and interrelatedness of wisdom and creativity. I have illustrated a myriad of scenarios on how one can detect creative wisdom at work. I have broadened my definition a little bit more from creativity to include what I consider or refer to as creative wisdom. Most of us if not all are desirous in one way or the other to live life to its fullness and to exercise some creative wisdom in troubling or challenging situation that often confronts us. This list is not comprehensive or exhaustive. It is a growing, ever increasing one. I have captured just a few of the proven ways to enhance a creative wisdom lifestyle based on experiences and interactions.
1.Be keenly aware that what you see with your regular eyes is not the total picture. Evidence of limitedness or lack of sufficient resources is not an indication of a challenge. It is often an opportunity for a creative individual to find expression through creative solutions in increasing supplies or resources.
2.Dare to look at the other side of things to make the connections, comparisons and analogies that are hidden. Things often look different because they are surrounded by different things.
3.Expect an abundance of resources and solutions in non-traditional or an non-conventional places, people or sources. Avoid a dead end mentality or a throw the towel approach. The more you think about alternative ways of skinning the cat the more ways present themselves to you. It can be automatic, sudden but sometimes it does take time to mull over the challenge.
4.Dare to be naïve and make room for he ability to see things in a fresh way daily. The ability rests on the willingness to question any and all assumptions.
5.Pay attention and be an intuitive or good listener. Great leaders are great listeners. The best leaders are proactive, strategic, and intuitive listeners. They recognize knowledge and wisdom are not gained by simply talking or reading, but by listening. Often a creative wisdom experience goes hand in hand with an individual or organization who have dared to keenly listen and taken time to absorb the known facts.
6.Don’t shortcut discipline and organization. These are two key elements that trigger and facilitate creative solutions even when you don’t know where the resources will come from. In the story narrated in the chapter The Anatomy of Creative Wisdom, the man illustrated took time to organize the five thousand people who had accompanied him by asking them all to sit down in a very organized way on the grass.
7.Associate with several diverse individuals Getting to know people of different races, religions, cultures, and countries are fun and educational. The more you learn from other people the more you will be open to new ideas and concepts. Don’t be judgmental – just be open to the difference and celebrate it. Having a diverse center of influence will surely enrich your life and broaden your perspectives.
8.Spend Time with Children This is one of my favorite things to do. I have one and I always love the quality time we spend together sometimes doing nothing. If you watch young children play and play with them, you’ll find that their innocence and lack of fear in life spurs creativity. Adults hold themselves back because of “rules” and fear. Shed rules and fear, play with children like a child. You’ll have some fun!
9.Eat and Drink Different Foods and Beverages Have you ever noticed that you can get bored real fast eating the same foods day after day? Try new foods, recipes, be creative if you cook, try foods from around the world. It’s all fun. Food, smells, and tastes all stimulate the mind and can invite creativity to creep in.
10.Try a New Hobby or Start a Project Just what entrepreneurs need is a new project, right? Starting a project or researching a new hobby is exciting. Researching and visualizing a new project can jump start your creative mental juices. Give your mind something different to work on consciously so the subconscious can work on solving business issues. Take up photography, paint a picture, or build a pirate ship in your front yard (like I did last Halloween). Whatever it is – do something different.
11.Fly a Kite You will be amazed at how relaxing and calming flying a kite can be. If you haven’t flown a kite since you were a kid, try it again. Focus on the wind and the sky and the beauty of nature. This is sure to be a fun activity.
12.Exercise Yep, exercise – you knew it was coming. This is my worst disciple right now. When you exercise you stimulate endorphins which give you a sense of happiness and well-being. When you take care of your body by exercising you will have more energy all day. While exercising, your mind will work on solving problems with less effort and stress.
13.Relax and Review Mementos That Make You Smile Inside Everyone keeps memories in the form of pictures, videos, scrapbooks etc. When your energy level is low and you feel stuck, maybe even a little down, it always helps pop you out of the mood if you surround yourself with mementos of those times and things that made you happy and smile. You know the feeling. Wasn’t that a good time? Feeling happy and relaxing can regenerate the creativity you have inside.
14.Stay playful – There is a paradox. Although creativity takes hard work, the work goes more smoothly if you take it lightly. One reason is when you’re joking around, you are freer to consider any possibility.
15.Meditate Many people meditate daily. Meditation is relaxing and refreshing. Creativity is best raised to the surface through simple methods of meditation. The creator’s manual of instruction illustration on creative wisdom is a well worth and handy tool to being meditation with
16.Take risk and connect with the flow of the moment. – Be open , willing and flexible to taking risks
17.Go to a Cultural Celebration Attending an occasional arts festival, cultural celebration, a chili cook-off, whatever it is. The change in sight and textures out of the normal keeps the mind active and stimulates creativity.
18.Visit a Museum Think of all of the sights, textures, sound and history available to your senses at a museum. Appreciating where the human race came from, the strides of invention and culture will help break staleness in your thoughts and take creativity up a notch.
19.Walk in the Woods, Go to the Beach, Go to the Mountains Another one of my favorite creativity boosts. For me, nothing is more spiritually moving and inspiring than walking in nature, going to the beach and listening to the sound of the waves, or as I did as a child, walking in the mountains. I’d find a special rock by a creek I called my escape rock and listen to the sound of the deer in the woods and my dog, Blue, as she looked for small creeping critters. Sometimes I even take a notebook and begin to write down what I was thinking. I always returned home refreshed and relaxed.
20.Listen to Music Music is a wonderful creative spur. It doesn’t matter if it’s Classical, Jazz, Blue grass, pop, country, rap or hip hop. Music will set a mood. Your body will respond to music in an energetic way or a relaxing way. Music can be soothing and therapeutic. Your mind changes focus and creativity can flow.
21.Encourage Creativity in Others When you help someone else, doesn’t it seem like it’s easier to be creative just because it’s someone else? The “someone” else can be you… but because it’s not “personal” it seems easier to be creative with someone else or their business. Relate it to a master mind concept. A group of likeminded folks all focused on helping you. Ideas flow with creativity that blows your mind. Creativity breeds creativity.
Sustaining a Creative Wisdom Lifestyle
Creativity combines industry and imagination. When we are creative, we reach beyond what we or others have done before. We seek unfamiliar ideas, and we test some of them in the real world. We explore and take risks, knowing that not all new ideas will be valuable, but that some turn out to be priceless. Often the best path to creativity is to play with possibilities, setting aside critical analysis till afterwards. Even so, the most fruitful creativity processes are informed by knowledge and skill. Informed creativity allows us to solve problems or follow dreams. It allows us to grow, as individuals and as a species, to shape a future that is different than the past.
The art of intuitive and intent listening is a critical compenent in sustaining a creative wsidom lifestyle. Gathering accurate information is essential to the early and preparatory stategs of creativity and of sustaining a creative nevironment internally and externally.
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