4 Sustainable Ways To Boost Your Creativity (For Free)

The idea of “creative” and “non-creative” people is a myth.

Some people like to paint. Others look at a neatly organized spreadsheet and think, “Now, that’s art.”

Whatever your thing is, here are 4 proven ways to boost your creativity. Naturally, without a crash, and completely free.

We all create — we are all creative

Everyone has a thing — mine is writing.

We all have something we take pride in — our thing. For me, it’s writing. I used to call myself a creative writer, until realizing it’s redundant.

Now, I’m just a writer.

But recently, I’ve been thinking of ways to spice up this moniker. “Personal Branding #101” will tell you that a great tagline is simple and clear.

Something like:

“I help (certain people) do (such and such).”

So, I came up with this:

“I help creative humans live authentically.”

When asking for feedback, one person expressed that they felt intimidated by the word “creative”.

They said, “I don’t consider myself creative.”

That made me sad.

To me, creativity is one of the best parts of being human. It’s fun and fulfilling. So the fact that anyone would think they aren’t capable of being creative is disappointing.

If I can accomplish anything today, it’s to squash that myth. Whether you are a doctor, stay-at-home parent, delivery driver, or painter, you are creative.

Just as much as you are human.

The 4 “F-words” of creativity

Below, are 4 ways to naturally boost your creativity. Although there are many drugs that will give you a creative push, they are not sustainable. As we all know, what goes up must come down.

Before we dive in, there are 2 pieces of information to remember (just for a second):

1. At its core, creativity is the formation of new ideas.

2. New ideas are formed in the frontal cortex of our brain — along with planning, decision-making, and short-term memory.

Now, onto the list.

1. Forward ambulation (not just walking)

“Give your ideas some legs.”

Results from a peer-reviewed study called “Give your ideas some legs”, showed that creative thinking abilities are increased by up to 81% when walking on a treadmill.

But, walking isn’t necessary.

“Forward ambulation” refers to moving forward (walking or otherwise). Neuroscientist, Andrew Huberman, explains that you don’t have to walk to experience a boost in creativity. Although it helps.

Any forward movement that creates optic flow (objects moving past your peripherals) decreases stress and anxiety.

Stress and anxiety occupy the frontal cortex — the same area used for creativity. When stress and anxiety levels lower, we are able to zoom out and think clearer.

This includes activities such as:

• Walking
• Cycling
• Driving

The takeaway:

Anything that creates a sense of moving forward helps us form new ideas.

2. Forceful forgetting (brain tidying)

“Forgetting is a normal part of being human.”

Neuroscientist and author of “Remember”, Lisa Genova, talks about the importance of forgetting in order to remember.

In this interview, Lisa shares that to forget is to be human. We are constantly tidying up our brains — throwing out what is not needed and storing what is. She also urges people not to be ashamed of forgetting things. The process can actually be “artful and deliberate.”

Some common activities for forcefully forgetting are:

• Meditation
• Doing chores
• Showering
• Deep breathing
• Sitting in the sauna

**Sauna, is the most powerful of the bunch.

Sitting in the sauna combines forceful forgetting with intense heat-shock proteins. The combination supercharges our bodies with positive, inspired, and creative energy.

Here’s why and how:

1. You are alone with your thoughts — no distractions.

2. It forces you to focus only on your breath — forgetting what’s not important.

3. Heat shock causes us to release norepinephrine and endorphins — which help us to focus and think positively.

The takeaways:

Forceful forgetting allows space for new ideas. Sitting in the sauna combines this concept with powerful physical reactions that put us in a state of focus.

3. Functional fixedness (and its foe: inspiration)

“Ah-ha, the doctor was the boys’ mother!”

Functional fixedness is a cognitive bias in which we see the world as working in one, fixed way.

This classic riddle reveals functional fixedness in the form of gender bias:

“A father and son are in a car accident and are both badly hurt. They are both taken to separate hospitals. When the boy is taken in for an operation, the surgeon (doctor) says, ‘I can not do the surgery because this boy is my son’. How is this possible?”

The answer: is that the surgeon is the boy’s mother.

Past generations may associate doctors as being male. Hopefully, this riddle feels outdated, as anyone of any gender identity can be a doctor. Obviously.

We have similar biases when forming new ideas.

We often follow existing tracks when coming up with new ideas. We think that, when drawing a picture, a person’s nose must lie in the center of their face — but Pablo Picasso would beg to differ.

Creativity doesn’t like rules. Clearing your mind of preconceived notions allows new ideas to flow freely.

Watching movies, reading books, or losing yourself in imaginary worlds can help creativity flourish. For me, watching an inspiring movie or reading a good book always does the trick.

The takeaways:

Get inspired before creating. Movies, books, or music, can help inspire outside-of-the-box thinking.

4. Flexible journaling (it’s time to start)

“Paper has more patience than people.” — Anne Frank

Anne Frank, perhaps the most famous journaler, used it as a form of therapy. She wrote down her thoughts as a way to learn from them.

But many of the most prolific and creative people in the world, journaled using different techniques.

Oscar Wilde, for example, carried his journal on long walks, capturing inspiration as it arose. Frida Kahlo, used hers to express creativity through sketches.

Regardless of how you practice, journaling acts as the perfect mental primer for creativity. It has also been shown to improve immune function and help us heal faster.

The best part is, journaling is free and takes very little time. There are many forms of journaling, but “flexible journaling” is my favourite.

Flexible journaling involves using a 4-pillar foundation to build a practice that adapts to your lifestyle.

I’ve created a Free 30-Day Flexible Journaling Guide, which you can download here.

To summarize (and solidify into memory)

Here’s everything we covered, in fifty-five words…

The 4 (plus 2) “F”s of creativity:

1. Creativity is the formation of new ideas.
2. It occurs in the frontal cortex.
3. Forward ambulation boosts creativity by reducing stress and anxiety.
4. Forgetting ideas that occupy short-term memory increases problem-solving.
5. Functional fixedness is squashed through inspiration.
6. Flexible journaling is a great way to prime your brain.

What helps you be creative? 👇

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