"I believe that the 'imagery muscles' of a child's mind can be exercised and developed in the same way that his biceps are built.  He must use them frequently and to the limit before any real growth can be expected and he must 'want' to stretch them." - Art Linkletter  Kids Say The Darndest Things!

I have observed in my own life, and watching others, that everyone can become more creative by exercising mentally.  Physical training is a good analogy for mental training.

When I had to play baseball in high school P.E., I was always placed in the out field which got the fewest hits because I had trouble catching the ball.  That just reaffirmed by belief that I couldn't catch so I never really tried.  However, when I decided that I wanted to learn to juggle I was motivated to practice catching objects.  I discovered that with practice my ability improved.  As my ability improved, I gained in confidence so I attempted more.  I eventually got to the point where I was pretty good at catching juggling clubs while passing six clubs with a partner. 

A similar thing is true in creativity.  I believe that everyone can be creative, but first they need confidence that they can succeed so they will practice.  Fortunately my parents and several school teachers reaffirmed that I was creative and urged me to try new things so I exercised my creative muscles.  I know many people who were told that they weren't creative.  The lack of confidence in their creativity meant that they didn't try.  As a teacher of creativity, one of the joys of my life is seeing people make the discovery that they can be creative.  They are amazed by their initial success, and then continue to grow in their ability.  Greg Woods told me, "I didn't think I was creative.  Volume three of your creativity books convinced me that you are creative, but the first two volumes convinced me that I am creative."

There are two goals in physical training, flexibility and strength.  The same goals are important in creativity.  Studies have shown that humor, especially jokes that make you think of one definition of a word and then switch to a different definition, increases your mental flexibility.  People score higher on creativity tests after enjoying humor.  I personally believe that reading fiction, especially works rich in metaphors, increase your mental flexibility.  I have observed that people who read a lot tend to use their creative muscles in other endeavors.  That does not prove that there is a cause and effect.  However, I notice that it is easier for me to be creative after reading fiction.

Playing games, working puzzles, and solving brain teasers helps to strengthen your mental muscles.  In addition, creativity exercises have been developed over the years.  You will find many of those in the first two volumes of my creativity trilogy.  There is also one in issue 12 of my Creativity For Entertainers email newsletter.  (You can read it using the Newsletter Archive link to the right.)  You can find many other exercises by going to your public library and checking out books on creativity.  I often try a new exercise, but I have some favorites that I have returned to many times over the years.  You don't get full value from doing an exercise just once.  You have to do a specific physical exercise many times over a prolonged period to build up that particular muscle.  I find that each time I repeat a creativity exercise I can complete it faster and come up with better answers.  I have found that using an idea quota pushes me to my limit.  For example, I may decide that I want to come up with ten possible answers.  If I struggle to get that many, I stop when I succeed.  If ten is easy, I challenge myself to generate five more.

How confident are you in your ability to be creative?  Do you want to be more creative?  Select something today that will exercise your creativity.  What can you do to increase your mental flexibility?  Where can you find humor or literature rich in metaphors?  How can you strengthen your mental muscles?  Where can you find games, puzzles, or brain teasers for mental exercise?   Can you repeat a creativity exercise you have found helpful in the past?  Where can you find new creativity exercises to work on?  How can you use an idea quota to push you to your limit?