100+ Creativity inspiring ideas + facts to help guide your insights
From creativity journal ideas to scientifically proven facts about creativity, our platform curates a spectrum of knowledge to fuel your creative endeavors. Compiled by curators and people who've made a habit of researching ways of creative thinking, these flashcard-like idea cards showcase various aspects of creativity, offering tips, quotes, and creativity facts designed to inspire and challenge your conventional thinking and approach.
Check out all of our 6000+ ideas & facts about creativity - curated by our community
At Deepstash, we believe in the transformative power of creativity. That's why we've assembled an extensive collection of idea cards focusing on everything from creative thinking ideas to fun facts about creativity. Discover strategies for sparking ingenuity, creativity ideas for students, and tips for enhancing both organizational and individual ideas. Each card is a daily stepping stone to unlocking your creative potential, offering actionable insights and inspiration to integrate these insights into every aspect of your life.
Explore a Large Collection of Unique Idea Cards with Creativity Tips and Facts
Research suggests that reading/experiencing something absurd or surreal can help boost pattern recognition and creative thinking.
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It means producing something novel or original, evaluating, solving problems, whether on paper, on stage, in a laboratory or even in the shower.
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The central concept of creativity is that some people are open to examine things from all angles and visualize more possibilities.
The part of our personality that seems to drive our creativity is called openness to experience. Openness best predicts performance on varying thinking tasks, on real-world creative achievements, as well as engagement in daily creative pursuits.
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Enthusiasm is the dynamic force of creativity. The reason why it is vital to creativity is because you won't let yourself do anything that you are not interested in or passionate in.
In order to spearhead creative solutions and ideas your mind has to be stimulated by a fundamental curiosity and interest in the subject. Motivation runs rampant with creativity with enthusiasm.
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The creative process is the act of making new connections between old ideas or recognizing relationships between concepts.
While being creative isn't easy, nearly all great ideas follow a similar 5 step creative process.
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One of the best ways to develop creativity is to become an expert in that area.
By having a rich understanding of the topic, you will be better able to think of a novel or innovative solutions to problems.
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One common roadlblock to devoloping creativity is the sense that curiosity is an indulgence.
Rather than reprimanding yourself, reward yourself when you are curious about something. Give yourself the opportunity to explore new topics.
While rewarding yourself is important, it is also important to develop intrinsic motivation. Sometimes, the true reward of creativity is the process itself, not the product.
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Never expect creativity to just happen.
Look for new sources of inspiration that will give you fresh ideas and motivate you to generate unique answers to questions.
Read a book, visit a museum, listen to your favorite music or engage in a lively debate with a friend. Utilize whatever strategy or technique works best for you.
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Once you have developed some basic creative skills, it is important to continually challenge yourself in order to further advance your abilities.
Look for more difficult approaches, try out new things and avoid always using the same solutions you have used in the past.
In addition to challenging yourself, you also need to create your own opportunities for creativity. This might involve tackling a new project or finding new tools to use in your current projects.
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Focus on eliminating negative thought or self criticism that may impair your ability to develop strong creative skills.
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You won't be able to develop your creative talents if you don't make time for them.
Schedule some time each week to concentrate on some type of creative project.
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Creativity is about exploring new ways of solving problems. As our reality changes at an accelerated pace, creativity becomes a more widespread requirement in the workplace.
Formal or corporate education must begin to encourage, and train, creativity.
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It states that once we have a new idea, the work is done.
But the world won’t beat a path to our door or even find the door to an idea for a better mousetrap unless we communicate it, market it and find the right customers.
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When it comes to building your creative skills, you need to be willing to take risks in order to advance your abilities.
While your efforts may not lead to success every time, you will still be boosting your creative talents and building skills that will serve you well in the future.
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Inattentional blindness is a perceptual phenomenon. People experience this when they are so focused on one thing that they fail to see something else.
Your susceptibility to inattentional blindness depends on your personality; open people are more likely to see things that others overlook.
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A state of conscious awareness resulting from living in the moment is not sufficient for creativity to come about.
To be creative, you need to have, or be trained in, the ability to observe, notice, and attend to phenomena that pass your mind’s eye.
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A mind map is a great way to connect ideas and look for innocative anwsers to questions.
