How do I become more creative?

First, let go of the biggest myth about creativity: that it is a magical gift some people are born with and others are not. Creativity is not a fixed trait, it is a way of thinking and a set of habits that anyone can strengthen. When you say “I am just not creative,” you are usually describing a lack of practice, not a lack of ability.

At its core, creativity is mostly connecting existing ideas in new ways. Original ideas rarely appear from nothing; they come from combining things you already know into fresh combinations. That is why the most creative people are often the most curious, they gather lots of raw material from different fields, and their minds have more dots to connect.

So the first practical move is to feed your mind widely. Read outside your subject, talk to different kinds of people, try new experiences. Creativity in one area is often sparked by an idea borrowed from a completely unrelated one.

Second, separate generating ideas from judging them. Most people kill their ideas the instant they appear, because they evaluate too early. Give yourself permission to produce lots of bad ideas first, quantity before quality, because good ideas usually hide among many mediocre ones. Brainstorm freely, then filter later.

Third, embrace constraints and boredom. Tight limits force inventive solutions, and unstructured, screen-free time lets your mind wander and make unexpected connections. Many great ideas arrive in the shower or on a walk, precisely because you stopped forcing them.

Example: A student stuck on a dull project can spark ideas by asking “how would a game designer, a chef, or a filmmaker approach this?”, borrowing thinking from other fields often unlocks a genuinely fresh angle.

One practical tip: Feed your mind with ideas from many different fields, generate lots of ideas before judging any of them, and give yourself unstructured time to let connections form. Creativity is a practised skill of combining ideas, not a gift you either have or lack.