10 Prescriptions for Living a Creative Life

Tap Into Creativity and Realize your Dreams

By Neil Tepper

We are born creative, experiencing childhood from the creative, right side of our brain. Our early years are about exploring this creativity as well as learning how the world works by developing the logical and analytical left side of the brain.

As adults, concerned with matters of survival and success, we allow our creativity to fall into disuse. But, creativity remains a sharp and powerful tool that we can use to enhance our personal and professional lives. We can’t afford to ignore it.

Creativity is much more than artistic talent. Each of us has the ability to be creative when we know how to tap into this deep well within us. By harnessing the power of your creativity, you will discover new solutions to familiar problems and realize your highest dreams.

Neil Tepper is a personal and business coach, and author of the new book “Prescriptions for Living A Creative Life: Simple Remedies for Common Maladies in Our 24/7 World," Tepper coaches executives, entrepreneurs, corporate teams, parents, artists and high-achievers in finding a bridge to their own creativity for a life of greater power, passion and purpose. Connect with him at neiltepper.com.

Make Time Stretch for You

Not enough time for all you want to cram into your already-crammed calendar? Although time is a non-renewable resource, it is not fixed. It can be expanded.

Instead of trying to add other elements into your allotted time, choose to “include” them so that they are automatically integrated into your schedule. This is not a play on words. By living creatively you can re-sort your priorities and find ways to include a new activity.

No time to exercise? All of a sudden you discover you can walk up a flight of stairs rather than take the elevator; you can pace briskly while on the phone; you can repeatedly lift your briefcase or shoulder bag while waiting in line at the supermarket. All of a sudden, you’ve expanded time.

Establish Your “New Normal”

Sometimes being too comfortable is uncomfortable itself. Sometimes you’re forced to move out of your comfort zone.

The current buzzword for this is “reinventing” yourself. The truth is that you’re always making adjustments in your life to suit your changing needs and circumstances. There will always be times when you need to re-align the elements of your life. By integrating new habits and behaviors, you can create a new you – your “new normal.”

When you make a commitment to personal growth, you learn to sense the shifting winds. Are you growing increasingly dissatisfied with your work? Are you unhappy in your primary relationship? Are you a step slower, a few pounds heavier than you’d like?

You can choose to move beyond your comfort zone and establish your new normal before a physical or emotional crisis forces you to do so. All it takes is self- awareness, honesty and a willingness to embrace who you are now and who you are becoming: your new, more powerful self.