Creative Success is more than simply talent. It's about cultivating a mindset that is resilient and open-minded.
Developing a creative mindset can be the difference between success and failure at your goals. This post will give you practical habits to help you enhance your creative mindset for long-term success.
The Designer's Cross-Disciplinary Approach
Jony Ive, the designer behind many iconic Apple products, regularly looks outside the tech industry for inspiration.
1. Defining a Creative Mindset
A creative mindset is an approach to thinking and problem-solving. It's not only about having good ideas (although we always imagine it is).As our creative mindset improves, we can innovate even in challenging scenarios.
Here are 5 key aspects of the creative mindset I suggest:
Curiosity and Openness is the willingness to explore new ways of doing things without immediate judgment.
Resilience and Adaptability help you to bounce back from setbacks and improve the next time around.
Divergent Thinking generates many solutions to one problem rather than fixating on finding one "correct" answer. Mostly, there are many answers.
Comfort with Ambiguity shows the ease with navigating uncertainty and finding opportunity in the uncomfortable.
Growth Orientation is also the belief that creative abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work.
Unlike fixed talent, which is often perceived as innate and unchangeable, a creative mindset can be cultivated through conscious practice and habit formation. The good news?
Curiosity and Openness is the willingness to explore new ways of doing things without immediate judgment.
Resilience and Adaptability help you to bounce back from setbacks and improve the next time around.
Divergent Thinking generates many solutions to one problem rather than fixating on finding one "correct" answer. Mostly, there are many answers.
Comfort with Ambiguity shows the ease with navigating uncertainty and finding opportunity in the uncomfortable.
Growth Orientation is also the belief that creative abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work.
Unlike fixed talent, which is often perceived as innate and unchangeable, a creative mindset can be cultivated through conscious practice and habit formation. The good news?
Anyone can develop these qualities with the right approach and consistent effort. I'll suggest a few routines and exercises you can start today.
2. Simple Routines and Exercises
Transforming your creative mindset begins with daily practices that gradually reshape your thinking patterns and creative processes.Here are evidence-based habits that successful creatives consistently implement:
Morning Pages (Freewriting)
Popularized by Julia Cameron in "The Artist's Way," morning pages involve writing three pages of stream-of-consciousness content immediately upon waking.
Popularized by Julia Cameron in "The Artist's Way," morning pages involve writing three pages of stream-of-consciousness content immediately upon waking.
This practice bypasses your inner critic, clears mental clutter, and often reveals unexpected connections and ideas.
The key is writing without censoring yourself—quantity over quality is the goal here. Although it is called morning pages, I usually do this in the evening. I feel like it's great to do it before bed just like the queen journals before bed (I watched that on the TV show, the crown.)
Curiosity Walking
Take 20-30 minutes daily to walk without a specific destination, paying deliberate attention to your surroundings.
Take 20-30 minutes daily to walk without a specific destination, paying deliberate attention to your surroundings.
Notice textures, colors, sounds, and details you typically overlook. Photograph or note interesting observations. This practice sharpens your observational skills and trains your brain to notice novelty.
Eventually this habit makes you more observant in general.
Cross-Pollination Reading
Dedicate time to reading material outside your primary field. If you're a designer, read about psychology; if you're a writer, explore architecture principles.
Dedicate time to reading material outside your primary field. If you're a designer, read about psychology; if you're a writer, explore architecture principles.
This cross-disciplinary approach fosters unexpected connections between disparate domains—often the very foundation of creative breakthroughs.
Idea Capture System
Creative insights are fleeting. Develop a reliable system to capture ideas whenever they strike.
Creative insights are fleeting. Develop a reliable system to capture ideas whenever they strike.
Whether using a physical notebook, voice memos, or a digital app like Notion or Evernote, the important thing is having a frictionless method that works for your lifestyle.
Review and organize these ideas weekly to identify patterns and potential projects. You can even make videos on a YouTube channel as a way to capture your brilliant ideas.
Deliberate Experimentation
Set aside time for "creative play" without pressure for outcomes.
Set aside time for "creative play" without pressure for outcomes.
This might involve testing new techniques, combining unusual materials, or attempting projects outside your comfort zone.
Approach these sessions with genuine curiosity rather than perfectionistic expectations.
Meditation and Mindfulness
Daily mindfulness practice (even just 10 minutes) strengthens the neural networks associated with focused attention and cognitive flexibility—both essential for creative problem-solving.
Daily mindfulness practice (even just 10 minutes) strengthens the neural networks associated with focused attention and cognitive flexibility—both essential for creative problem-solving.
Studies show regular meditators demonstrate enhanced divergent thinking and are better able to overcome "functional fixedness" (getting stuck on conventional uses for objects or ideas).
