In the past people were rewarded by how many hours they worked or the years of experience they had with a particular company. But in the 21st century knowledge economy what really makes a difference to how much you earn is your level of creativity.

In addition to the financial rewards that come from thinking creatively there are also the emotional rewards of doing work you enjoy. People who are involved in creative work feel more fulfilled and are more successful in their chosen industry.

One mistake that many people make is to believe that you are either born creative or you are not. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are all born with a sense of creativity.

Don’t believe me? Picture in your mind right now a red sports car.

See that? You were able to use your mind to “create” the image of the car. You didn’t need to see one to be able to make the image. The reason that some people believe themselves to lack creativity is because just like you need to exercise the muscles of your body, you need to work your “creativity muscles” if you want them to function at their best.

Here you will learn four top tips for being more creative to get those creativity muscles in peak working order:

#1 Exercise, Eat Healthy and Get Plenty of Sleep

The old saying “healthy body for a healthy mind” could not be more true. If you want to think creatively then you need to look after yourself. If you are burned out because of lack of sleep or stress you are going to find it hard to think creatively. Exercise is also crucial to creative thinking. When you exercise it pumps oxygenated blood around the body, including to your brain. Finally make sure to eat healthy which means plenty of vegetables and fruits. Also try adding green tea, as the caffeine and antioxidants will help to give your brain a boost.

#2 Keep a Journal

If you are like most people you are probably getting creative thoughts through out the day. Ideas don’t always come when you want them to, so it is important when inspiration does strike that you write it down. Also the process of keeping a journal and writing things out will help to spur your creative mind.

#3 Use Mind Maps

Mind maps are so named because they closely reflect the way the brain actually works. Our creative mind does not work in a linear fashion, instead it is constantly making new connections. To create a mind map simply take a blank piece of paper and in the center draw the main idea that you want to think creatively about. From that central idea draw branches off to ideas that relate to that idea. From each of these ideas you can draw off further branches of sub-ideas that relate to them. Make use of different colors for each main branch of the mind map as this will help to spur creative thinking and memory.

#4 Take Up A Creative Hobby

As I have already said, creativity is like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it will get. This means you need to look for opportunities to use your creativity. One great way to do this is to take up a creative hobby. Whether it is playing a musical instrument, taking up drawing or learning to dance, if you need to think creatively to perform it, then it will only enhance your creativity.

And finally don’t be afraid to fail. Malcolm Gladwell in his book “Outliers” states that in order for someone to master a particular skill they must spend at least 10,000 hours practicing it. So if you want to be a creative genius, get creating!