Imagine that you’re lying on a sun drenched beach in your favourite spot, sipping pina coladas. While watching the surf and local talent in a lazy daze, every little bit of disproportionate body fat you have starts dissolving away as if by magic.

If you’re a guy, your six-pack and calves magically become super clearly defined (move over Atlas!); if you’re a woman, you rise (sand still clinging to your butt) as the breathtaking goddess pictured in the well-worn story book you had as a child. You now suddenly have a build and looks that will cause dislocated necks, lead to car accidents, inspire Hollywood contracts and birth countless biographies.

Apart from this, you just know your IQ suddenly got catapulted right into the god class, you now also have a singing voice that might make Madonna quit and artistic flair enough to decommission the Picasso’s of this world (and although you haven’t tried out that one yet, you just know it to be so).

You simply can’t believe it. Maybe the one who said that if something’s too good to be true then it probably is, got it all wrong. Maybe this is all due to some fairy godmother or weird enchantment or whatever. Who knows. You just don’t care. Floating off the sand, a Cadillac with a fully stocked bar awaits you as you exit the beach and ride off into fame and fortune.

Yeah right.

Except only, it never happens this way.

Funny how desperately we wish something like this to be true but somehow know it will never be. (Damn…)

Because nothing ever happens in a vacuum.

Just as no fairy is going to miraculously spirit our present away and leave us suspended on a golden cloud of only fluff and happiness, just so the ability to create won’t magically appear over night or descend out of thin blue air, especially if your creative muscle has not been used for some time. You have to work at it.

Relax! Please don’t back button! The word “work” here, does not mean sweat!

Okay, say now that you have been trying your hand at free writing and some of the other ideas mentioned in the previous post to try and get your muse back if it has gone AWOL. If you’re lucky, it’s back already. Say for argument’s sake, it is. How do you keep it right there with you, more so, how do you remain creative for the rest of your life?

This last question is especially important if something like the ability to be creative has a direct bearing on your income and business (if you have one). Not even talking about your happiness here!

Whereas the previous post touched on creativity gone AWOL and how to get it back once it’s gone, this post will highlight the need for exercise in always keeping your creative gift healthy, happy and thriving.

This post will highlight exercise? But, doesn’t the very word “exercise” imply effort, exertion, work… practise (ugghh?).

Wait!

To prevent you from immediately hitting the back button in disgust and trotting off to do some real reading and missing out on what could end up as the greatest, most liberating and exhilarating trip of your life, let me hasten to add: exercise like this is fun! And you don’t need a gym! Or fancy shmancy equipment. Or complex machinery or gadgets.

So stay around…

Creativity is big these days. On the web and off. And it is increasingly understood by everybody who is somebody as the single most have to have item on the shopping list of success. Especially in business.

According to the IBM 2010 Global CEO Study, which says that creativity is the most crucial factor for future success, CEO’s believe that ”more than rigor, management discipline, integrity or even vision – successfully navigating an increasingly complex world will require creativity.”*

Now, there are literally zillions of creativity exercises on the web. Gazillions of links, and even more exercises. To even suggest that I could distil a few of them here and dare to call that a “Guide” would be sheer lunacy, at best arrogance.

No, what I hope at the most to accomplish through this post, is to drive home the absolute non-negotiable nature and importance of exercising your creativity if you have any hope of wanting to keep it functioning and thriving. Take the scene on the beach. Ain’t never gonna happen in a vacuum.

Likewise, you’ll never grow your gift when you don’t nurture it with the right environment and feed it the proper food. That’s where these exercises come in. They’re mostly fun to do and relax both body and mind. Maybe that’s where the whole secret to creativity capture lies.

So consider this post as an intro to Writing your Own Creativity Nurturing Exercise Guide by visiting some of the links to exercises at the bottom and then take it from there. Write your own guide. Follow the unmarked trail. Let your nose guide you. Click. Exercise. Enjoy. Click. Exercise. Enjoy.

Start off by listening to Johann Sebastian Bach. Jeffrey Baumgartner says if Bach doesn’t make you more creative, then “you should probably see your doctor”.^#

Your creativity can only benefit. Do it for you and your business or craft. And everybody else’s as well.

Nobody but nobody, can replace you or your gift. Ever. So get on with the business of being the best you there can be. You’ll do everybody a favour. You, most of all.

And as the well-known quote goes: Just do it!

Until next time,

© Elmarie Bouwer

Some links to creativity exercises:

# The Wonderful world of Jeffrey Baumgartner. 10 Steps for boosting creativity. http://www.jpb.com/creative/creative.php

Kaarina Dillabough Decide2do. 10 Steps to Boost your Creativity to Benefit your Business and Your Life.     http://www.kaarinadillabough.com/steps-boost-your-creativity-benefit-your-business/

Psychology Today. Try Fun, Quick Exercises to Boost Your Creativity. Gretchen Rubin.  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-happiness-project/200911/try-fun-quick-exercises-boost-your-creativity

Entrepreneur. Lisa Girard.  Five creativity exercises to find your passion. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219709

Source:

* Creativity Australia. Creativity is the Most Crucial Factor for Future Success. November 3, 2010. Accessed 1 March 2012.http://creativityaustralia.blogspot.com/

The seemingly fearful little whimper came from deep within the foliage. No effort, however calculating, could coax him out of his hiding.  No eats, no soothing voice, no blithe promises could charm him into revealing his elfin self to my keen eye.