Create a mind map by writing down a central topic or word. Next, link related terms or ideas around the central word. While similar to brainstorming, this technique allows for branching ideas and offers a very visual way of seeing how these ideas are linked.
As you start to develop a new project, create a flow chart to track the presentation of the project from start to finish. A flow chart can help you visualize the final product, eliminate potential problems and create unique solutions.
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Research shows that with practise, we can all learn to become more creative.
When we hear of people known for their remarkable creativity, it's quick to assume that they are born different from the rest of us. We forget that these creative geniuses often spent years working on projects that did not turn out that well. Many hours of sharpening their thinking or skills finally created something unique.
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Instead of thinking of a cut-and-dry end goal to certain situations, creative people sit back and examine the problem in different ways before beginning to work.
If you find yourself stagnating by focusing on generic problems, try to re-conceptualize the problem by focusing on a more meaningful angle.
For example: Instead of thinking “What would be something cool to paint?” rather ask, “What sort of painting evokes the feeling of loneliness that we all encounter after a break-up?”
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Isaac Newton mentioned that during his isolation days, he was in the prime for his age for invention and focused on Mathematics and Philosophy more than any other time.
His forced time away from university life allowed his creativity to flourish. The discoveries he made during his time of social distancing would form the foundation of his career for years to come.
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Believers in this myth want everyone to get along and work happily together to foster innovations.
However, many of the most creative companies have found ways to structure dissent and conflict into their process to better push their employees' creative limits.
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In modern Western and Eastern cultures, creativity is now understood as deeply embedded in the fabric of daily life.
From something that is exclusive to higher-level entities, whether deities or nature itself, it has evolved into an ability anyone can practice at various levels, whether it is to create art or to perform small acts of innovation as part of the ever-changing movement of the world we inhabit.
But, somehow, this creative aliveness is not what most of us experience in our daily lives.
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Some people are primed to be more creative than others.
However, nearly every person is born with some level of creative skill and the majority of our creative thinking abilities are trainable.
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Some of the key traits include:
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This myth argues that that bigger incentives, monetary or otherwise, will increase motivation and hence increase innovation productivity.
Incentives can help, but often they do more harm than good, as people learn to game the system.
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The fear that you might make a mistake or fail in your efforts can paralize your progress.
Whenever you find yourself harboring such feelings, remind yourself that mistakes are simply part of the process.
While you may occasionally stumble on your path to creativity, you will eventually reach your goals.
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Burnout occurs when job demands consistently outweigh the resources available. The first thing you need to do is to set proper limits.
When you limit your time spent on specific tasks, you give yourself permission to make choices. Instead of fighting perfectionism for example, you learn to stop when things are good enough.
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Research found that open people don't just bring a different perspective, they really see things differently.
A visual perception phenomenon is called binocular rivalry - where two different images are presented to each eye simultaneously, such as a red patch to the right eye and a green to the left eye. The observer will flip between seeing one patch, then the other. Open people see both images at once, creating a fused or scrambled image.
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Personalities are not fixed, and people with uncreative personalities can broaden the limited views.
Openness also increases for students who choose to study overseas. But openness has been linked to aspects of mental illness, such as a tendency to hallucinate.
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Creativity is a choice. If you aspire to find a new truth, solve an old problem, or make the world a better place, you can. To achieve this, establish a "Practice" of consistently generating, sharing, and shipping what you make.
The five key principles in doing this that are:
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For example, if you need to write a chapter of a book, instead of sitting down and looking at a black page for hours on end, break it up into tiny increments and set tight deadlines (such as 250 words every 20 minutes).
Not only will you not have time to become self-critical, but once you start working it’s much easier to keep going.
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This myth encourages the belief that creativity is a passive process. It suggests you have to wait and hope that you’ll make a breakthrough.
That Eureka moment is actually the last step in a long, involved process and not the only step. For this to happen, your unconscious mind needs material to work with. You have to put in the hard work of studying and mastering your field and exposing yourself to different perspectives.
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Research found that open people don't just bring a different perspective; they really see things differently.
The research findings suggest that open people's creative tendencies are ingrained in their basic visual perception. Open people may have inherently different experiences to other people.
