Creativity as I see it

What is creativity? Thinking up something new/original? Not necessarily... The ideas we come up with are typically related to the knowledge we already have. No idea comes from nothing. Every idea is inspired by an old one or something your have read/seen/experienced. You either innovate an old idea or put few ideas together to come up with a more 'new' idea. Creativity is about thinking different, stretching the boundaries, trying things you haven’t done previously, or improvising on an exiting idea.

Creativity is inspired by passion. When you love what you do, you come up better ideas to do it better. You need your own space and time to be creative. You also need to be free of tension, stress and pressure. Organizations must give its employees the space to think freely and the freedom to execute new ideas. This will encourage employees to be creative at work. Is creativity a skill? I think so. You can consciously work on being creative.

1. Brainstorming helps hone your creative ability.
2. Stay in touch with what’s happening around you. This could be news, movies, good books, music, and so on.
3. Identify your personal space. You need room to think. Make this space for yourself.
4. Get inspired by creative things around you. This could be people, things, words, ideas.
5. Read, read and read some more. Read on varied topics. This will help open your mind.
6. Discuss, debate, argue. Engage discussions with colleagues, friends, and family.
7. Ask questions like ‘Why not?’ rather than accepting things as they are.
8. Think you can and not you can’t. Sit with a notepad and list down various possibilities. You will never know if you can or can’t till you try it.
9. If you think you are stuck and no creative juices are following, take a break. Do something that will help you relax and loosen up.
10. Have confidence in yourself. Only if you are sure of yourself, will you try to do something different.
    
11. Lateral thinking helps. Think beyond the obvious.
12. Know your facts/stuff.
    

Not all ideas are doable. But noting them down will help you filter and build on the idea that will work for you. What hinders creativity?

• Ignorance
• Lack of confidence
• Noise and crowd
• Working mechanically with no thought
• Rigidity
• Laziness
• Narrow mindedness

You can see creativity everywhere. You can see this in the way Tupperware boxes are designed, specific advertisements that capture our interest, the choice of clothes we wear, interiors of your house, and so on.