Read interesting articles on creativity, incredible insights. Actually, creativity is learnable. Like a grain of sand in an oyster, cognitive irritation stimulates creativity. When we give ourself a compelling, complex, unsolved problem & clearly, concisely, vividly articulate it, our brain is stimulated. One way to amp up creativity is by slogging through unsatisfying rounds of generating solutions. Then, walking away for a bit to allow space for our sub-conscious to work. Ideas flow naturally.
Also, if we want to be more creative, we need to have more things to connect. The best way to build a rich mental database is to honour our curiosities. If something tickles our brain, spend a moment with it. Follow mental paths that have no obvious purpose other than to satisfy a curiosity – Lego bricks, books, team conversations. Convergent thinking is linear, involves going through a list of steps to get to a single answer. In contrast, divergent or creative thinking is exploring different directions from an initial problem to find many possible solutions. Companies like Google, Facebook are promoting mindfulness to stimulate creativity, innovation & emotional intelligence.
Reflecting, reviewing key ideas & insights is inspiring. At unexpected times, we can feel a rush of creativity, capture these moments by journaling. Accelerates development of imaginative thoughts. Creativity though, will always be part mystery.