When it comes to being creative there is no magic wand...

…neither is there an ‘abracadabra’ moment, as I discovered at the tender age of five. The grisly truth of my discovery isn’t too safe for work . The safe-for-work version goes something a little like this…

A very excited little Sam Fisher had returned home from a birthday party having won a magic colouring book. The type that appealed to lazy buggers like me, as it would colour itself in once a little ‘magic’ was applied. I held the book in my hands, closed my eyes, uttered the timeless ‘abracadabra’ and snapped open a page, fully expectant of a beautifully vibrant, ready-coloured image to appear right before my eyes - as if by magic, of course!

Nothing. I tried again and again. Maybe I needed more magic, or to believe more? Not even the fail-safe ‘izzy, whizzy, let’s get busy’ proved fruitful. I’d given up all hope of my ‘magic’ colouring book coming good. In a moment of sheer frustration, I vented my disapproval in the most unconventional (and never repeated I must add) manner, by applying liquid from the first source that came to ... hand. Once ‘water’ had been applied, the book coloured itself in, as it was designed to do. I was convinced that I’d found the magic within myself.  

Jumping several decades it has stuck with me that creativity isn’t magic. It has also stuck with me that everybody has the capacity to find creative solutions within themselves - hopefully yours don’t include bodily fluids. At least not at work. 

Being consistently creative is a discipline that we can each learn.

We might not all by highly creative, just as we won’t all be world-class sprinters. We can, though, learn to be more creative, just as we could train to run a little faster than we do now. By learning your own creative style and strengths, it is possible to work out a training routine that ensures creativity comes just a little bit more easily to you.

Hey presto!