How To Develop Your Creativity
Realistic Ways to Generate More Ideas [26]:
In the beginning of this year, I went through a period where ideas felt dry. I couldn’t understand my feeling at the time: I was reading, running, doing the things that bring me joy, yet couldn’t produce or feel genuinely excited about what I’m creating. It wasn’t until summer rolls around and I got to spend time in good company and nature that I understand why I was feeling stagnant.
Here are 6 takeaways I have gained from this creative ‘dry spell’:
1. Nature
From research, we know that spending time in nature helps decrease stress, relieves attention fatigue and boosts creativity. Walking in nature has helped me significantly reduce fatigue from excessive screen time and general demands of the day to day, especially when working remote.
Spending time in nature also helps me be more patient and intentional with my decisions. All of these benefits then turn around and provide a fertile ground for energizing and ingenious ideas.
2. Walk
“Methinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.” - Henry David Thoreau
Humans are not meant to live in separate, single use areas with cars-centric roads and neighborhood - and yes, I’m referring to the American suburb. We can benefit from living in harmony with nature and in interaction with other people, establishments and ways of living. Walkable living spaces has transformed my mental health. I have become a passionate advocate for walkable cities after two months in Seattle + living on a college campus again.
Aside from obvious fitness benefits, walking seems to help you think because when we walk:
The pace of our feet naturally vacillates with our moods and the cadence of our inner speech; at the same time, we can actively change the pace of our thoughts by deliberately walking more briskly or by slowing down," - Ferris Jabr from a New Yorker article
Walking also holds some, but not all of your attention that helps spare some mental energy for the brain to work on other reasoning processes, says Jabr:
"Because we don't have to devote much conscious effort to the act of walking, our attention is free to wander--to overlay the world before us with a parade of images from the mind's theatre. This is precisely the kind of mental state that studies have linked to innovative ideas and strokes of insight."
3. Share
I wrote about the wonderful benefits from sharing more as a private introvert in this essay. Sharing more allows me to connect with people authentically, listen and generate ideas from conversations. Sometimes, sharing will allow for serendipitous opportunities and also help you feel better emotionally, according to this research by Ullrich Wagner.
4. Consume and… Imitate
No creatives are entirely original. We all need inspiration from predecessors, peers and the natural forces around. The way I develop an idea is to conduct research (usually via various form of reading and content consumption), reflect and subsequently infuse my own perspective into the original idea. Sometimes I remember exactly which idea I am borrowing, sometimes I subconsciously add aspects of an idea into whatever it is I’m creating.
The past few weeks, a lot of my favorite reads have been on Substack, check out these newsletters:
5. Ask
Thinking of questions make your brain work… and asking questions nurture your curiosity while conveniently provide the answers that further fuel your knowledge base. One of the best insights I gain from the expertise of experienced and smart people is from asking. Most people are willing to teach, so help them teach you by doing research and asking the right questions.
6. Less Screen, More Life.
Consuming ‘content’ for inspiration is good neutral, until a breaking point where excessive consumption of what others are sharing inundate you with ideas, thought processes and ‘highlight reels’ that cause stress and for me personally, overthinking.
High screen time can also disrupt your sleeping patterns, decrease attention span and negatively affect your creativity.
Much of what happens on screen provides “impoverished” stimulation of the [developing] brain compared to reality. Children need a diverse menu of online and offline experiences, including the chance to let their minds wander. - Michael Rich, Center of Media and Child Health at Boston’s Children Hospital.
and even though this statement applies to children, I am positive that we as adults also require a wide range of experience…
“Boredom is the space in which creativity and imagination happen,” - Rich says.
So resist the urge to grab your phone when you feel bored… and let your mind wander a bit.
Creativity and ideas, as much as we like, can come and go in waves. Knowing what builds more space for them and what don’t make it easier for you to understand their flow. So take notes of what helps bringing in ideas and do more of that.
Talk soon!
Thank you for reading this week’s essay and happy Friday. Let me know some ways you have found helpful to enrich your creativity and I’ll see you next week.