Creativity

In last week’s All Stitched Up! we unpacked the Ancient Indian practice of Brahma Muhurta, a ritual that translates as ‘The Creator’s Hour’. Although originally observed 96 minutes before sunrise and lasting 48 minutes for the purpose of meditation, yoga, reading and prayer, the idea has now become synonymous with some as simply setting aside the time to be still and create.

For some of us, the idea of finding the time to remove ourselves from the hustle and bustle of life to be creative sounds like all our dreams come true, for others though, it brings about a certain sense of unease.

We’ve often heard the phrase ‘I’m not creative’ muttered from either ourselves or those around us.

Creativity is a trait that is not only admired but also desired, especially by those who just don’t feel like they have it in them. According to leading experts on the topic, however, we all have it in us, there are just some of us who need to learn how to reach our creative potential.

We recently came across an article entitled ‘Can You Learn Creativity? The Answer Might Surprise You’ that unpacks some steps we can all follow to be at our creative best.

The article challenged the idea that creativity isn’t about having an ‘a-ha’ moment, but is a process that can be learned and as such there are certain things we can do to enhance our creativity.

The article reminded us that in order to be creative, our minds need to be free from our normal obligations, and so finding the time and space to relax is paramount. Brahma Muhurta anyone?! If not, taking a walk or distracting ourselves by doing something such as playing a game may be just what we need to remove our creative block.

It then encouraged us to stop self-editing, but rather accept any and all ideas that come to mind as we think freely, editing them later with critical thinking.

Lastly, the article encouraged us not to give up as creativity requires not just relaxation and free thinking, but also practise, discipline and time and that often our best ideas rarely come in an instant, but rather through an ongoing process of thought and critical thinking about a single idea or problem.

We love the idea that we can all enhance our creativity, whether we think it’s something we naturally possess or not, and that the steps outlined above give us a simple framework by which to do it.

Here’s to never again having to declare ‘I’m not creative…’