In my case what has worked to me is: Reading self improvement books, being with people I truly enjoy being with, accepting who I truly am, what I believe in, and lots of silence and solitude. You need to find and accept what goes with your true personality in order to be yourself. You need to learn to ignore the outside noise and listen to yourself. I think that's why creators and artists are considered as eccentric sometimes. Because they have found themselves and ignored the outside world and social parameters. I think that is worthy of admiration.
There are a lot of ways to create. You need to discover what truly full fill you. Just to name some ideas that will place you in the creative state of mind:
Art Journal
Be Gentle with yourself
Be Present
Beading
Combine ideas that already exist to create your own
Cook
Create new outfits that goes with your true self (more talk about this later)
Crochet
Decorate your surroundings with things that inspire you
Define your own fashion style
Do the best you can with the resources you already have
Don't judge others
Don't judge yourself
Don´t try to be perfect
Don't take anything for granted
Draw
Follow your intuition and make your own conclusions
Involve yourself in the creative community like blogs and etsy.com
Learn to play an instrument
Meditate
Observe and pay attention to the color combination of designs you like
Observe your surroundings
Photography
Play like a child if you desire so
Quilting
Read creative blogs
Read things you enjoy
Sewing
Simplify
In my case cute things and space between things inspire me
Surround yourself with creative people
Watch inspiring pictures on Flickr, Instagram, etc.
Write
Work out
Yoga
Relax
You don’t even need to expend money taking classes of any of this. Watch youtube videos about any of the topic you are interested in to learn and get inspired.
I'd love to read your ideas of how to be creative and what is your favorite creative activity.
Please tell me in the comments section.