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The cycle of burnout is especially bad for people who need to be more creative at work . Your ideas were what made people pile more and more work on you in the first place. And it’s easy to fall back into those patterns the second you feel ready to return to work.
Coming back from burnout and rebuilding your creative muscle is as much about understanding and setting limitations as it is getting that spark back.
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While some people are born creative, it is possible to acquire this skill. The right conditions and the right training can make everyone creative, in their own unique way.
As we move from the past where the industrial economy and more recently the knowledge economy had world domination, we reach the conceptual age, where the innovation economy thrives.
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Creating “psychological” distance may be useful for breaking through a creative block.
Try to imagine your creative task as being disconnected and distant from your current position/location - this may make the problem more accessible and can encourage higher level thinking.
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With all these, it is important to remember two things:
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Exercise can actually boost creative thinking due to its ability to get the heart pumping and put people in a positive mood.
If you’re stuck in a creative rut and want to take a break, try including exercise.
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There is a big misconception that ideas generate like a flash.
Researches show that such insights are actually the culminating result of prior hard work on a problem. It's like our brain is connecting the dots to form an image.
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The biggest creative canvas is our own life. The possibilities are practically infinite, the tools at our disposal are many, and each person we connect with opens the door to a potential creative collaboration. However, life can get so busy we end up squeezing our creativity into a tiny canvas — small, pre-defined spaces such as an art class or a brainstorming session.
Instead of constraining our creativity to these bounded containers, creative aliveness elevates our day-to-day experiences by considering each moment as an opportunity for curiosity and innovation.
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Two of the primary components of creativity include:
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Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.
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Start keeping a journal to follow your creative process and trach the ideas you produce.
A journal is a great way to reflect back on what you have accomplished and look for other possible solutions. This journal can be used to save ideas that can later serve as future inspiration.
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For any problem, the more apparent solutions will be discovered first, perhaps because you have encountered it previously. Generating the initial ideas feels very rewarding. Further ideas will come slower and require much more effort. This gives the impression that your creativity is about to drop off a cliff.
In reality, you may have fewer ideas, but those ideas may increase in quality. If you can work through the frustration, you may find a truly innovative idea.
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The main idea to the concept of creativity is that some people see more possibilities than others.
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We're all a little suspect of our own talent.
Most of us really want to offer the world something of quality, something that the world will consider as good or important. But that's the enemy, because it's not up to us whether what we do is any good. If we look upon the history it will taught us that the world is extremely unreliable critic.
You just have to ask your self 'Do human creativity matters?'
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Creativity can often be seen in a few different situations:
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The first step to fully devote yourself to developing your creative abilities.
Do not put off your efforts. Set goals, enlist the help of others, and put time aside each day to develop your skills.
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Have you ever noticed how one idea often leads directly to another?
You can take advantage of this by utilizing a "snowball technique" when you are generating ideas for your project.
If the idea isn't appropriate for your current work, set it aside to work on later, or implement it in a future project.
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How you give yourself self-care is up to you.
It could mean going to bed an hour earlier. Making time for a walk in nature. Going to an art show. Or even just doing something fun.
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I never dream of success. I work for it.
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There is mounting evidence that personality is malleable, and cognitive training interventions shows promise to increase openness. Travel also broadens the mind.
However, the dark side to the permeability of consciousness that characterises open people is that it is linked to aspects of mental illness, such as being disposed to hallucination. Care should be taken not to see things that are not there.
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Learning is dialog, not consumption. The attitude that creates curiosity is to see learning as principally driven by asking questions and coming up with answers, not consuming information.
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The magic of the creative process is that there is no magic.
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Creativity isn’t the preserve of one side of the brain, and it isn’t a talent confined to people with a special kind of brain. If you’re human and you’ve got a brain, you’re capable of being creative.
It’s true that the two brain hemispheres do function differently, but crucially they are joined by massive bundles of nerve fibers and most mental functions involve the two hemispheres working together.
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From a new study on creativity in the workplace:
Creativity increased when both positive and negative emotions were running high. Next time you’re in a strong emotional state, try to sit down and focus that energy on creating something.
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Research suggests placing self-imposed limitations can boost creativity.