This time round I was determined to find him. No longer would I allow him to make my life miserable.  I know he’s in here somewhere because I glimpsed him when he scurried in here for cover…

Slashing away at whatever came first, my often not-so nimble fingers trembled, bled as I progressed ever deeper into the massive undergrowth.  Sometimes stubborn branches impeded my uncaring hacking.  Determined, I hewed them into splinters, slivers testimony to my zeal.

What will I find once I uncover him? What does he look like after all this time? Will I be disappointed? Elated? Hate him? Love him…? My heart is a freight train.

The shock of recognition startled us both. I knew him at once. The shy face that stared back at me was my own…

*****

In the allegory above, “him”, obviously refers to our creative impulse or gift, the foliage or undergrowth becomes a metaphor for what is blocking that muse and of course, hacking away at it refers to the process of unblocking the obstructed innovation machinery.

A most bothersome villain…

We can all relate to searching like this for our muse, which, like in the allegory above, at times simply is not there. I mean the little urchin often just ups and leaves me stranded for no reason (see previous post) whatsoever! When I need it the most! This happens so often, it becomes almost proverbial and is annoying, frustrating…you can definitely identify.

At times like these, the creative wheels refuse to budge. They’re solidly jammed for whatever reason (see previous post) and need to be unstuck to get your magic paint brush whooshing away once more and your world of happiness zinging again!

Some call this process “creative unblock”. Let’s discover some of this together

The biggie…

By now you’ve probably figured out what might be blocking your creativity and why it was very important that you nail this fact. So getting yourself unblocked is your next step. The big question is: how?

Free nachos

Something that might work very well is free writing. Like free lunch. Doesn’t cost you anything but don’t expect a gourmet meal. Likewise don’t expect sterling writing to emerge, only heaps of …well… “un-creative” blocks unblocking. So, exactly what is it?

Also called stream-of-consciousness writing, free writing is done for about 5 – 10 minutes where no attention is paid to things like spelling, grammar or topic. It is literally just writing down whatever comes to mind. Unlike brainstorming where ideas are only listed, whole paragraphs are written about whatever thoughts pop into your head.

Says Amy Mattison: “… keep writing without lifting your…hand… keep writing whatever thoughts come to you. Don’t edit…; don’t worry about grammar or misspellings. Simply keep writing until the time is up. The key to free writing is to not judge what you write.”^$

I’ll add here that you don’t have to stick to the clock like a faithful dog. Write for as long as you like. But at least for the 10 minutes on the timer. And it is terribly important that you write every day. Religiously. Without fail.

This technique is employed to help the creative person (all of us!) overcome blocks of apathy and self-criticism etc. Some writers also use it as a prelim exercise to gather ideas for formal writing. However, it can be useful for any kind of craft.

Take note, it’s not the same as automatic writing, which… [is] “produced from a subconscious and/or spiritual source without conscious awareness of the content.”^*

The beauty of this exercise is that it eventually unblocks clogged areas of the psyche with the result that freedom from obstruction ensues and creative liberty returns. Obstructions are literally written away! And this freedom will manifest in whatever craft you’re involved in. Definitely for the business gurus who can’t seem to create the magic that will lead to expected sales. Or the jammed copywriter. Or the frustrated painter, or metal worker, or…you get the point.

Although results might not come immediately, just keep the pen clicking or keyboard clacking…they will eventually come.

Amy also lists several other ideas as bull bars for creative obstacles like connecting with others and your world, replacing all negative thoughts with positive ones, making a gratitude list, renewing your faith and play – fun stimulating activities that will rekindle the creative desire. But don’t expect to feel very creative when you’re hungry (I’m not talking peckish here, but balanced nutrition), tired from little sleep and living the life of a couch potato.

Fun toys

Finally, some great web-based tools like Spicynodes, “which is… intuitive, innovative [and lets you] create visualizations with bits of information and multimedia …[to] let your thoughts, plots, or ideas take flight and follow their own course.”⁺

Also check out Andrew Goss who sort of lets you do the same thing by letting you “…visualize something non-existent, by throwing together unexpected combinations of materials, techniques, surfaces and forms” and gives you an input box to do so. Just go to the links mentioned below.^{^}

Have fun!

Given time, patience and perseverance (the bleeding fingers above!), you will uncover the little imp and get your creative juices flowing again! Promise.

By the way, all the preceding suggestions will also work magically with idea generation in every field. So if for example, you’re a business guru looking for new ideas in marketing or sales, by all try ‘em. Who knows…

Words stubborn, refusing to emerge from some dark corner and morph into great sales copy? Has the clay remained formless dried mud on your wheel and fingers? The brush been poised in midair forever but no strokes forthcoming…?  Stuck in any way?

Think you know what to do…

*****

Next week will be the last post in our series on the need for creativity in a successful life…eh, I mean… business. It’s all about exercises (yup! Practise) to stimulate your muse and keep it going on…and on…and…Check it out.

© Elmarie Bouwer

Sources:

^* Wikipedia.. Free Writing. Accessed 22 February 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_writing

^$ Amy Mattison. poetryNprogress.When Creativity Goes Away: How to Unblock Your Inner Artist, Part 2. Accessed 22 February 2012.

http://poetrynprogress.com/2010/04/01/when-creativity-goes-away-how-to-unblock-your-inner-artist-part-2/

⁺  Spicynodes. SpicyNodes inspire creative thinking. Accessed 22 Febrauray 2012. http://www.spicynodes.org/welcome-creative.html?gclid=CMHXoK6D5q0CFQlpfAodl0sz9Q

^{^} goss design studio. Creative Unblock! Accessed 22 February 2012.  http://www.makersgallery.com/goss/creative.html