With technology serving as an immense distraction, school disallowing our brains to think freely with the monotonous drill of five paragraph essays, and work prescribing us with a recursive chore, it is no wonder why we complain that “being creative” is an arduous task. That is why after careful deliberation with myself over what methods work best, I have concocted a list of tips that will help your brain detangle itself from the web of societal chores, and help you start thinking outside of the box.
1. Start singing randomly.
It does not matter if your voice sounds like a horse, just sing. As you start to sing, you will notice lyrics starting to formulate in your head. It does not matter if they do not make sense, just belt them out. Before you know it, you have an idea for a song, and it only takes a couple of minutes. You will also find that as you continue to develop your song, music will inevitably work its way in, melodies that you have not heard before. Go ahead, give it a try, and your brain may think of something amazing!
2. Write down the first ten things that come to your head.
Eliminate your writer’s block with this simple exercise: Grab a piece of paper and a pen and write the first ten things that you can think of. They do not have to correlate or make sense. Then once you have concocted a list, try and connect the dots between the items you wrote down. Soon you will find yourself adding items to your once random list that now looks like a cohesive outline.
3. Stream of Consciousness Writing.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the stream of consciousness is: “the continuous unedited chronological flow of conscious experience through the mind.” In other words, the stream of consciousness is when the brain is let loose to wander about any number of things without interruption. By simply grabbing a piece of paper and a pen, you can set your brain free and record your imaginative process whether it be words or images–which can perhaps unveil some interesting characteristics about you. The stream of consciousness is a beautiful thing because it is bounded by nothing, there are no rules, and your mind can conceive whatever it wants–a beautiful way to unlock your creativity.
4. Spontaneous Meditative Doodling.
I love this exercise. Whenever I feel like a robot that cannot think for myself because of all the mechanical tasks my brain is focused on, I unleash my imprisoned imagination with what I like to call “spontaneous-meditative-doodling”. The title speaks for itself: all you have to do is grab a paper at a random time, and start swerving that ink pen around with no clear direction of where your drawing is headed. Soon you will tune everything out except for your doodling and find yourself in a meditative trance. This technique is a wonderful way to unplug from caged tasks, let your mind flow freely, and who knows? Maybe you will become the next Picasso or Dali.
5. Look at a random person in a crowd and make a background story for them.
This exercise is a wonderful way to get your brain thinking. Formulating backgrounds and aliases for random people you see on a walk or at a restaurant will enable you to invoke your hidden storytelling abilities.
6. The Story Game.
This classic game is perfect for groups and has the ability to constantly keep your brain thinking. With a group of three or more, sit or stand in a circle, and begin to recite a story. The catch is that each person can only say a single word, which means that you can never exactly expect what your neighbors will say out-loud. Thus, you have to be creative and ready on your feet to continue the tale in a sensible fashion. The game is even more fun when someone records all the words that are said, and then the story is read aloud.
Hopefully at the conclusion of reading this list, you have come to realize that, indeed, it is not so difficult a task to unleash your mind’s creativity. If you apply these six tips to your daily life, your imaginative process will be everything but difficult to conjure.