It forces your brain to come up with creative solutions to finish a project around the parameters you’ve set.
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Brainstorming is a comming technique in both academic and professional settings, but it can also be a powerful tool for developing your creativity.
Start by suspending your judgment and self-criticism, then start writing down related ideas and possible solutions. The goal is to generate as many ideas as possible in a relatively short span of time. Next, focus on clarifying and refining your ideas in order to arrive at the best possible choice.
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Insecuritiy in your abilities can supress creativity, which is why it is important to build confidence.
Make note of the progress you have made, commend your efforts, and always be on the lookout for ways to reward your creativity.
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Creative aliveness consists in reclaiming a larger creative canvas woven into the fabric of our lives.
It starts by asking yourself: what makes you come alive creatively? And how can you inject more creativity into your daily life?
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While collaborating with others is essential in a creative process, exceptional creativity needs solitude. Interacting and brainstorming in a group is not as deep creatively as shutting down the world and being completely alone with your own craft. Creative people generally tend to be introverts.
The best creative minds like Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein remain flexible and spend a lot of quality time in solitude, while also valuing the ideas from other sources.
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There's a long-standing myth about intellectual property - the idea that a creative idea is proprietary to the person who thought of it.
But history and empirical research revealed that new ideas are actually combinations of older ideas and that sharing those helps generate more innovation.
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Many people talk about brainstorming, as group discussions to explore every possible approach, no matter how far-out, to yield creative breakthroughs.
But there is actually no proof that just "throwing ideas around" consistently produces innovative breakthroughs.
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It states that constraints hinder a person from becoming fully innovative, compared to people that have "unlimited" resources.
Research shows, however, that creativity loves constraints. So maybe companies should try doing the opposite: intentionally apply limits to leverage the creative potential of their people.
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Creativity is just connecting ideas.
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In reality, creativity is a team sport.
The lone genius myth is a stereotype and it’s unhelpful because it suggests the route to innovation is to cut oneself off from colleagues and collaboration. You need a modest amount of intelligence to be creative, but extremely high IQ is neither sufficient nor necessary for being an innovator.
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This is a persistent myth, that the best way to come up with ideas together is to embark on a classic brainstorming session. But people need time to work alone first, and only then should the collaborative process begin.
Group brainstorming is an effective way to share and merge people’s ideas and solutions, but it’s the wrong way to come up with ideas in the first place, and it certainly shouldn’t be the end of the creative process.
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A lot of people think that creative ability is a trait inherent in one’s heritage or genes. In fact, there is no such thing as a creative breed.
Creative minds are not born, they are made. People who have confidence in themselves and work the hardest on a problem are the ones most likely to come up with a creative solution.
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Daydreaming and incubation are most effective on a project you’ve already invested a lot of creative effort into.
Incorporating breaks into your work-flow can increase your chance to come up with creative solutions to problems.
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Looking at a situation that has already occurred and asking yourself, “What could have happened?” can boost creativity for short periods of time.
According to an analysis by Jeremy Dean:
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Many companies rely on a technical expert or team of experts to generate a stream of creative ideas. Harder problems call for even more knowledgeable experts.
Instead, research suggests that particularly tough problems often require the perspective of an outsider or someone not limited by the knowledge of why something can’t be done.
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Our expectations of how creativity should look like block us. Creative inspiration is all around us, but we don’t see it because we've grown up being taught to look for it in specific places.
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Finding your creative genius is easy:
Inspiration only reveals itself after perspiration.
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The next time you approuch a problem, try looking for a variety of solutions. Instead of simply going with the first idea you have, take the time to think of other possible ways to approach the situation.
This simple activity is a great way to build both your problem-solving and creative thinking skills.
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The '"six hats" technique involves looking at a problem from six differing perspectives. By doing this, you can produce more ideas,.
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The key to building a creative practice for yourself is to be consistent in generating and shipping your art — whatever form it may take. Certainly, good processes help you generate professional-quality outputs, but consistency really is the key to moving forward. Generating art is something that you do, not merely something that you speak about.
The second set of five key principles which underpin this idea are:
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People often think that striking creative works are just done by a single person, ignoring supportive work and collaborative preliminary effort.
