You have this amazing brain, a Constantly Creative Brain.

I believe everyone is born creative. Maybe you’ve lost a bit of it as you’ve grown up yeah sure, and maybe you need an inspiration infusion every now and then (that is what I’m here for!) but never forget you are a creative being! You’ve got a very creative brain working full time inside your head, I promise. You know that brain is in there, right? It’s the best tool to start working with!

Moleskine sketchbook - photo copyright Hanna Andersson

Your brain is great for creative activities – and the best thing about this tool is that you can be creative without any effort, because thinking is creative! Creativity is not something for artists or writers, it is something everyone needs to function in everyday life! Coming up with an idea, relating to others or solving a problem takes creativity! If you’ve ever been on a solitude walk in silence you know what I mean. Different thoughts and fantasies and images just pop up all the time! Sometimes even ideas for future projects come up. Your brain creates new pathways, learns new things and solves problem in the most profound creative way. I think that this is pretty amazing!

Very silly pens photo by iHanna - copyright Hanna Andersson

At Wikipedia Creativity is described as:

…a mental and social process involving the discovery of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts. Creativity is fueled by the process of either conscious or unconscious insight. An alternative conception of creativeness is that it is simply the act of making something new.

You have a Constantly Creative Brain

This means that creativity happens all the time, even when you are not aware of it. You brain is working for example when you are sleeping or walking the dog! Your unconscious could be thinking up great ideas. I think there is comfort and joy in that thought!

You always have your brain with you (even though you sometimes wonder if your head is empty and your brain has left for a vacation). You know it’s still there. Maybe your brain is just sleeping inside your skull, maybe it needs some inspiration to wake up? When we hiss and say that we wish we could be more creative? we probably aren’t thinking about the thought process and brain activity. We want to Do Something, that simple act of making something new. We want to Create Things, Make Meaning in our life and Start New Projects. I know I do. But where to start you say?

Silly pink troll pen - Copyright Hanna Andersson

Start a journal

I myself is a firm believer in pen and paper, and together with a working brain those are my best tools. Hand writing, free form writing etc. are all great tools to help the brain a bit! Try writing down some ideas, sketching out your projects, doodling patterns…

So your assignment today, if you choose to accept it, will be to do something extremely fun. Get a notebook and a nice pen that writes smoothly in a colour that you enjoy, and start using it! That’s it. If you like to write start a journal where you record things that are important to you. If you’re not a writer or feel stressed just thinking about adding another task to your day, then start a notebook of lists. Make your own tabs and make different ongoing lists in your notebook.

Silly skull pen

Write a one hundred list

To start write down at least (!) one hundred (100) ideas that you want to add creatively in your life. Don’t stop at hundred if you have more ideas? I love this assignment! It is so great because it sound impossible, but if you start you will notice that one idea gives birth to the next… Your list could be about cooking, home decorating, the family, gifts to make, fun activities, buying material (yarn, fabric, paint etc), blog post ideas, art, craft, articles to write, books to look up, photo themes to be inspired by, your wardrobe, table decorating, drawing, wall hanging ideas, patchwork sewing, collecting.. Just making this list of things to list makes me smile with anticipation.

The possibilities are endless
and even though your notebook might soon be full with doodles and scribbles (I hope), your brain will never break from too much use. And you can always get a new notebook!

If you need help with your 100-list you are welcome to borrow from my 100 Ideas to Spark You into Creative Action.

Go ahead, take your brain for a test drive in your new Creative Ideas Notebook/Journal/Book of lists. Use your brain (this great tool we all got hidden away somewhere in there), it will spin with happiness and thank you.

Let me know what you come up with!