5 easy tips to reconnect with your creativity

Creativity is a skill many assume to be unlearnable, but these simple tips can help you unleash your creative side

Creativity is a skill that can be developed, however, it requires continuous efforts by the seekers. Many students believe that they are not creative by nature or do not feel creative anymore. Let me break that myth for you: Creativity is like sprouts; it is within you. All you need to do is soak yourself in imagination.

Creativity is not a gift that someone gets you in a beautiful wrapping sheet or decorated confetti. It is within you, in your core; you just need to work on that invisible muscle to make it stronger, just like your biceps. It may surprise you as students that you have been unknowingly doing this for years. Things like working on your vocabulary, coming up with instant excuses when in a soup, cooking up stories to protect your friends from their parents or teachers, your DIY gifts when there is cash crunch to buy something fancy, your room decoration, your doodling, the funny nicknames you keep for each other, the list is long. You all are already creative; some of you have met your creative side and others are still exploring or have not explored at all.

Owing to my experiential learning from Shakti, the marquee leadership development program at UPES, and a recent course on Creative Problem Solving from the University of Minnesota through Coursera, I present  to you interesting and doable takeaways, which would give that desired push to your creativity quotient.

1. Re-live your childhood memories:

If you try to remember, your childhood memories would reflect some moments of creative indulgence. When we are young, we understand the importance of creativity, imagination and expression, but as we grow up it gets lost along the way. Try to find your old scrapbooks, childhood art and craft stuff, painting, diary or anything that you can reflect and try to re-connect with your creative insight. You can also try to recreate something in your leisure time.

2. Stop overthinking:

Creativity does not have limitations so kindly do not be over critical about yourself. Do not overthink whether you can or cannot; whether you will be able to do things perfectly or not. Creativity should flow like music or feelings; it does not have to be calculative like mathematics. Try to be expressive and avoid overthinking.

3. Be organic:

Creativity is organic and comes naturally to people. It is not restricted to the strokes of a paintbrush. It is also creative when you introduce yourself associating yourself with an animal or vegetable, the way you break the ice with acquaintances, the way you design and present your PowerPoint presentations, the way you negotiate your points working in a team and even the way you design your Snapchat and Instagram stories. Working on an assignment without using google and putting efforts on the content is also an expression of creativity and would program your mind to be more self-reliant going forward.

4. Do not be hard on yourself:

Let the creativity flow through you instead of focusing too much on the outcome. It must be free-flowing, rhythmic, abstract and organic but it should never be re-revised and outcome-based. Why don’t you try to sing a song right now, as you read? Farah Khan and Sonu Nigam are not judging you so be yourself. Let loose.

5. Remind yourself of how wonderful you are:

Lastly, just remind yourself of how wonderful you have always been throughout your childhood. You are an original and there is no second copy of you – that surely makes you unique. You can try matching your fingerprints with anyone to prove how unique you are. So, believe me; you are wonderful and better when you are the best version of yourself!

Always remember to get inspired before you start working on something.

(The writer is a faculty in the Department of Humanities, UPES)