Maintain a dairy:  Keep a dairy wherein you can record all your thoughts, ideas, insights, experiences etc. Look back on them periodically and analyse the thoughts and ideas which you had written. Find out if you could have done things better.

What is creativity and how is it important?

Creativity can be defined as the ability to give new ideas and thoughts in various situations. It is basically the skill of creating new things out of air, as in painting. In the words of Michele Shea "Creativity is seeing something which does not exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God.

Being creative to some extent or the other is essential in today’s competitive society as new ideas and thoughts need to be developed continuously to be in front of the "rat race".  A creative person would gain more praise and respect from one and all. For instance, think of the great inventors. Their inventions are born mainly from their creativity.

How do I improve my creativity?

Creativity is a skill which can easily be developed. Listed below are some of the ways in which you can improve your creativity skills.

• Participate in brainstorming sessions:  Participating in brainstorming sessions helps in improving your creative power as you are made to think independantly and also you will have a chance to improve on other’s ideas.

• Visit painting galleries and art exhibitions:  Pay a visit to the local art galleries and any art exhibits happening in your town.. This will help you in getting various ideas and thoughts, thus improving your creative power.

• Deal with problems:  When a problem comes, do not panic or ask for someone’s help , but sit down and think of the various ways by which you can solve it. Only if you are not able to find the solution, approach others for assistance.

• Get curious:  Be curious to investigate things in the internet or by reading books. Make it a habit to note down any new concepts or ideas, so that you can reflect upon them later. Also, find if you can experiment with anything. For instance, if you like cooking, you can try out a new dish or if you like gardening, you can try to cross-pollinate flowers and see what happens etc.

• Read cartoons/comics:  This is another way which can improve your creative thinking. Take up a comic book and, besides reading the text of the story, carefully look at the way the artist had sketched the characters out of his/her imagination.

• Go out and watch the vaious scenes:  Make it a point to make a stroll daily. While outside, make note of any scenes you see like a flower, a cow, a bird etc. Then, try to recreate the image of the scene in your mind. You can even attempt to sketch it on paper.

• Daydream:  Daydreaming is essentially indulging in a fantasy. Funny as it may seem, daydreaming does help in improving you creativity and imagination. So, try to daydream and start imagining/visualising various situations.

• Play creative games: There are websites which host games to improve your creative skills. Happykipper.com is one such site where you can play creative games either alone or with multiple players. So, visit such sites occasionally and enjoy playing the games.

The above methods, I am sure, will help you improve on your creative skills and thus, progress further in life.