to Improve Creativity Skills
When you keep wracking and beating yourself up to generate an idea and nothing is forthcoming, you should take a break.
If you do not, it can affect your ability to make connections.
So, when you have nothing coming, unplug.
You can unplug by sleeping, reading a book, or taking a shower.
While you have unplugged, your mind will be calm, and you will be able to make that connection you are seeking and generate a good idea.
You never know when your next big idea will drop in your mind while staying unplugged.
Remember, when your creative skills are shaky, unplug and relax.
Let your relaxed brain do magic!
5. Collaborate With People
As we earlier said, meeting and connecting with people provides you with access to different ideas and perceptive.
All of which you can make use of and become more innovative or creative.
In other words, to improve your creativity skills, you need to network and collaborate with others.
You do not know everything, so be ready to listen and learn from others.
When you do this, you will notice an improvement in your creative skills.
Check here to discover how collaboration at work is the secret to better results.
6. Overcome Negative Attitudes – How to Improve Creativity Skills
Negative attitudes will destroy your creativity skills.
You will not be capable of making connections and observation.
Also, you will see things in a negative light that will make you unable to accept new and endless possibilities.
So, as you work to improve your creativity skills, you have to overcome negativity attitude.
The best to overcome negative attitudes is by replacing negative thought patterns with positive ones.
When you can do this, your creativity skills will improve.
7. Seek Inspirations
You can improve your creativity skills by seeking inspiration.
Inspiration can come from several things such as books, music, and so on.
All you should do is to look for that thing that spikes your interest and inspires you.
When you do, it will make you more creative to come up with that idea that will solve your problems and better things.
So, you can read books, listen to your favorite songs, or visit the park or a museum.
8. Play “What If” – How to Improve Creativity Skills
When you want to think creatively to solve a problem, make use of “what if…”
Run different scenarios in your mind.
Ask yourself what the outcome will be if you take a particular approach.
Play with what if more, and your creativity skills will improve.
9. Overcome the Fear Of Failure
The fear of failure can stop you from being creative.
Hence, you have overcome this to improve your creativity skills.
How do you do that?
- Understand why you are scared of failure
- Redefine failure
- Set attainable goals
- Redefine success
These are some things that you can do to help you overcome fear.
Once you overcome fear, you will be more open to new possibilities.
10. Make Use of The Thinking Hat Technique – How to Improve Creativity Skills
There is a technique called the “the six thinking hats”.
It allows you to look at problems from six different perspectives.
When you make use of this technique, you will be better at producing more ideas.
The six thinking hat techniques are:
Black Hat
This technique is about looking at the negative perspective of things.
When you can look at the negative side of things, you would be able to avoid doing things that will bring about negative outcomes.
So, look at that thing, or idea that can go wrong.
Ask yourself “what part of my solution or idea won’t work?”
Red Hat – How to Improve Creativity Skills
The red hat is meant for you to view the situation from an emotional point.
When being creative, your feelings and instincts matter.
So, ask yourself “How do I feel about this?”
Blue Hat
The blue hat allows you to think broadly.
Look at all the solutions and consider the one that would work best.
Ask yourself “what will the finest overall solution be?”
Green Hat – How to Improve Creativity Skills
It is this hat that allows you to think creatively.
With this hat, you get to look at the alternative ideas you have.
Ask yourself “what are the alternative ideas?”
White Hat
The white hat helps you to view the situation from an objective point.
You need to view your situation from an objective point when being creative.
So, do not hesitate to ask yourself what the facts are.
Yellow Hat – How to Improve Creativity Skills
The yellow hat helps you to view things from a positive angle.
When being creative there has to be a balance: positive and negative.
So, do not hesitate to balance things by considering those elements.
11. Have a Creativity Journal
There is a saying “a short pencil is better than a long memory”
What this means is that when you write something down, you would have a reference point, and also remember it better than when it is not written down.
Having a creative journey will help you keep records of the ideas you have produced.
When you look back at them, you will feel proud of what you have produced or accomplished.
This can inspire you to be more creative.
Also, you can make use of your old creativity to make new ones.
12. Take Risks – How to Improve Creativity Skills
As we earlier said, creativity will be lacking if you cannot take risks.
So, ensure that you learn how to take risks.
This will make it easier for you to try out things that you have never tried before and improve your creativity skills.
13. Question Things
As you should be willing to take risks, you also need to know how to question things.
It is when you ask the right questions that you will find answers.
If you do not ask questions, you will see no need to creatively seek solutions and a better way of doing things.
Remember a curious mind is rewarded with creativity.
So, start asking the right questions today!
Conclusions on How to Improve Creativity Skills
Your creativity skills can suffer due to different factors.
In this article, we have discussed those factors and ways to improve your creativity skills.
So, we ask you to take advantage of the information we shared with you!
