The other day my husband was on my Facebook page and someone’s status said they had ” lost their mojo.” He had something like, “Is that their dog?” Supressing giggles, I explained that no, mojo was not a dog but rather a word to talk about creativity. When people say they have “lost their mojo” they simple mean that the creativeness that usually flows just isn’t coming. Losing your mojo is not a good thing…and when it happens, you almost always want it back.
Recently ZenHabits posted a great list of ways to boost, regain, or maintain creavity. Most of the time I am oozing with ideas (and I can SO relate to the quote at the end of the article : Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” — Lewis Carroll .) But I have moments of busyness (or pregnancy) when the creative ideas seem to have run dry. Here are his suggestions for opening the flood gates again. I especially love the ones in bold.
- Play.
- Don’t consume and create at the same time — separate the processes.
- Shut out the outside world.
- Reflect on your life and work daily.
- Look for inspiration all around you, in the smallest places.
- Start small.
- Just get it out, no matter how crappy that first draft.
- Don’t try for perfect. Just get it out there, asap, and get feedback.
- Constantly make it better.
- Ignore the naysayers.
- But let criticism help you grow.
- Teach and you’ll learn.
- Shake things up, see things in new ways.
- Apply things in other fields to your field, in ways not done before.
- Drink ridiculous amounts of coffee.
- Write all ideas down immediately.
- Turn your work into play.
- Play with kids.
- Get out, move, see new things, talk to new people.
- Read wildly different things. Especially stuff you disagree with.
- Get lots of rest. Overwork kills creativity.
- Don’t force it. Relax, play, it will start to flow.
- Allow your mind to wander. Allow distractions, when you’re looking for inspiration.
- Then shut them off when you’re going to create.
- Do it when you’re excited.
- When you’re not, find something else to be excited about.
- Don’t be afraid to be stupid and silly.
- Small ideas are good. You don’t need to change the world — just change one thing.
- When something is killing your creativity, kill it.
- Stop reading creativity advice, clear away everything, and just create.
- Most of all, have fun doing it.
Good luck in finding you mojo!