Creativity is often a team effort, and recent research into creative teams can help leaders build the perfect creative troupe.
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When it comes to creative output, external gains don't really work. In fact, the opposite may be true.
Creativity that is driven by internal ambition and reward (the simple joy and satisfaction of doing something) tends to lead to more original and imaginative end results than work fueled by the promise of external gains, such as money or public recognition.
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A creative mind is:
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Find a completely unrelated creative outlet: look for a creative task with lower stakes to help ease you back into things and re-ignite your creativity and motivation.
What are the things in your own life that you enjoy but aren’t necessarily “productive”?
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Myth: "Some people are left-brained (analytical) and others are right-brained (creative)."
When people say that they are left-brained or right-brained, it doesn't mean that only that part of the brain is working; they are referring to how they think, learn or process information.
Creativity doesn't only work in one half of the brain. There is a bundle of nerve fibers connecting the two hemispheres.
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Myth: "Some people are naturally creative and other people aren’t."
It’s true that some people spend more time on creative activities than others. But brain science is clear about the fact that there are creative brain states that can be turned on by some fairly simple actions. This means that everyone can learn how to be more creative.
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Build Some Guide Rails. Establish new boundaries. It's about knowing the difference between the things you’re willing to go the extra mile for when life demands it, and the things that mean enough to you for you to enforce your boundaries.
Don’t Do it Alone. You don't need to do everything yourself. It’s okay to seek support.
Give a Damn. Sometimes, being in a bad place can be the perfect opportunity to make some new choices.
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Creativity is not an innate gift or a talent you're born with. Rather, creativity is a skill and a choice — it can be learned and expanded.
The key to becoming more creative is to get into the habit of shipping or sharing your creative output all the time.
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... especially to projects and clients that suck the creativity out of you.
When your mental resources are limited, you need to make sure they’re going to the right tasks. Burnout decimates your motivation, making working on projects you’re uninterested in an agonizing process.
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Creativity is the process of generating new ideas, possibilities, or alternatives that result in outcomes that are original and of value. Characteristics:
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Myth: "Creativity means creating works of art."
Creativity is not just about being artistic. There are many ways to be creative, and creating works of art is just one way. Creativity includes many things, for example, cooking, programming, interface design, and problem solving.
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Finding new ways to nurture your creativity can sometimes be a collective effort!
Inspired by a Creativity Tip? Become a Curator yourself and inspire others through your own ideas
7 min read
Most of us are guilty of falling into the rabbit hole of endless scrolling on our smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Looking for that next blast of dopamine, we’ve become conditioned to the mindless routine of searching for quick entertainment. While some of us are merely killing time (or wasting it), others are looking for information. Micro content can be very beneficial when looking to increase your knowledge.
10 min read
The concept of continuous learning may seem silly and obvious. Doesn’t everyone learn daily in school, at work, or in everyday life? Unfortunately, for some, this isn’t true. The definition of continuous learning can be broad, far-reaching, and sometimes hyperfocused. So, you may ask, what is continuous learning?
9 min read
We each learn differently, and what works for one person may not work for another. While some have a photographic memory and can quickly absorb knowledge, others may require deep study and concentration. Effective learning strategies are crucial to staying ahead of the curve in today's fast-paced world, where knowledge is everything. Many are just now learning about the benefits of bite-sized learning, an exciting learning strategy. This unique style of digesting facts and information benefits both students and adults. If you’ve been struggling to increase your knowledge of a subject, topic, or concept, bite-sized learning may be the key to unlocking the things that have been difficult for you to grasp.
16 min read
The rise of short-form content consumption emerges not just as a trend but as a natural response to the modern user's craving for quick, digestible information. This inclination towards brief content snippets is vividly illustrated by the popularity of platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels, which serve up flickable capsules of entertainment and information, distilling complex ideas into simple digests.
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A learner who loves to share wisdom on personal growth, happiness, and success on Deepstash. Topics include motivation, habits, goals, and mindset. Believes that everyone can achieve their dreams with the right attitude and action.
I read books and provide quick dense insightful points of the book. I also omit some points of a book if they are repetitive and are found in various other books. Hope you find it helpful. Cheers! Reach out to me on discord @rohitpatnaik
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