How to Nourish and Grow Your Creative Mindset

One of the biggest shifts in my own creative journey was realizing that creativity isn’t about talent; it’s about approach. We often think of creativity as something you either have or don’t have, but the truth is, it’s something you cultivate. And the way you think about it—your mindset—shapes everything.

Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindset is something I come back to again and again. In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, she explains:

"In this mindset, the hand you're dealt is just the starting point for development. This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts."

That means creativity isn’t a fixed trait—it’s something you build, stretch, and refine over time. It’s about effort, practice, and persistence. The more you work at it, the stronger it becomes. If you’re willing to embrace mistakes, challenge yourself, and push beyond your comfort zone, you can expand your creative potential in ways you never imagined.

Growth Mindset and Creativity: What the Research Says

A fascinating study published in Frontiers in Psychology by Wu-Jing He and Tin-Wai Chiang explored how motivation affects creative thinking. The study surveyed 948 college students and found that individuals with a growth creative mindset—those who believed creativity could be developed through effort—displayed significantly higher levels of creative thinking than those with a fixed mindset. But here’s where it gets even more interesting: creativity motivation played a key role. In other words, believing in your ability to grow creatively wasn’t enough—the motivation to engage in creative work acted as a bridge between mindset and actual creative performance.

So how do you train your brain to think more creatively? Let’s talk about practical ways to build and sustain a growth mindset for creativity.

1. Curiosity is Everything

If you’re not constantly exposing yourself to new ideas, experiences, and ways of thinking, your creative well is going to run dry. Read books you wouldn’t normally pick up, watch films outside your comfort zone, and surround yourself with different perspectives. Creativity is often about connecting unexpected dots—but you can’t connect them if you don’t collect them in the first place.

Tim Harford, in his talk on slow-motion multitasking, explains how working across different disciplines fuels creativity. I love this idea because it mirrors my own journey. When I transitioned from the art world to graphic design, I initially felt like I had wasted years studying art history. But over time, I realized those years of studying composition, color theory, and visual storytelling gave me a unique perspective that set my work apart. What once felt like a detour turned out to be a foundation—one that allows me to approach design in a way I never could have if I had taken a more traditional path.

2. Creative Cross-Training

Just like athletes don’t train only one muscle group, creatives shouldn’t limit themselves to just one medium. If you’re a graphic designer, try photography. If you’re a writer, try painting. Learning something new in a different field stretches your brain and helps you see your main creative practice in a fresh way. Studies show that people who engage in multiple creative pursuits tend to be more innovative overall.

3. The Role of Rest in Creativity

We don’t talk about this enough, but rest is a crucial part of nourishing creativity. The world glorifies the grind, but creativity doesn’t work that way. You know how your best ideas tend to show up in the shower, on a walk, or just as you're about to fall asleep? That’s not a coincidence—it’s because your brain needs space to process, make unexpected connections, and let ideas marinate beneath the surface.

In Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, Alex Soojung-Kim Pang highlights how some of history’s most brilliant minds—like Charles Darwin and Maya Angelou—worked in focused blocks and then stepped away to recharge. He writes:

"Rest is not something that the world gives us. It’s never been a gift. It’s never been something you do when you’ve finished everything else. If you want rest, you have to take it."

Rest isn’t a luxury or an afterthought—it’s a fundamental part of the creative process.

4. The Science of Creativity

Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist at Stanford, has explored creativity in depth. In his podcast The Science of Creativity & How to Enhance Creative Innovation, he breaks down two key cognitive processes:

• Divergent thinking (brainstorming, generating possibilities, pushing past the obvious)

• Convergent thinking (refining ideas, narrowing down to the most effective ones)

Creativity isn’t about waiting for inspiration to strike—it’s something we can actively train and strengthen. And a big part of that training? Paying attention to your own rhythms. What fuels you? What drains you? How do you create at your best? Noticing these patterns is an underrated but essential part of sustaining creativity long-term.

5. Overcoming the Inner Critic

Nothing stifles creativity faster than that relentless little voice whispering, “That’s not good enough.” If you’ve ever sat down to create something—whether it’s writing, designing, painting, or brainstorming—only to feel paralyzed by self-doubt, you know exactly what I mean.

One of the best books I’ve ever read on this is The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. She introduces a practice called Morning Pages—three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing done first thing in the morning. It’s not about crafting something brilliant; it’s about clearing out mental clutter. When I first started doing Morning Pages, I didn’t expect much. But over time, I realized that dumping my unfiltered thoughts onto the page made a huge difference. I became less attached to the outcome of my work and more open to the process itself. Those pages caught my doubts, my overthinking, my self-judgment—all the noise that usually kept me stuck.

The inner critic never fully disappears, but it loses its power when we stop letting it run the show. Creativity isn’t about being perfect—it’s about showing up, experimenting, and allowing yourself to create without judgment.

Final Thoughts

If there’s one thing to take away, let it be this: Creativity isn’t something you either have or don’t have. It’s something you nourish, something you cultivate, something that grows when you give it space, attention, and trust. Small shifts in mindset can open the door to entirely new possibilities.

I know we’ve only scratched the surface, and I plan to dive deeper into these topics in future posts. If today’s conversation resonated with you, I’d love to hear about it. Message me on Instagram @clearlycreativepodcast and let me know what mindset shifts have made the biggest difference in your creative journey.

Until next time—stay curious, keep growing, and keep creating.'

— Phoebe Seward, Host of Clearly Creative