How Can Creative People Always Generate Great Ideas?

Cecile Peterkin
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Perhaps you have met a person or people who never seem to run out of great ideas. What's even more amazing is how they are able to follow through with those ideas. So you begin to wonder, what pushes these people forward? How are they able to come up with great ideas? And why are they not affected by critics?

It often seems like those creative people are born that way. They are a natural. But what many of us less-creative ones may not know is that creativity is hardly a trait a person is born with. It often takes a lot of determination, focus, and commitment.

So what can you do to be creative as well? Learn these habits of people who are excellent at developing ideas and try to incorporate them into your life.

1. They connect.

We can get a lot of inspiration from our own experiences and by relating to the world around us. Although going deep within yourself is also good, human relations and interactions can build a foundation for curiosity and inquiry. Your process of developing ideas can start when there are contrary opinions. It would be hard to form an idea if you focus on yourself and your own thoughts.

2. They do their homework.

Creative people do a lot of research. They interact with people, they search the internet, they read everything, and so on. Remember that ideas are not formed in a vacuum. You need to read a lot from various sources if you want to come up with a good idea.

3. They often say YES!

They are not hesitant to try and embrace new experience. They never refuse invitations to go to new places, try new foods, and even to live a life that is different from what they know or accustomed to. They treat every new thing as an opportunity to learn.

4. They are their own source of motivation.

They acknowledge the fact that nobody else is going to do things for them. They are not aiming to please people. Their determination comes from within, especially from knowing that they can rely on nobody but themselves. That is why the most inspired and authentic ideas are created by those who are not asked or expected to form them.

5. They feel the fear but not run away from it.

People with great ideas are not without any fear. As a matter of fact, they face greater fears because the stakes are usually high for them. What they do that others don't, however, is that they take risks. They don't let fear get in their way of creating something unique or unusual.

6. They are aware that they don't know it all.

If you believe that you know everything, you are closing yourself off to new information and fresh concepts. You have to have a mindset of a child who knows very little about the world. That way, you will have enough curiosity about the things around you, which can eventually be your source of new ideas. If you want a new career, for example, you have to be ready to be a beginner once again so that you can be successful in your career planning.

Photo courtesy of Sebastiaan ter Burg at www.flickr.com

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