50 Times People Showed Off Their Awesome Craft Projects Online And Made Everyone Jealous

Creativity is much more intentional and requires far more effort on your part than you might think at first.

If you laze about all day, simply waiting for inspiration to strike, you might not get very far with your artistic endeavours. You can’t leave your ambitions to be at the mercy of just luck.

So, you have to make changes to your lifestyle to grow and sharpen your creative instincts.

As Bas Korsten explained in a piece in the Harvard Business Review, creativity isn’t inherent, and you actually have to actively hone it.

According to him, creatives of all kinds ought to train their brains in a similar way that athletes train their bodies. If you want quality performance, you need disciplined, sustained effort over a long time.

One thing that you can do right now to be more creative is actively engage with nature.

“It’s been proven that spending time in nature makes us more creative. Looking at trees and leaves — instead of our electronic devices — reduces our anxiety, lowers our heart rates, soothes us, and allows our brains to make connections more easily,” Korsten writes.

Other ways to get your creative muscles growing include things like picking up meditation, moving and exercising more every single day, and intentionally trying to connect with different kinds of people.

“When consciously seeking inspiration, not enough can be said about diversity. Remember the brain and its predisposition to take the lazy way out? Diversity makes the brain work harder by challenging stereotypes,” Korsten shares his thoughts on HBR.

He adds that people are far better at creative problem-solving when they “don’t have the comfort of knowing what to expect.”

Meanwhile, Verywell Mind stresses the fact that creativity is a skill that anyone can develop and strengthen, given enough effort. It’s not just great for artistic projects, though.

“[Creativity is] all about finding new ways of solving problems and approaching situations. It's also a valuable skill for people from all walks of life, whether you work in an inherently creative field or want to find new opportunities for self-expression.”

According to Verywell Mind, the first step to boosting your creativity is to decide to focus on it. This means that you should be intentional about this goal and set aside time daily to develop your skills.

In other words, if you want to be known globally for your amazing artistic skills, you won’t turn your dreams into reality unless you actually sit down and, well, do artistic things. You have to make room in your schedule for moving toward your goals.

Other ways to improve your creativity include things like:

1. Doing in-depth research and becoming an expert in your chosen field
2. Finding ways to reward yourself for moments when you express your curiosity about the world
3. Being willing to take more risks and move out of your comfort zone
4. Moving away from dwelling on negative thoughts and self-criticism
5. Embracing failure
6. Brainstorm ideas without self-criticism
7. Trying out new and unorthodox ideas and approaches

Naturally, you’re going to make mistakes. And a lot of them! Everyone does, no matter if they’re in an artistic field or doing anything else.

How you deal with failure has a lot to do with your future success.

If you embrace it and see it as an opportunity for growth, you’re more likely to thrive than if you let your mistakes demotivate you.

“The fear that you might make a mistake or fail in your efforts can paralyze progress. Whenever you find yourself harboring such feelings, remind yourself that mistakes are simply part of the process. While you may occasionally stumble on your path to creativity, you will eventually reach your goals,” Verywell Mind suggests.

We can’t wait to hear what you think, Pandas! Which of these arts and crafts designs genuinely impressed you the most? Do you feel inspired to get started on a new and creative project now? If so, what do you think you’d like to make?

Meanwhile, what’s the coolest artistic thing that you’ve ever made with your hands? Once you’ve upvoted your favorite pics, share your thoughts in the comments down below.