Creative Something

Readers ask, how to get creatively motivated?

Creative Something reader Ash recently wrote in to ask: “When I was younger I was very motivated (creatively). But ever since entering college I feel like my creativity has dwindled down. What can I do to get motivated again?”

Losing creative motivation is a tough situation to be in, because it means that you are not only being uncreative, you are most likely being unproductive as well.

Unfortunately, whether you want to or not, you will lose your creative motivation at some point or another in your life. Losing your motivation to be creative is a natural process that actually helps our creativity by refueling it. However, being unmotivated can really hurt your relationships, your job, and even your education.

Getting your creative cogs to start turning again in your head isn’t as hard as you would think. Here are a few things you can do to get creatively motivated once again, and back on the road to productivity.

Create rewards for yourself. One of the best motivators is a reward. The next time you feel creatively un-motivated, write down a few things you want on a piece of paper, then pick one randomly. If you finish a project you’ve been needing to do, or come up with a great idea, give yourself the reward. There is nothing wrong with rewarding yourself a little here and there. Just make sure you can really afford to do so before you dive in.

Visualize where you want to be. Seeing a final product can make the process of getting to the finished product seem a lot easier. Mock up some samples of what you want the finished product of your project to look like and hang them on your wall or tape them onto your computer screen. Not only will throwing together mockups motivate you, it will also get you that much closer to finishing whatever it is you are working on.

Compete. Setup a contest with a friend or co-worker to come up with the next best idea, or complete a specific project faster. Have a small reward setup for the winner as well. Competing (in a friendly manner) will motivate you instantly and effortlessly.

Convince yourself you are motivated. Self affirmations about being motivated are bound to work, right? Simply tell yourself every day “I am motivated.” Write it down and hang it up on a wall somewhere you will always see it. Say it over and over again. Have your friends and family remind you of it every day as well.

Start small. You may want to be creative to finish a big project at work or school, or you may want just a little creative motivation to get started on a new idea, either way: it can be daunting to get started. So, force yourself to start on a small aspect. If you have a lot of homework to do, just answer two problems then take a five minute break. If you have to come up with a new idea, write down a few aspects you would like to be included in that idea then take a break. Get started, you may find out that you were already motivated, it just took a little push.

Do what other people do. A few weeks ago I posted a question to the readers: what gets you motivated? And there were a few great replies. So, don’t stress about finding motivation, it’s right here.

Being unmotivated can be difficult to get over, but try out these few techniques and you may find yourself extremely motivated. And if you know of any other, great motivational practices, post them in the comments.

If you have a question about anything related to creativity, contact me and it may be featured in a future post.

Original photo by Cat.

Motivation Monday: New Harley-Davidson Museum

Searching for creative motivation or inspiration? Each Monday you can find all of the creative insight you need right here at Creative Something, with “Motivation Monday”.

Thousands of motorcycles roared into Milwaukee, Wisconsin this past weekend for the grand opening of the new, $75 million, 130,000-square-foot Harley-Davidson Museum designed by world-famous agency Pentagram.

Even if you’re not a Harley-Davidson fan, or if you’re not a fan of museums, this factory-inspired, beautiful architectural work of art is just as fascinating and inspiring as what’s on display inside of it.

“The museum houses the permanent exhibition, designed by Pentagram partner Abbott Miller, and developed in close coordination with the building. Over the past hundred years, Harley-Davidson has grown far beyond its humble beginnings into an international success story. Inside the museum, the exhibition traces the company’s history through a chronological and thematic narrative that draws from Harley-Davidson’s extensive archive of historical documentation as well as their collection of motorcycles that begins with Harley’s first, the Serial Number One built in 1903.”

Working to gather as much research as possible about the history of Harley-Davidson, Pentagram was able to create a museum that not only looks like a true Harley-Davidson factory, they were also able to give the feeling of a true factory.

“On the one side are all the Harley-Davidson folks who, though they had never before produced a building purely for the public, helped us refine the design to reflect the company they love. We worked with Museum leadership and the Museum Advisory Board throughout the design and construction process. We also met regularly with Willie G. Davidson who, as a designer and icon in Harley-Davidson culture, helped keep us true to the best ways to make the buildings a part of the Motor Company family.”

Read more about the hard work that went into creating such a inspiration museum over at Pentagram’s website.

What do you think of the museum? Is it worth a visit to Milwaukee?

Think your creativity can grow, and it will.

Can your attitude really impact your creative growth? According to new research: attitude is everything.

As The New York Times Online recently published, your attitude and mindset can affect your creative potential dramatically. In-fact: only people who feel like they can grow (creatively) ever do.

As the NYT article begins: “Why do some people reach their creative potential in business while other equally talented peers don’t? After three decades of painstaking research, the [sic] Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck believes that the answer to the puzzle lies in how people think about intelligence and talent.”

Your attitude towards your own talents and abilities impacts your growth. If you believe that you can grow creatively, you will. However, feeling like you can’t grow in a certain way means you won’t.

The article continues to go in-depth with Scott Forstall, the senior vice president of Apple that was in charge of hiring people to develop the iPhone software. In the article Forstall states that “he wanted people who valued stretching themselves over being king of their particular hill.” Judging by the success and positive response of Apple’s iPhone, Forstall made the right move by only hiring people who were open to personal growth.

Take a minute to look at your own attitude right now. Are you open to growth or do you feel like you have reached a level that you will never be able to surpass? Do you think that it’s easy to change that attitude? Or if you feel that you don’t have potential to grow, is it worth changing that feeling?

In one opinion, if you want to be truly successful – if you want your creativity to really grow – you need to be open to the idea that you can grow in the first place.

You can continue reading the article about how being open to growth means you will grow at The New York Times right here.

Original photo by nonanet.