Creative people notice more. Curiosity is such an important human trait. It helps us as a species survive. While dinosaurs were looking for more to eat, human beings were banding together to forming hunting parties, grinding grains to make them more digestible, and experimenting with fire. I’m not sure if it was a man or a woman who first observed that the ground grain tasted better after being a fire, but it was a very clever idea.

Have you ever noticed how curious babies are? As most of us get older, that sense of wonderment with the world diminishes. It’s because to be more efficient, we form habits and then don’t really observe what’s around us. How many different kinds of trees do you pass in a single walk around the block? Unless you are an arborist or on a nature walk, it’s probably none.

I suggest that at least once a week you take an observation walk. Pick a category to observe – it could be trees, or flowers, or building materials. It’s a great game to play with a child. You can teach yourself to be more observant. This increases your flexibility and capacity for creativity. Being observant is like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes.

By Dr. Sabra Brock, co-founder of Idea Spies