3 Things To Get Your Creativity Back
As we approach the season of giving, I wanted to pause and give something to you that you can use. It is the realization that you are creative. This is something that you can also share with others that they can use too. In fact, I would ask that you do share this if you find any value in it at all.
I am about to prove to you that you are creative. Why that is important is because your creativity is a path to energizing yourself and those around you. It promotes mental health, satisfaction, self-confidence, and happiness. I think we can all use more happiness in our lives.
Think about kids at about 4-years-old and the best presents that they get. The answer is almost always a box. They can make it anything that they want and often do. When you watch that raw imagination, I suspect, like most of us, that you smile. Their creative nature infects you, and just for a moment, maybe you even get down with them and join in the world they are building. That play creates an incredible bond.
How I know you are creative is because, at some point, you were a child. Tapping into that child-like ability to imagine anything is so critical, especially if you feel you don’t have time, or you feel you are not heard or seen, or if you feel that it is too risky to dream.
Here are three things you can do today to start to bring back your creativity and laugh with others while doing it. (By the way, these can work at home too!)
1. Tell this joke the next time some talks about checking schedules, especially after a long day. Use a serious tone at first. “Wait a second; I am afraid FOR the calendar. Its days are numbered.” We often feel meetings will be the death of us, and this is a good way for a fast laugh that will set an unconscious signal for the next meeting.
2. At the next meeting, start the meeting with a fast game, specifically GET TO 20. This game will get the team listening and working together, but more importantly, laughing. Here is how you do it:
a. The group shuts their eyes.
b. They then need to count out one number at a time up to 20, one person at a time. A person that just said a number can’t give the next in the sequence.
c. If two people say the same number at the same time, you start over again at 1.
d. If a number is skipped, you have to start over again as a group at 1.
3. In a one-on-one setting, with no other agenda, ask someone to describe the top project they are working on and WHY. Even if you think you know the ‘why,’ ask them anyhow. When they are done, no matter what they say, you just say thank you for sharing. Let it there- even if you are that person’s supervisor and they said something wrong. The point is you are seeking to understand where they are, not anything beyond that.
Even if you already feel you are creative, maybe this will help you discover more within you.