Albert Einstein once said, “Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” For some, the creative gene is second nature, and whether it be in your personal or professional life, everyone could always use a little creativity boost to kick-start their mental juices. Creativity doesn’t have to mean publishing your first novel or painting a Van Gogh-like piece. It simply means expanding your own creative mind to the depths that you are able to explore. 

1.  Drinking Alcohol: According to a round-up published last month by Medical Daily, drinking alcohol enhances your ability to be creative. Different studies found that drinking alcohol decreased working memory but increased the ability to think creatively. 

2. Day Dreaming: Enhancing creativity might be possible from just staring into open space. In 2012, researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara; the Max Planck Institute; and the University of British Columbia found that “mind wandering” facilitated creativity.

3. Dim Light: Low lights or even darkness can help to enhance creativity. Two German universities, University of Stuttgart and University of Hohenheim, found that, “groups working under dim light solved significantly more problems correctly than the other two groups.”

4.  Limit Amusement: When your brain is being occupied by a number of different external thoughts, you rarely have time to form your own. The word amusement actually means to divert from serious business. Your brain is your muse, so if you’re deluding it of other thoughts, it’ll debilitate your creativity. Stay away from seemingly mindless amusements such as watching television. 

5. Ignore the Critics: There will always be a number of people who encourage you to be free-spirited and creative, and conversely, there will also be a number of people who try to discourage you. It’s important to remember that critical people are critical of everything, and it’s important to ignore them before their hindering thoughts influence your creative ones.

6.  Surround Yourself With Other Creative People: By surrounding yourself with other creative people, whether they excel in writing, music, or other art forms, it can help to propel your own creativity.

7. Just Do It: Instead of sitting and wondering how you can make yourself creative, just go ahead and do it. Take your best stab at writing, drawing, or painting, and see what you come up with — you’ll either love it or hate it. Either way, you’ll be exploring your creative side.