I have no idea what to write about some weeks.
But whenever I lack creativity, I can always source it back to a root cause.
Overstimulation.
Lack of rest.
Allowing perceptions to take over.
All the things that reduce the mind’s capacity to create.
I’m starting to learn how to get back on track though – and it’s a powerful skill to have.
Here’s how to rekindle that creative spark the next time your mind’s a bit too fuzzy.
1. Induce Boredom
You will naturally gravitate towards the most stimulating thing in the room.
If you have a PlayStation with your favourite game sitting beside that book you’ve been meaning to read for the past six months, which one do you think you’ll choose?
This is the way your brain is wired, and fighting against it is a losing battle.
So instead, just don’t give your brain the option.
This is the same idea as not buying unhealthy snacks when you go grocery shopping.
If the chocolate isn’t in the house, you’re not even giving yourself the option to eat it.
Sometimes choice can be your worst enemy.
Ever catch yourself reading the ingredients list on the toilet cleaner or hand wash when you’ve forgotten to bring your phone in?
Same deal.
Your brain just wants to be doing something.
Anything.
When there’s less stimulating material nearby, it will start getting creative.
This is what you want.
Making your brain work for stimulation will make it think in new ways.
If the space around you is boring, you’ll be surprised what it can do.
2. Reduce Input
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
Blaine Pascal
This flows on from the previous point.
Most of our problems stem from our inability to just be with our thoughts.
This includes our lack of creativity.
If you’re constantly loading your brain with new information, you’re never giving it the space to actually process things.
Big ideas require space to come to fruition.
If you’ve had a stressful day, then come home and watch Netflix to numb yourself, is there any wonder you don’t feel creative?
I admit, this is difficult.
Consuming content is fun.
Switching off our brain is easy.
But I’m telling you, some incredible things happen when you just sit there doing nothing.
3. Get Out In Nature
“You think you’re any different from me, or your friends, or this tree? If you listen hard enough, you can hear everything breathing together. We’re all living together, even if most folks don’t act like it. We all have the same roots and we are all branches of the same tree.”
Huu – Avatar The Last Airbender:
No matter how sh*t my day, I know nature will make it better.
Remember how at peace and content the swamp-benders were in Avatar: The Last Airbender?
That’s because they were in tune with nature and their surroundings.
With everything going on in our lives, it’s so easy to forget or even ignore the important role natures plays.
Most of the problems in my head don’t actually exist.
Stepping outside allows me to actually see that.
Swim, walk, sungaze – just get out and open your senses.
Nature is a wonderful teacher.
4. Consume With Intention
This was a game-changer for me.
Instead of consuming to consume, consume to create.
Watch a movie or read a book with the sole intention of creating something off the back of it.
A review, a think-piece, or inspiration to pursue something similar in your own life.
You will find yourself paying much closer attention to whatever it is you’re consuming.
Attention is the greatest asset of the modern era.
When you stop giving it away for free, and start devoting it towards your own creative pursuits, you won’t recognise yourself.
Consume with purpose and watch, read or observe intentionally.
Then create something for others to do the same.
5. Reconnect With Play
“Oscar Wilde said that some things are too important to be taken seriously. Art is one of those things. Setting the bar low, especially to get started, frees you to play, explore, and test without attachment to results.”
Rick Rubin
Reconnecting with play is one of the best things you’ll ever do.
It makes sense that our best ideas come to us when we’re feeling good.
And what better way to induce this state-of-mind than through play?
Be the beginner.
Explore.
Try new sh*t.
Do things that you genuinely find enjoyable.
Have you ever been around a kid who just randomly says some crazy philosophical thing?
It’s usually when they’re totally lost in the moment, exploring whilst their little brain is just ticking over and processing everything around them.
As we get older, we lose the ability to do this.
Not by way of nature – but by way of force.
We have forced ourselves into a life and way of living that doesn’t allow us to play.
People will judge you for having a good time, but so what?
Memento mori.
