Find your people. Creative pursuits can be both individual and collective.

For
some, their happy place is in solitary moments where they are solving a tough
problem by applying new thinking or focusing individually on creating something
new. But for others, creative efforts are enhanced when they are working with their
team or gathered with their group. No matter where you enjoy creating, most
creative efforts ultimately have a social component. Customers will benefit from
your novel solution to a problem or friends will provide you with praise for your
newest cooking creation. Join with your people at the points that are best for you—
to create, obtain feedback or revel in their positive responses and celebrate your
brilliance.
 
Free your mind. Other elements of creativity and happiness are a sense of
expansion and feeling of freedom. Great new innovations are typically born by
putting unlike ideas together or combining concepts in untested ways. When you
explore more freely and have the opportunity for your thinking to diverge and your
curiosity to be sated, you will create the conditions for both happiness and
creativity. You’ll generate more ideas, and a greater quantity of ideas leads to
better quality. You’ll see new possibilities in novel combinations of concepts.
Explore widely. Go to the theatre, take in a play, or read a book outside your usual
genre. Strike up friendships with people who think differently from you. This
expansion of your inputs will contribute to your creative output and your
experience of joy.
 
Seek experiences of awe. Moments of wonder will inspire you. They tend to
motivate curiosity and exploration, and they are likely to foster feelings of
connection with others. Studies by the University of California found awe-
inspiring experiences caused the release of proteins called cytokines which had
positive effects on happiness, wellbeing and creativity. Spend time in nature, take
in a sunset, appreciate the beauty of a flower or lose yourself in music or artwork,
and these will in turn inspire your creativity and happiness.  
 
Get physical. Exercise can also enhance creativity. A study at the University of
Leiden found when people exercised, the tended to express greater creative
thinking. Another study by Stanford University found people were more creative
during and after they had taken a walk. Researchers hypothesize creativity is
enhanced through physical activity because of increased blood flow to the brain
and because of ‘ego-depletion’ in which people can let their minds wander while
they are putting effort toward physical tasks. For your happiness and creativity, get
active through walking or any other pursuit that taps your physical capability.