Paradox of Creative Thinking, Bollocks!

As Benjamin Franklin said, "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn."

Why doesn’t it come to my mind? Why am I not as creative as my classmates, colleagues, neighbours? Is it possible to somehow become more creative? Such questions arise for each of us. And there is a solution. I will tell you more about it in my article.

Many people have tried to change who I am or who I could be. So, my thanks goes to those who didn’t try, who accepted, created space and gave me time to be me. I love what I do, and I aspire to create momentum, a movement that can do 'it' differently. This is the first step of many...

First, let’s get a very important 'Out of the way Definition' :

"Bollocks" nonsense; rubbish (used to express contempt or disagreement, or as an exclamation of annoyance).

Is that clear? Good!

Creative thinking helps to quickly respond to any problem and find non-standard ways out of difficult situations. It is required not only for people in creative professions. Creativity can be successfully used to solve a variety of everyday tasks. For example, the ability to think non-trivially helps an accountant to save a lot of money for a company, and a manager to sell more goods and services.

Every year this skill becomes more and more "In-Demand" Each person has the potential to build original logical chains. Its level is determined by the coefficient of creative intelligence, which is commonly referred to as CQ (Creativity Quotient). It is believed that it is not related to IQ, but is also quite amenable to development and training. You can begin to actively generate fresh ideas and bring them to life with a series of simple exercises.

Set yourself up for positivity.

To develop creativity, you need a special psychological attitude. If a person considers himself a failure, he cannot generate new ideas. Fears, doubts and negative subconscious attitudes suppress creativity. Try to determine what is bothering you. For some, this is a fear of seeming stupid; for others, it is self-doubt or fear of criticism.

Most often the source of such thoughts are our beliefs, many of which are formed in childhood. Because of them, we begin to interpret any events negatively.

Try to remember your successes more often and focus only on the good. A positive attitude stimulates brain activity, helps to achieve inner peace and harmony. For this reason, it is very important to work on your mood and self-esteem. Take a piece of paper and divide it in half. In the left column, list those fears that impede the achievement of your goals. In the second half of the sheet, draw up a detailed plan of action to overcome fears. If you regularly perform this exercise, you will get used to replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

Train with associations

Associations help well to wake up creativity and stimulate mental activity. Steve Jobs also said that "Creativity is just the creation of connections between things." Combining different fragments from existing experience, a person synthesizes something new. Choose any item and try to come up with as many un-common ways of using it. For example, a plastic bag can be used instead of shoe covers, a swimming cap, a pastry bag, or cling film.

Another exercise is random associations. Open a dictionary or other voluminous book. Without looking at the page, point your finger at any word and write it down on paper. Repeat this step.

Now try to connect the resulting words- you can come up with a whole story. Over time, the brain begins to quickly create associations and unusual ideas. Each of the words is also useful to represent as an abbreviation and to decipher. The most interesting thing here is to do this exercise together - to compare the results will be great fun.

Introduce yourself as a director

To develop the ability to generate new ideas, role-playing transformation helps. Sitting in public transport or at a boring meeting, imagine yourself in the place of another person. There may be an architect who has to fulfill an unusual order. Or the head of a large enterprise in decline. Think about anti-crisis measures that will help you avoid bankruptcy and maintain your business reputation. Ideally, a fictitious problem should be solved using a non-standard method and an original solution should be devised.

Start using your other hand

Most people have the right-hand leading. It is more active, more often used, performs movements faster and more accurately. The right hand controls the left hemisphere of the brain. It is responsible for our analytical thinking. But imagination, complex images and emotional intelligence are the prerogative of the right hemisphere.

If you sometimes perform familiar everyday activities with your left hand, you can improve its work and develop creative abilities. Such an exercise will be useful for left-handed people. Using the right hand will wake the brain and activate its activity. Free drawing is already an exercise in creativity. Take a white sheet, colored pencils and draw a simple landscape. Best, if it will consist of non-existent parts.

After that, take a five-minute break and repeat the same picture, but with the other hand. Or take a pencil in the right and left hand and try to draw a butterfly, creating a mirror image. Hands can move both simultaneously and alternately. If you can’t cope with this task, start with a simpler one: circle the ready-made symmetrical illustrations on dotted lines.

