Be Creative - Simple Steps to Releasing Your Creative Energies

As an avid writer and artist, I sometimes am at a loss for a creative idea. Sometimes, I just cannot get past the block. Sometimes, I even feel as though any creativity I had has simply vanished, or worse yet, was nothing but an illusion. When this happens, I once simply panicked or became depressed until a spark of creative energy naturally returned. I have in the past, went weeks without even trying to re-start my personal creativity. But then I learned that making the creativity I have return was relatively easy if I allowed it to be. Since that time, I found a method to get past any creativity blocks I run into.

I am sure there are many methods out there to get past creative blocks, but I have developed my own approach, which I think is very simple and easy to use.

Step 1. Choose to be creative. Simple sounding as it is, you first must decide to be creative If you have allowed yourself to feel that you are no longer creative, and have lost your ability to be creative, your will become lost to you. You are what your mind conceives and your mind believes. Choosing to be creative and affirming it in your mind is not only the first step in my method, but also the most important step. Your mind controls everything you do. If it thinks you are not creative, you will get that result. If you choose to be creative, and affirm to yourself that you are creative, you will be.

Step 2. Explore the unknown. True creativity does not come from the tried and true. It does not rise from the familiar. True creativity must be fired from the imagination. And to feed your imagination, you must see new places, try new things, and explore new areas. Go into areas unknown to you, be it through books, magazines, road trips, music, or simply a new medium. To be truly creative, you need to see the world through new eyes, experience as much that is new and different as possible. This will fire the imagination, and turn on the creative energies within you.

Step 3. Do not be afraid. Part of creative energy and ability is venturing into the unknown with your creative efforts. When you do, do not allow fear of trying something new or different take hold of you. Be brave and push aside fear.

Step 4. Do not fear failure. If you allow the fear of failure to enter it will. And when it does, it will become a strong force that can dominate your creativity and your life. Failure is not the end, it is only the beginning. It is not something to fear. Failure is a learning opportunity. Treat it as such. Learn all you can from it, and take that knowledge and use it in your next effort. Be disappointed with your failure for a brief amount of time, this is only a natural reaction, then dismiss the feelings associated with it, and instead, concentrate on the lessons of why you failed. Learn from your failures and cherish them. They are valuable lessons. Then go forth, armed with the information your failure gave you.

Step 5. Be proud of your achievements. This can be very difficult for many of us. It is so easy to assume the modest approach when you achieve success in your creative endeavors. How many times have you had a creative effort acknowledged, and you simply played it off, "Oh, it is really not that good." Or "It is not a big deal." I know I have, it can be very difficult to receive praise. Do not minimize your creative efforts. Be proud of it and the effort it took. You took the time and you made the effort to expand your creativity and create, be proud, do not minimize your efforts, but also, do not allow vanity to rule you.

And there you have it. This is my simple method of allowing your creativity to flow, to grow, and to be ever evolving.