Want To Get Creative? Think Like A Kid Again!

 

 

As a writer and speaker, people are always asking me where I come up with my creative ideas. If I could give one bit of advice it would be this..."Think like a kid!"

Remember when you were a kid? Didn't everything seem worth exploring? If you ended up getting your feet wet during your adventures, did it really matter? Growing up can and often does have a negative effect on our creativity. At a certain age, our dreams can be squashed as we're told that our imagination is nonsense. How sad - and how far from the truth!

Without a sense of wonder, life would seem so grim. Nothing would be fun anymore, and we would worry too much about what people think. To keep those creative thoughts flowing, here are 5 tips to keep you on top of the creative game:

1) Rediscover your sense of play. If you have kids, watch them at play. See how they interact. Join in. If you don't have kids, walk through a toy store and get nostalgic as you rediscover all your favourite childhood toys and memories

2) Rediscover your sense of wonder. As we get older, we tend to lose our enthusiasm for things. Take a walk through the woods, and look at all the wonders of mother nature. Watch an airplane soar through the sky, and wonder why it is the thing never falls down. Take a look at a full moon, and imagine what it must have been like to walk on its surface. Imagine yourself walking on the surface. What would you be thinking?

3) Rent one of your favourite childhood movies, and discover what it was you liked about it in the first place. There must be some reason you remember it now

4) Jump in a puddle. Don't forget to wear rubber shoes or boots

5) Imagine yourself as a superhero. Who would you be - who would you save - and why?

Rekindling your creativity by thinking like a kid doesn't have to take a lot of effort. It just takes a willingness to step into a place where everything was new again. A place where possibilities were endless, and every day held something to treasure.

What steps have you taken today to rekindle your creativity? How has your creativity been squashed as you worked your way through life? What movies,  books or toys remind you of the best times of your childhood?