Unleash Your Creativity

A creative person is generally considered to have talent in painting, drawing, architecture, crafts, and design. Using this narrow definition, many are left believing that they do not have a creative flair. Have you ever thought about your creative ability? Creativity is a talent that we all have and use regularly, whether or not we are aware of it.

If we change how we think about creativity, it will be easier to understand. First, let us get away from the idea that only those who work in creative arts are creative. Being creative is having the ability to create. What we create can be an object that can be seen or a pleasant feeling.

We are all familiar with creating things or objects, and that is how we usually think of creativity. Imagine the areas of your life that cannot be seen or touched but felt only by you. Your feelings are created. You create feelings by first holding beliefs in your mind, which cause you to act in a particular way, bringing reactions from others, producing more beliefs about the situation, and ending in your feelings.

Imagine you go for a job interview believing that you are not as well qualified as others and thinking that the job will most likely go to someone else. When you walk into the interview holding that thought in your mind, you will not sell yourself like you should; your confidence is lacking, and your body language will show it. The interviewer will quickly pick up on your nonverbal cues and adopt your belief that there is a better person for the job. When you get notice that you have not received the job, you say to yourself, “I knew this would happen,” leading to a bad feeling. The bad feeling you have created will intensify each time it is created so that the next time you are in a similar situation, you will have beliefs about the situation that will impact what you receive and how you feel about it.

Think of the person who goes into the interview believing that he is fully qualified and deserving of the job. He will be more enthusiastic, giving an air of confidence, which will be picked up by the employer. The employer will believe that this person would be a good hire and will be more likely to offer him the job, resulting in good feelings.

Since we have control over our thoughts (we create them), which influences what we do and how we behave, then ultimately, we have control over and create our feelings. When we do not get what we want, the beliefs we hold about the situation and the thoughts that result will determine whether we have pleasant or unpleasant feelings. For example, you are in a relationship with a person you truly love. A year or so into the relationship, your partner tells you that he is not content in the relationship and wants to move on. This is your opportunity to create a pleasant or unpleasant outcome. We all know how an unpleasant outcome in this situation is created. We get mad and create a fuss and a lot of bad feelings. How do you create a pleasant outcome? It all has to do with how you think about the situation. You can fight it all the way and create bad feelings that will haunt you forever, or you can be understanding of the other person’s feelings, knowing that it was not a perfect relationship if both people were not completely happy.

Believing that you have something to look forward to (your new mate is out there) and believing that your life is over will create two totally different feelings and outcomes. You are in the present, and the future is to be made, so neither is true yet; your beliefs will have an impact on how the future unfolds. This situation is similar to the job interview: Your beliefs create your feelings. Your beliefs affect your actions, which affect your results and your feelings about your results.

To unleash your creative talents and get more of what you want, trust that you have the ability to create. You are continuously creating the world around you by choosing beliefs and then acting as if they are true. To become more in tune to your creations, consider what you have already created, and reflect on how it has impacted your feelings and your life.

Decide what you want to create. If, for example, you want to create better health but have always thought of yourself as an out-of-shape, unfit person, then you can start by changing your beliefs about you and your health. Know that your results will follow your beliefs.

Start by making a list of what good health means to you, and be specific. What would you be able to do that you cannot do now? Climb stairs. How would you feel? Energized. How would you look? Toned. How would you feel about yourself? Great. You should be more specific, but this is the general idea. After you have decided what better health means to you, set up a plan of how you will achieve the results, and put that plan into action.

To help your creativity, get rid of negative feelings, and trust that when you change your beliefs, you change your outcomes. Find time to relax, be still, and reflect on your life and your feelings. Going through life in a rush and not stopping to think causes confusion in our minds, giving us little control over what we create. To clear your mind, spend time participating in relaxing activities (yoga, tai chi, meditation) and spend quiet time with yourself, away from the pressures of everyday life.

** This article is one of 101 great articles that were published in 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life. To get complete details on “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life”, visit http://www.selfgrowth.com/greatways3.html