This type of creativity gets a raw deal: Infinite Ideas Lab #006

The Infinite Ideas Lab is a weekly newsletter about the creative process and how to have bigger and better ideas.

Ideas are your currency in the modern world. You need them to stand out, but it’s not always easy. Whether you’re building your brand, marketing your business, leading a team, or delivering a project, it’s the power of your ideas that defines you.

And that’s what this newsletter is all about.

Every week I’ll give you frameworks, tips and inspiration to transform your creative ideas process in just a few minutes.

Happy Wednesday, and welcome to Infinite Ideas Lab #006

I hope you’ve already had a creative and productive week.

I’ve had some time off the last few days. There’s nothing like taking a break for inspiration.

I find I’m 100% more creative when I’m able to relax and unwind.

Ideas can just come to you when you’re not in “work mode”. They take shape without having to make a conscious effort.

And that’s a form of divergent thinking. I wrote much more about divergent thinking in last week’s newsletter.?

You can read it HERE if you missed it.

This week I wanted to tell you a little bit more about convergent thinking and why it's so essential to the creative process.

Convergent creativity

Divergent thinking stretches you to generate as many different solutions as possible to a problem.

But it's convergent thinking that's often the unsung hero of the creative process, finding one direct solution to a particular problem using logic and reason.

Convergent and divergent thinking are 2 sides of the same coin, and the key is to harness them together to elevate your creative process.

"Divergent thinking is the wild rockstar, always close to falling off the rails. Convergent thinking is the long-suffering roadie whose main job is to get the band on stage every night."?

I believe convergent thinking gets a raw deal.

You might get slightly annoyed by those people in meetings who don’t really contribute to the brainstorming but spend their time challenging, asking questions, and testing an idea out loud.

But those people are classic convergent thinkers, and they’re an essential part of the creative process.

You need divergent and convergent creativity to develop the biggest and best ideas.

Creativity has to be useful

Dr Andrew Hubermann defines creativity as “the ability to take existing elements from any domain and to reorder those into novel combinations that are useful.”

If you’ve not listened to his podcast before on neuroscience and human performance, then you definitely should!

Remember, we're talking about creative problem-solving here, not the creativity of Picasso or Mozart.

In creative problem solving the useful bit is vital, and that’s where turning up the dial on convergent thinking is key.

Divergent thinking will do the reordering, giving you 10 solutions to problems you didn’t even know you had.

But you can’t guarantee they’re useful until your convergent brain steps in and tests them.

You've got to do the boring stuff... like ask:

Will this brilliant idea actually work??

I'm not a natural free-thinker

Now I let you in on a secret; as much as I’d love to be that natural creative genius that connects all the dots and blows everyone away with their divergent ideas…

I’m definitely more of a natural convergent thinker.

I feel like my creativity works best when it’s processed and structured.

I’m more comfortable with logic and patterns than spontaneity.

But understanding that means I’m aware of it and can work on being more divergent, and I can use both elements in my creative process.

Just as I've taught myself to think more divergently, you can increase your own ability to use convergent thinking to generate ideas.

4 ways to boost your convergent thinking

Last week I told you how to focus on developing your divergent thinking techniques, but convergent thinking is a different beast.

If divergent thinking taps into your brain associated with movement and excitement, convergent thinking comes from the part of your brain that controls memory and analysis.

These 4 tips will help you maximise your convergent thinking:

Fixed attention meditation

Last week I talked about open monitoring meditation being good for divergent thinking (that’s when you allow your mind to wander without focusing on any particular thing).

Fixed attention meditation is the opposite and focuses on one element, like your breathing.

If you’re faced with a complex problem that needs a convergent solution:

? Spend 30 mins immersed in the research of the problem

? Then, take 10-20 minutes with your eyes closed, focused on your breathing or a particular image in your mind.

Only then should you start putting ideas to paper. You’ll find that your logic and reason will feel more accessible.

Use puzzles and mind games

Puzzles, sudoku or any other mind games help improve your analytical ability, which boosts convergent thinking.

You can also use a mental exercise like the remote associates test?(link in the comments).

It'll prime your brain to start looking for the patterns that help convergent thinking.

It’s a bit like stretching before a workout.

Eliminate all distractions

In comparison to divergent thinking, which can thrive with lots of external stimuli, convergent thinking needs quiet and focus.

I find that noise-cancelling headphones and some Hans Zimmer works a treat!

Stay calm!

One of the weirdest things about convergent thinking is that it’s not helped by dopamine (the hormone that makes you happy).

Dopamine is normally closely associated with creativity, and the assumption is the happier you are, the more creative you are.

Divergent thinking is all dopamine, so if you’re not feeling excited or happy, then you won’t be divergent.

But dopamine actually hinders your convergent creativity… so if you want to amplify your convergent thinking, then stay calm!?

I hope that helps and also gives you more confidence about your own creative process.

Not everyone has to be a free-thinker or a creative genius. I know I’m not, I have to really work at being creative.

The key is understanding where you sit on the divergent-convergent spectrum and knowing how to move your dial whenever you need to.

It'll also think about how you can better use those convergent thinkers in your team to improve your brainstorming sessions.

I’d love to hear if you think you’re convergent or divergent by nature. And how that helps you generate creative ideas.