How to Become More Creative Than 91% of People and Spark Stunning Ideas

You are reading an excerpt from The Challenge, a newsletter where I discuss self-improvement, goal-setting, habits, time management, and health tips and tricks.

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I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to work my ass off for all my life. Or, at least, I don’t want to do it for someone else.

I want to build myself up and fight my battles alone. And to do that, I have to be creative. I have to find the unique key that will unlock my brand.

But that’s not everything.

Creating thinking is one of the essential skills of our time. It can help your relationships, hobbies, and even work. So, even if you are not interested in going solo, you can benefit from it.

Unfortunately, most people don’t know how to spark those stunning ideas that keep others hooked. But if you want to advance in life, you need creativity. And you must know how to spark it.

Creativity has many enemies. Here are three of them.

• Stress is a creativity killer. Pressure is beneficial if it lasts for a bit. But too much of it could harm your ideas and make you give up.
• A lack of confidence could also reduce your winning ideas. You will discard many thoughts because you don’t believe in yourself. But those thoughts might have been a game-changer.
• Negativity could hurt your ideas. There have been a few people who made a fortune using negativity. But have you ever heard about their lives? Worthless, empty shells.

So, how can you become more creative?

I could give you a short and a long answer.

Short answer – live a happier life.

Long answer – keep reading.

Here are nine quick practices that could make you more creative.

More than ten years ago, I wanted to write a fantasy novel.

I was young and dumb. I copied something from The Lord of The Rings, some things from Harry Potter, and even Eragon. It was terrible. But it taught me an important lesson – writing by hand can spark thousands of ideas. And even if 99% of them will be trash, you still have those ten good ones.

• Write by hand to generate ideas.
• Do it daily to build a habit.
• Keep a journal to remember everything.

People without a second brain have two problems:

• they forget their best ideas
• and they stress too much trying to remember everything they have to do.

Last year, I got a promotion that charged me with responsibility. But that change stressed me too much with multiple deadlines and commitments.

However, since I built my second brain , I don’t have to remember anything. And I can focus more on my ideas.

Look, I know this is strange. But before you think I’m crazy – this has been scientifically proven . Moving the furniture can give you a boost of energy for a few days. You will feel more inspired and spark stunning ideas.

But you can’t move the furniture every week. I agree. So, how can you trigger the same effect many times?

The secret is not the furniture but the environment.

Change the place where you brainstorm your ideas more frequently. And you will have better ones.

I used to get my best idea for potential novels when I got home from school.

My parents worked hard. They didn’t always have the time to pick me up. So, I had to walk back home.

It took me 30 minutes. But I often stopped on the street because I had great ideas and wanted to write them down.

Your brain wonders when you walk or run and know the road. And if you learn to focus on a topic, you will generate great ideas.

I love to spend alone time. I used to suffer when I was alone. But I discovered it wasn’t that bad.

However, your loneliness will always limit your ideas.

Talking with other people triggers an active exchange of ideas you can’t replace. So, learn to attract people in your life . Share your thoughts with anyone who might be interested. Listen to what they have to say. You never know where the next idea will come from.

When I started writing online, I had no clue what an article meant.

I loved to write. And I loved to read articles on Medium. But I never thought about writing mine. So, I did this exercise where I copied others’ articles to learn how to write one.

Later on, I tried to improve them. I picked the best articles and searched for their mistakes or weak points. And that helped me find new ideas for my content.

So, improve other’s work. You will find more ideas for yours.

How can you find new ideas if you do not search for them?

Creativity requires a constant input of new experiences. And when you exit your comfort zone, the effect is even better.

So, get out of the house to become more creative. Meet people. Do new things. And then think about those things and what they taught you.

Stress is the worst enemy of creativity. And to remove stress, you must take care of your mental health.

A few years ago, I was broken – without any friends or love. And I couldn’t think about anything else than my situation.

Yet, you can’t spark new ideas in this mental state. So, put your mental health first .

Do meditation, yoga, or whatever makes you feel good. Do therapy if you can’t do it alone. You must be in good mental shape to spark stunning ideas.

I wasn’t kidding when I told you a happy life would make you more creative. It does. But a happy life requires a lot of optimism.

I always thought negativity was not worth my time. But we often get sucked into its cycle and can’t escape it. That’s when you need good self-reflection skills to understand the triggers of your negativity and fight it.

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