If you’ve been around young children, you’ve likely experienced the relentless ‘why, why, why?’ phase. It often puts you on the spot, comes at an inconvenient time and can be pretty annoying!
Annoying at times it may be, that stage right there is peak curiosity. But over time that curiosity fades away. We stop asking the curious questions.
Do you remember that feeling like you knew it all, and anyone trying to teach you anything else is both annoying and getting in your way? Well, that was you saying a fond farewell to a bit of your curious mind. And for lots of people this may never come back.
But yet there’s those people aren’t there? You know, the ones who seem SO creative, who ‘wow’ us with how their mind works, and the way they think creatively. I’m not just talking artists or creators here, I’m talking about those people whose way of thinking and seeing the world seems to let them dance around challenges and find solutions and ideas in an effortless way. Plus, it kinda seems like they get more fun out of life. Know anyone like that?
To be and to feel creative is a desirable thing, and in a digitised world increasingly so, but sometimes we assume that to be creative we must have tangible creative skills like drawing. Just to reiterate EVERYONE is and can be creative on their own way.
If you study successful creative leaders or people, they are not usually the ones with the best answers or solutions every time or with tangible creative skills but and often they are not even the most skilled at what they do, but they are ALWAYS the ones who ask the best questions.
Where do we sit in all of this? Well the answer to that is your hands. Which team do you want to join and be on? Where do you think you are now? Your own relationship with your creativity can have a huge impact, not to mention your own well-being and happiness, and the great thing is you don’t have to go near a paintbrush (unless you want to). Here’s some super simple tips and give you a good mental boost of happiness:
Ask good, interesting questions. Try re framing them to experiment with how they go e.g. switch out ‘what did you do today?’ for ‘tell me one thing that made you laugh today’ and see what happens. When your with friends try and get into deeper conversation, conversations with depth and meaning are a high source of creative energy (and also proven to make for a happier life and better relationships too!)
Connect with colour. As we are all still pretty much stuck inside, find colours that strike positive emotions in you and find interesting ways to bring them near you. Colour can do incredible things to the mind and how you feel. Remember it doesn’t matter if you don’t want to wear them or paint your walls in them – flowers, cushions, accessories, prints, books all provide colour touches.
Shatter your routine. Creativity comes from looking at things in a new ways and if you do the same thing all the time that’s going to be hard. Routines are healthy (as we have been reminded to keep to them during the pandemic – but after 3 months?!?) You need fresh disruption to disturb the curious mind. We cant actually travel but why not research a new country, go on that round the world trip (virtually), pick up a book that normally wouldn’t interest yu, try a new food, watch a new box set.
Engage. There are so many ways to connect and be entertained it’s easy to check out and disappear behind a screen. Challenge yourself on the new portal; actually engage, comment and join in, message content creators, fellow ambassadors and strike up feel good, positive conversations and connections…and yup, you guessed it, ask curious questions!
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Justine - enjoyed reading this. During lockdown I have been researching a name. This name is used several times in an area where a friend lives. There is a hotel, a lane, a meadow to name a few using this name. After several weeks of looking for a person with that name in the area, the history of the area etc. I have drawn a blank. But will keep trying because there must be a reason and I WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT IS!!