Simple ways to access creativity:

Leave judgement and rational thought behind
Access your right brain, that free space that is more feeling than thinking

When you allow your mind to be more creative you WILL NOT become irrational or reckless. You can apply logic to your ideas after they have been allowed to develop but the left brain and right brain cannot work at the same time. They are two different forces.

Rationality comes in at the innovation stage when you are looking at how to commercialise and apply an idea.

How to suspend judgement

What does this mean?

It means don’t judge an idea as good or bad, possible or impossible when you are first receiving it.

Allow it to flow.

Even for a moment.

If it flows it will gain momentum and it will automatically start moving in more practical directions as your subconscious brain will qualify it with what you know.

You never get into a creative space if you block it with rational thoughts, assumptions and presumptions straight away.

This means that in a creative stage of a process you have to STOP CONCLUDING. You have NO IDEA where this idea will go if you let it run and gain momentum so let it flow without concluding anything at all for as long as possible! Explore it, dance with it even the parts that seem ridiculous as the may lead to something really useful. Often the best innovation comes from what seems like a crazy idea that starts with the impossible and then is brought into practical application as the idea forces new ways of doing things to be explored.

Notice when your logic steps in and practice ignoring it. Of course thought will enter your mind during any creative process, the key is to just ignore it and put your attention back to the idea and access that inspired feeling and receptive space.

Do not get in the way of an idea - remember it is about being receptive and allowing it in so let it unfold, it will develop itself as you give your full attention to it and suspend your judgement of it.

Let go of all preconceived ideas of what being creative means and just find out what gets you into that space of flow.

The space where you feel inspired, where you feel free flowing. If you feel inspired by anything then you are in the creative space as inspiration and creativity are closely linked

Practice this on subjects where you don’t feel threatened, apply to it to things outside work first if that’s easier for you.

Find ways to exercise your right brain more - put yourself in situations where you haven’t got everything planned out and organised and where you are forced to go with your instinct “gut” feeling. This is the same space you will access your creativity from.

Inspiration and creativity are closely linked

People don’t tend to get inspired when they are stressed. But if you feel inspired you are feeling creative, let that moment go on for longer and longer each time see what other ideas come to you as you practice remaining in that state and putting your attention to other areas of your life.

Any “ideas” you try and think into being from a left brain perspective are usually very fear based and very heavily logically influenced (and therefore past based). They may solve something right now but will not be long term sustainable innovative solutions and are unlikely to involve dynamic progression. Usually these types of ideas are about damage limitation and survival as those are left brained priorities.

If you access your creativity you are tapping into your new ideas with all the knowledge and learning of your subconscious brain but without all of the restrictions of your rational mind in idea creation.

Accept and believe that your natural state of being is creative - as a child you were a frequent creator. Remind yourself what that felt like practice being child like in your curiosity and allowing of ideas.

Creativity doesn’t require a disciplined approach, it can work well in chaos if you are not stressed but it does need practice to access it regularly. It also does not require you to study art or music or walk around the countryside - although those things may help some people. When you learn how to harness it you can literally access it anywhere.

You probably have access to loads of great ideas that you are blocking every single day!

If you’re not accessing your creativity then you can’t tell the good ideas from the bad ones because they all get blocked and you are limiting your potential to solve problems and develop your business

Start now, start small and all that logic and clever right brained stuff comes in much later when an idea has had a chance to properly form and you are looking to apply and commercialise.