Write ideas in a notebook

No need to wait for inspiration - it almost never comes on its own, but arises in the process of work. The development of creativity requires constant self-education and creative growth. Read as much literature as possible on your topic, communicate with talented people and like-minded people. In social networks, you can subscribe to bloggers who somehow come in contact with you. Constantly look for examples of creative growth and learn from those who have already achieved success to an extent. Referring to other people's work, you will surely learn a lot of new and interesting things for yourself.

It is important to carefully monitor your thoughts. Write down any ideas that arise in your mind, even if they seem absurd. Creative impulses happen unexpectedly - during a meal, at a workout, in a shoe store, in a dream. For example, Archimedes discovered his famous law while taking bath. To write ideas, it is best to have a special notebook and always carry it with you.

Creating notes on the go is very convenient using a voice recorder. Just do not forget to transfer audio recordings to writing on paper later. In the future, discussing these notes, you can come up with a new project.

Find a new use for old things

In everyday life, people follow long-established template patterns. Try to be creative not only with work issues and hobbies, but also with any activity. Bring a little creativity to your lesson: even small change can lead to a new idea. Start remaking old things or turning the most mundane objects into unusual ones. For example, you can reuse coffee grounds, honey or coconut oil. You can train creativity in company with friends - put on a new movie, turn off the sound and start imitating heroes. And after reading half of the book, first try to come up with its ending on your own.

Sign up for online courses

New experiences not only help to think outside the box, but also improve brain function. Thanks to regularly incoming information, new nerve cells and the connections between them are formed. That is why it is important to listen to new music, discover new films, try new food in various cafes and restaurants and travel. Even a simple trip to a store or a folk-art fair can present an interesting idea. Try to abandon maps and familiar routes. Ever taken a summer vacation? Take it next time in winter.

All these connect previously unused brain systems to problem solving and allows you to take a fresh look at any task. In addition, it is very useful to expand your knowledge in other subjects or areas. A popular and convenient training format is online courses. Try to choose interesting, but unfamiliar topics. A ready-made successful template from another sphere may unexpectedly come in 'Handy' in your activity. At the same time, even if you do not get specific knowledge, a change of habitual actions will increase your productivity and help you discover something new.

Try to work in a coffee shop

For the birth of new ideas, a change of scenery is important. With prolonged work in one place, a person becomes inattentive and begins to make mistakes more often. The easiest way is to free the workplace from unnecessary things, get new office supplies, change the lamp or desk.

Try to understand the conditions in which it is easiest for you to work. You can see how the creative process is organized among famous people. Or try working in a coffee shop. This is a great place to write an article or finish a working draft. The study, the results of which were published in the Journal of Consumer Research, showed that the level of background noise in institutions of this type stimulates creative activity.

Some Examples of Creative Thinking

The list of creative thinking examples is endless. In most situations, these examples will boost your creative thinking as well as encourage you to try them out yourself:

• Designing anything from a logo, to a simple webpage layout, to a poster and more
• Creating a lesson plan for a group training course
• Writing in a journal, a blog, or any social platforms
• Creating a test or quiz from scratch just for fun
• Brainstorming project ideas at work, or decor/renovation ideas at home
• Finding procedures to improve the quality of a product or service
• Suggesting solutions to improve a product or service

Bottom sip

The number of examples of creative thinking is endless but they are all challenging. This is a good thing, as the world continues to change and grow. This pushes us to learn new skills, to think differently, and to start asking the more important questions. “Why?” and “Why not?”

These are skills and abilities that can change the world and that anyone can adopt. So long as you have the patience to learn and develop yourself, you too can be a creative thinker!

If you are thinking of entering into this field, three things will help put you ahead of your peers: hard work, networking, and having a mentor. I wasn’t the best student, but I often was the hardest worker. "Sweat equity" still goes a long way, and I find that encouraging because it is something each of us controls. At the same time, I couldn’t have gotten to where I am today without the support and guidance over the years from so many people: my parents, bosses, friends, and co-workers. Build your network. Be prepared to work hard. Ask for help. Be curious. Help others. You are creative. You're an artist. What you do with your creativity is key. How you share your art is what makes the difference.

Thank you.