The key to creative living

Clue: it's the key to creative writing and creative dreaming too.

Creativity is, by definition, making something that didn’t exist before and, when we try new things, we create brand new experiences. But we are creatures of habit, and we might have to make a deliberate effort at first to live more creatively, until living creatively becomes a habit too.

It starts with noticing all the stuck places, the little things we endlessly repeat until we barely notice them. When was the last time you parked in a different spot at the supermarket, took a different route to work, sat in a different chair in the evening?

When was the last time you had a different breakfast, went out for a walk at a time of day when you usually stay home, moved the pictures and ornaments in your home to new places so you actually started to notice them again?

You don’t have to go from sofa to safari in one giant leap. Shaking up the little things can start a creative wave, because going outside your comfort zone makes your comfort zone bigger.

As well as noticing the hamster wheel of habits that define your everyday, notice the limiting thoughts that hold you there. When I sold my house and spent a couple of years with no home of my own, flat sitting, cat sitting, airbnbing, I soon noticed my automatic response to offers of help or accommodation was ‘No, because…’

Outside my old normal life, or indeed any kind of normal life at all, I started to think, ‘Yes - why not?’ and that has become my automatic reaction.

Living creatively by seeking out new experiences and accepting new opportunities puts energy into all your creative work because you carry those attitudes of openness and adventurousness, and also that buzz of pleasure and excitement, into your writing or painting or gardening, or whatever creative activity floats your boat.

‘Let’s get lost’ - our habits hold us where we are - creativity is letting go and moving into the unknown

Try it for one day

• Notice the little things you do that make the repeating patterns of your life. Do three things differently.

• Spot when you automatically say no and challenge it. Notice the automatic thoughts that keep you repeating familiar patterns. ‘It’s just the way I am’, ‘I know what I like’, ‘This is what I always do.’

• At the end of the day, write a reflection. How did it feel to notice how much of your life is on repeat, to do some small things differently and challenge your automatic thoughts?

Then, why not share your reflection here?

And here’s an opportunity! If you’ve never tried writing in different genres on a theme, then my gorgeous day of summer writing would be something new for you.