“There is no use trying,” said Alice. “One can’t believe impossible things.” “I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Carroll

This quote made me think about childhood, creativity and curiosity and so I set off to find confirmation of a correlation between them.

And, as usual, I found some interesting information along the way…

One thing that most people tend to agree on is: people believe that creativity is inborn and only the ‘chosen few’ have it.  I’ve had people say that to me…”well, you’re creative, that’s why you can do that!”.  But what most people don’t know (or don’t believe) is that, it isn’t only for the ‘chosen few’.

Every one is born creative.

In the process of growing up, educating yourself and adapting yourself to your environment, you slowly add blocks to your creativity (possibly based on (self) perceived evidence that you didn’t measure up somewhere along the way with other more ‘gifted’ individuals).  The difference between a creative person and a person who is not so creative is not in the creativity that they were born with but in the creativity that they have lost.

Think about how easily small children are able to play and create. They do it with reckless abandon – everything from inventing imaginary playmates…to starring in their own broadway show…their imagination is endless.

They haven’t been told otherwise.

And then they grow up.

And the critic steps in…and you know the rest of the story.

And that’s why so many people attend workshops and retreats geared to encouraging this sort of play again.  To bring it back. 

Some of the ways you can re-establish that creative mindset is to observe the habits of creative people, identify the ones that you feel will work for you and then make a plan to cultivate them.

If you’re interested in cultivating more creativity into your life…consider these common habits and/or behaviors of creative people…

Curiosity.

Creative people are easily ‘wowed’…they get a kick out of cloud formations, early morning light, fog, cool juxtapositions, weird fashions, hair styles, textures, graphics, words, letters, numbers, colors, art, photography, etc., etc., etc.

They ask a lot of questions.  A questioning mind is an open mind. It is not a knowing mind. Only an open mind can be creative. A knowing mind can never be creative.  Its too wrapped up in facts – closed off.

A questioning stance sensitizes the mind in a very special way and it is able to sense what would have been missed otherwise.

It’s No Problem!

When there is a problem, some people can be seen physically stressed.  Their first reaction is to look for someone to blame. Being faced with a problem becomes a problem.

Creative people, on the other hand, are problem-friendly. They just roll up their sleeves and get to work.  They see problems as opportunities.  And opportunities are wonderful.  Opportunities can improve the quality of life.

Problems come up everyday and they need to be solved every day.  Life is a fascinating rhythm of problems and solutions.

Problems come into your life to convey some message. If you run away from them, you miss the message.

What a great idea!

Creative people realize the value of an idea. They do not take any chance with something so important. They carry a small notepad to jot down ideas whenever they occur.

Sometimes, just having the notebook on hand is enough to inspire ideas!

Up for the Challenge

Creative people thrive on challenges. They have a gleam in their eyes as soon as they sniff one. Challenges bring out the best in them.  And that’s a good thing!

Enthusiastic

Creative people are enthusiastic about their goals. This enthusiasm works as fuel for their journey, propelling them to their goals.

Persistent

Creative people know their ideas may take some getting used to.  But they don’t take this personally.  They understand it takes time for a new idea to be accepted.  In fact, the more creative the idea, the more time it usually takes.

Dissatisfied.

Creative people are acutely aware of their dissatisfactions and unfulfilled desires. However, this awareness does not frustrate them. As a matter of fact, they use this awareness as a stimulus to realize their dreams.

Optimistic

Creative people generally see the glass as half full.

This doesn’t mean they are always happy and never depressed. They do have their bad moments but they don’t generally let it overwhelm them.

A Good judge

The ability to hold off on judging or critiquing an idea is important in the process of creativity. Often great ideas start as crazy ones – if critique is applied too early the idea will be killed and never developed into something useful and useable.

This doesn’t mean there is no room for critique or judgment in the creative process but there is a time and place for it and creative people recognize that.

Making it Happen

Creative people realize that the first idea is just the starting point. It is in the process of fleshing it out that some magical cross-connections happen and the original ‘normal’ idea turns into a killer idea.

Stick to it-iveness.

Creative people who actually see their ideas come to fruition have the ability to stick with their ideas and see them through – even when the going gets tough. This is what sets them apart from others.

Its just an Idea

Creative people recognize how dangerous it is to fall in love with an idea. Falling in love with an idea means stopping more ideas from coming to their mind. They love the process of coming up with ideas, not necessarily the idea.

Environment

Creative people do most of their thinking in an environment which is most conducive to their creativity. This is very important to the creative person.

Perspective

Changing the way of looking at things enables you to see experiences and situations differently.  This is a very powerful skill.

And a different view has the power to change your entire perception of the situation.  You may spot an opportunity that you would have otherwise missed.

The unexpected

Creative people have the knack of expecting the unexpected and finding connections between unrelated things. It is this special quality of mind that evokes serendipitous events in their lives.

Having honed the art of making happy discoveries, they are able to evoke serendipity more often than others.

No fear of failure

Creative people realize that the energy that creates great ideas also creates errors. They know that failure is not really the opposite of success.

In fact, both failure and success are on the same page (in the creative’s book) because both are the result of an action TOWARD something.  Creative people look at failure as another opportunity – because, in the process, you just may discover something completely different from what you were seeking.

*some of these ideas found on, tickled by life. com