What does it take to be creative? All sorts of images come to mind. One of the most compelling is the starving artist, creating incredible masterpieces while freezing in a top-floor garret.

It’s no doubt true that some starving artists create masterpieces. But for most of us, the challenges of this lifestyle mean it’s not the quickest path to genuine creativity.  Nutritional deprivation, like other forms of stress, makes it more difficult to be creative.

When you’re starving, you’ll probably focus on getting food any way you can, and not on creativity.

When you’re feeling threatened (socially or literally), you’ll probably focus on safety, and not on creativity.

When you’re under the gun to solve a problem as quickly as possible, you’ll probably focus on the fastest possible answers, and not on creativity.

The wellspring of creativity is flexibility of mind. There are lots of techniques for making your mind more flexible. The first order of business, though, is to address what’s making your mind less flexible.

The needs at hand—whatever is stressing you—must be met in one way or another. And securing a roof over your head and a safe environment to work in is genuinely important. But even when the stressors are taken care of, the habit of stress is inclined to linger. You may never feel full enough, or safe enough, or quick enough. And that habit will still compromise your flexibility of mind.

But you can counteract the habit of stress with the habit of relaxation. Like all habits it needs to be developed over time. One key to relaxation is to gain awareness of the thought-stream that dominates your consciousness most of the time, and that is inclined to be very focused on intense problem-solving of immediate threats and needs. The other key is paying attention to your body, with its own signals of stress that can be unwound, even a little bit, once you are aware of them.

Try It: When you have the need to be creative, begin by checking in with your current level of stress. Then take some action to lower that stress. Maybe you need food, or a good walk, or a talk with a friend. Maybe you can check in with your breath or your bodily sensations for a few minutes. Then stretch, flex…and create.

Photo: Henri Murger by Nadar, 1857. Murger was himself a starving artist who wrote about starving artists.