Creative Constraints
Rather than waiting for unlimited resources or perfect conditions, regularly practice creativity within tight constraints.
Rather than waiting for unlimited resources or perfect conditions, regularly practice creativity within tight constraints.
Give yourself challenges like "create something using only three colors" or "write a story in exactly 100 words." Constraints paradoxically expand creativity by forcing novel approaches.
3. Real-life Creative Habits and Benefits
Understanding how successful creatives implement these habits can provide valuable insights and inspiration. Let's look at some examples, next.The Filmmaker's Perspective Journal
Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro maintains extensive journals filled with drawings, notes, and visual references.
Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro maintains extensive journals filled with drawings, notes, and visual references.
These journals serve as both idea repositories and creative processing tools. Del Toro credits this practice with helping him develop his distinctive visual style and thematic depth.
The benefit? A rich personal archive that continuously feeds his creative projects.
"I keep these journals as a way to have a conversation with myself," del Toro has explained. "They're not just repositories of ideas but active thinking tools. I often discover what I truly think about something only after I've drawn or written about it."
"I keep these journals as a way to have a conversation with myself," del Toro has explained. "They're not just repositories of ideas but active thinking tools. I often discover what I truly think about something only after I've drawn or written about it."
The Writer's Routine
Haruki Murakami, renowned for his surrealist fiction, famously maintains a rigorous daily schedule.
Haruki Murakami, renowned for his surrealist fiction, famously maintains a rigorous daily schedule.
He wakes at 4 AM, writes for five to six hours, runs 10 kilometers or swims 1500 meters, reads extensively, and sleeps by 9 PM.
This structured approach has helped him produce a prolific body of work while maintaining creative freshness. The benefit? Creative consistency independent of inspiration or mood.
Murakami explains, "When I'm in writing mode for a novel, I get up at four a.m. and work for five to six hours. In the afternoon, I run for ten kilometers or swim for fifteen hundred meters (or do both), then I read a bit and listen to some music. I go to bed at nine p.m. I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing."
Murakami explains, "When I'm in writing mode for a novel, I get up at four a.m. and work for five to six hours. In the afternoon, I run for ten kilometers or swim for fifteen hundred meters (or do both), then I read a bit and listen to some music. I go to bed at nine p.m. I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing."
The Designer's Cross-Disciplinary Approach
Jony Ive, the designer behind many iconic Apple products, regularly looks outside the tech industry for inspiration.
His team studied watchmakers to develop the Apple Watch and drew inspiration from candy for the original iMac's colorful design. The benefit? Fresh perspectives that prevent creative echoing and repetition.
The Musician's Forced Constraints
Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt created "Oblique Strategies," a deck of cards with cryptic prompts like "Honor thy error as a hidden intention" or "Use an unacceptable color."
Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt created "Oblique Strategies," a deck of cards with cryptic prompts like "Honor thy error as a hidden intention" or "Use an unacceptable color."
When creatively stuck, musicians like Coldplay and David Bowie would draw a card and follow its direction, forcing new approaches. The benefit? Breaking established patterns to discover unexpected solutions.
The Entrepreneur's Failure Reframing
Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, attributes much of her success to her father's dinner table question: "What did you fail at today?"
Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, attributes much of her success to her father's dinner table question: "What did you fail at today?"
This simple practice reframed failure as a positive indicator of effort and experimentation rather than something to avoid. The benefit? Reduced fear of creative risk-taking and increased resilience.
4. Final Thoughts
Developing a creative mindset isn't a destination but an ongoing journey of growth and exploration.The habits outlined here aren't meant to be implemented all at once but integrated gradually into your life.
Start by selecting one or two practices that resonate most strongly with you and commit to them for 30 days.
Remember that a creative mindset thrives in community. Consider finding or building a circle of like-minded creatives who can provide feedback, accountability, and inspiration.
Remember that a creative mindset thrives in community. Consider finding or building a circle of like-minded creatives who can provide feedback, accountability, and inspiration.
Share your experiments, discuss challenges, and celebrate each other's growth.
Finally, track your progress.
Finally, track your progress.
Keep a simple journal documenting your creative practice, noting shifts in your thinking, and recording breakthroughs.
Over time, you'll notice patterns that reveal your unique creative rhythms and requirements.
The creative industries will continue to change rapidly and that's perfectly fine.
The creative industries will continue to change rapidly and that's perfectly fine.
To keep up, let us develop resilience and be adaptable. The good news is that your creative potential is not fixed, it is renewable and improves the more you use it. I go into more detail within this post on improving your brain's creative potential.
What creative mindset habit will you implement today?
What creative mindset habit will you implement today?