Truly creative people don’t sit down to say “Okay, now I will create.”
Rather, they’re constantly in touch with a particular way of perceiving and interacting with the world around them.
“Being creative” goes much deeper than coming up with novel ideas or being able to respond to a given situation with originality. Living a creative life is about being receptive to signs and senses – both internally and externally.
It follows that if you want to be more creative, you don’t focus on scheduling more time for creating or creative thinking. Instead, lean into that idea of viewing the world through a creative lens.
But how?
The Open and Curious Creative Worldview
To stop “making time” for creativity, and living a truly creative life, there’s a particular mindset that allows people to be creative all the time, in every aspect of life. People who live this way often demonstrate very high levels of being open-minded, or openness to experiences.
Openness is characterized by receptiveness to new stimuli with curiosity and processing of abstract ideas. When it’s a core personality trait, it’s at work all the time, not just when someone is actively solving a problem or making something.
It may even influence how creative people physically perceive the world. A study found that people who scored higher on openness in a personality test were better able to engage with multiple visual stimuli at once, finding connections that those who scored lower could not.
“Being creative” isn’t just about the act of creating, it’s about constantly noticing, asking questions, and being alert to possibility. As author and journalist Elizabeth Gilbert says: “All creativity begins with curiosity. And once you tap into your curiosity and allow yourself permission to follow it wherever it takes you, you will find very quickly that you are living a much more creative life than you were last year.”
The Benefits of a Constant Creative Mindset
Approaching life with a creative mindset has its benefits. At the most basic level, it means you’re much more likely to find inspiration. You’re more receptive to what’s around you and more willing to explore the ideas you come across.
There’s also some evidence to suggest that the more open you are, the less likely you are to miss something obvious because you’re focusing on something else. This is known as the inattentional blindness effect. Of course, that broader focus provides fuel for your creative thinking in many different ways – from doing a morning crossword to proofing a document.
Additionally, openness enables you to be cognitively flexible – to think laterally and approach unfamiliar situations with more confidence and curiosity. This heightened adaptability makes you a more effective problem-solver and means you’re more likely to find novel solutions. It could even help you be a better collaborator as it makes it easier for you to embrace alternative perspectives.
How to View the World More Openly
While some people naturally score higher for openness, you can train yourself to adopt a more receptive, exploratory mindset. Here are a few simple (and fun) ideas for being more receptive that you can weave into your day.
Seek Out New Experiences
Get more comfortable with unfamiliar experiences by intentionally exposing yourself to them.
As well as increasing your chance of getting inspired, this helps you to break out of habitual ways of thinking. As Philosopher Dr. Russya Connor explains in a TEDx Talk: “If we keep doing the same things over and over again, if we maintain the same patterns, if we are relying on set routines, we will only and always choose the most familiar answer and that’s usually the least interesting one.”
While these new experiences can be big adventures like vacations, trying new hobbies, or exploring a new area of your city, they don’t have to be “big”. It can be just as valuable to introduce small bits of novelty into your daily routine, perhaps by taking an alternative route to work or cooking something different.
Start Noticing the World Around You
With a million things on your mind, it’s easy to move through the world without really perceiving it. You can teach yourself to take more notice. It’s one of the greatest joys of traveling, when everything around you is (typically) novel and draws your attention.
Rather than trying to do this on your commute when you’re bound to be distracted, try intentionally taking trips out just to people-watch. It might help to bring a notebook along so you can jot down anything that catches your eye – writer Miranda Keeling made an entire book out of her whimsical snapshot observations of everyday life.
Or take the examples of illustrator Nishant Jain (The Sneaky Artist) who draws people he sees while people-watching.
Once you’re comfortable with the noticing aspect, start to ask yourself questions about the people you see and let yourself imagine what their lives might be like.
“A man walking along Caledonian Road falls over onto the huge roll of bubble wrap he is hugging, perhaps for just this sort of situation.” – Miranda Keeling
Look for Beauty Everywhere
There are links between openness and having a strong aesthetic sense.
Surrounding yourself with things that you find beautiful, whether it’s art or the natural world, could help you start to recognize and appreciate other forms of beauty in your environment too. And of course, gazing at things that bring you joy will undoubtedly help you feel more inspired to think and live creatively.
Questioning why you find certain things beautiful could also give you insights that you can use to guide your creative practice.
Engage With Different Perspectives
Expose yourself to diverse perspectives, both through conversation and through the media you consume.
This gives you a chance to stretch your imagination and build empathy as you seek to understand how other people interpret the world. If you explore other people’s stances on particular issues, it can also feed into the “willingness to engage with abstract concepts” angle of openness.
Don’t Be Afraid to Daydream
While exploring the outer world is important, so is exploring your inner world.
Allowing your brain to roam freely, in a process known as mind-wandering, has been linked to heightened levels of creativity as it allows your brain to form loose, fluid connections between pieces of information. Rather than searching for possibilities in your environment, you’re searching for them in the vast repository of memories and knowledge you’ve already gathered.
Be More Playful
Dr. Russya Connor believes the key to having a more creative outlook is embracing playfulness.
“Being playful helps me to be undaunted,” she explains, “not intimidated by difficulties or disappointed by discouragement. It allows me to stay audacious and to take risks.”
Playfulness lowers the stakes, enabling you to explore possibilities without the burden of needing to achieve a certain outcome.
Try to make time for some fun activities that you do for their own sake. If you’re stuck, think about things you used to enjoy as a child.
You Don’t Have to Create to Have a Creative Life
To be more creative and innovative, try to view the world like highly creative people do. This involves developing your level of openness by seeking out new experiences, taking more notice of the world around you, and allowing your mind to play around with different possibilities.
And remind yourself that you don’t have to “create” to be creative. Lower the dial on the pressure to create, produce, and deliver. By doing this, you’ll prime yourself to find inspiration anywhere and to approach any situation with curiosity and imagination.
