Flex Your Brain: Training Creativity Like a Muscle

Part 2 of the "Creativity Spark" Series (read part one)

If creativity is humanity’s greatest survival skill, as we explored in last week’s article, then the next obvious question is: Can we train it?

The good news? Yes! The better news? It doesn’t require quitting your day job or moving to a mountain cabin with a typewriter and a goat.

It turns out, creativity behaves a lot like a muscle. Use it, and it grows. Ignore it, and it gets a little flabby. But the beautiful part? Even 15 minutes a day can rewire how you think, how you problem-solve, and how you see the world around you.

Creativity Is Not a Lightning Bolt

A common myth is that creativity strikes like lightning—random, unpredictable, and reserved for those lucky enough to be “born creative.” But ask anyone who consistently produces ideas—an artist, a teacher, a scientist, a strategist—and they’ll tell you: creativity shows up more often when you invite it regularly.

It’s not about waiting. It’s about practicing the conditions where sparks can fly.

The Neuroscience of “Creative Reps”

Your brain is built to adapt. Each time you do something novel, it forges new neural pathways—connections that strengthen with use. This is the magic of neuroplasticity.

• Regular creative habits engage divergent thinking, the ability to generate many different ideas from a single starting point.

• Over time, those tiny exercises lead to faster, more flexible thinking in all areas of life—at work, in relationships, in problem-solving.

• You’re not just becoming more creative. You’re becoming more adaptable.

Five Creativity Workouts You Can Do Today

Here are five simple, brain-stretching “reps” that take just minutes a day—but can spark breakthroughs over time:

1. Morning Pages (a Brain Dump Detox): Write three pages, stream-of-consciousness, with no editing or judgment. Julia Cameron popularized this practice in The Artist’s Way, and it’s brilliant for clearing mental clutter and finding unexpected ideas buried in the noise.

2. Reverse Thinking: Pick a problem you’re stuck on—and solve it the wrong way on purpose. Want fewer customers? Try to make a product nobody wants. Want a boring presentation? Brainstorm how to put your audience to sleep. Then reverse those answers—you’ll be amazed at what you uncover.

3. The “What If” Walk: Go for a 10-minute walk and ask a “What if?” question every few minutes;

• What if birds designed public transit?

• What if grocery stores had no aisles?

• What if time flowed backward for one hour a day?

Silly or serious—it doesn’t matter. It’s the mental stretch that counts.

4. Creativity Under Constraint: Set a weird limit. Write a 10-word story. Draw something using only triangles. Explain your business using only food metaphors.

Constraints don’t kill creativity—they fuel it. (Haiku, anyone?)

5. Dream Journaling: Keep a notebook by your bed. Write whatever fragments you remember from dreams. Don’t judge. Just capture. This taps into that magical, half-dream state called hypnagogia, a zone where logic loosens and imagination takes over.

Start Small. Stay Curious.

You don’t need to be an artist to do this. You just need to be curious enough to explore and disciplined enough to keep going. Even 15 minutes a day creates a ripple effect that spills into your work, your problem-solving, and your conversations.

Try one of the exercises above for five days. Then try another. Then make up your own. It’s your creativity, after all. You get to decide how to stretch it.

The Spark That Starts a Practice

Last week, we explored creativity as a survival tool. This week, we explored it as a practice. But what if… you didn’t have to figure this all out alone? What if a tiny daily spark landed in your lap every weekday—just enough to keep you thinking differently, imagining more boldly, solving more creatively?

Stay tuned. Something new is coming.

✍️ Your Turn! (Dear to share your creative flare?)

Which of the five “creative workouts” speaks to you most? Or do you have a favorite way to spark your imagination each day? Drop your thoughts in the comments—or better yet, commit to one of the exercises and report back in a week. We’d love to hear how it goes.