Life Spring - Quote Pics

Learning to Think Creatively

Learning to Think Creatively

God is creative. His creation demonstrates this very well. No two human beings has He created the same. Human person is made in the image and likeness of this Creative God. Hence he too continuously desires and attempts to think creatively. Creative thinking aims at bringing out some innovative ideas for progress. It is also closely related to finding solutions to the day to day problems of life. The creative thinking helps students in performing well in their classes and projects. Adults excel better in their jobs or business if they have creative thinking. It is clear that creative thinking can help us to be happier, healthier and fruitful in our life. Being able to think outside the box is a learnable skill. One just has to be willing to try new things.

Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learnt. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and where appropriate profits. Strong emotional self-management is often needed in order to allow creative thinking to emerge. It is important to be able to cope with risk, confusion, disorder and feeling that you are not progressing quickly.

Creative thinking skills are as much about attitude and self-confidence as about talent. Creative thinking is often less ordered, structured and predictable. As you are not looking for 'one' answer, you are likely to come up with lots of suggestions that are not 'right'. So don’t be discouraged by failures. Give new meaning, direction and enthusiasm to your life by thinking creatively.

There are many useful techniques which can help in thinking creatively. Certainly, practicing the following methods will fire up the spark of creative thinking in us.

1. Brainstorming                                                                                                                               

            The brainstorming method introduced by Alex Faickney Osborn in his book Applied Imagination (1953) is one of the most common devices to come up with new and creative ideas. Brainstorming can be practiced individually or in a group. Think as many as possible ideas on one topic and note them on a paper: don't edit these. Just write them down. Treat all ideas as if they may contain the seeds of something potentially useful. While working with a group it is to be noted that, We need to come up with as many varied ideas as possible, it is important to stick with the main two principles, originally attributed to Osborn namely postpone your judgment and hitch-hike on the ideas of others. Inspiration can strike at any time. Ideas can also slip away very easily. Keep a small notebook at hand so you can jot down your ideas straight away.

2. Reversals                                                                                                                                                            In the reversals technique, we are asked to reverse the problem. So a problem statement such as, ‘How do we help students become motivated to learn?’ might end up as ‘How can we prevent students from being motivated to learn?’ We are usually much better at coming up with negatives so will come up with ideas such as ‘bore them to death in a lecture, speak in a monotonous voice, never relate it to real life’, etc. We then reverse each idea in turn to see if any useful ideas come from this. For instance, relate your lectures to real life incidents to motivate the students.

3. Incubation  

‘Incubation can be at any stage during the process of creative thinking but classically, after an initial sorting the ideas they can be developed by simply incubating’ – resting, walking or sleeping.’ Allowing yourself to play with an idea whilst you go for a walk. If you’re trying to solve a problem and can’t, go to bed—you might find a better solution in the morning. Sleep restructures new memory representations, meaning we think about experiences in new ways. At the very least, take a power nap, which stimulates right brain activity (the part of the brain responsible for creativity). Forcing yourself to find a solution will only lead to exhaustion. Try standing up from your desk, walk outside or to the vending machine, grab a coffee, talk to people and look at the scenery outside your workplace. Some inspirations strike you at the most unexpected places and when you’re actually not working.

4. Question Formulation and Clarification

When you need to start a creative session, always start with why, how, what, when question and try to answer it. It’s very important to find out what the real problem is towards which you want to find a creative solution. In the book ‘Developing Creativity in Higher Education’ it is stated thus: The problem to be solved needs to be examined from many perspectives…It can also be a convergent stage if the exercise helps to refine our understanding of the problem, such that by the time it is well defined it is almost solved. The process helps us to form a problem or problems in different ways and stops us from rushing off to start solving the ‘wrong’ problem. Hence, Earnest R. Hilgard has rightly said, “detecting the problem is as important as finding the answer.”

5. Re-conceptualize the Problem                                                                                                    

             One thing that researchers have noticed with especially creative people is that they tend to re-conceptualize the problem more often than their less creative counterparts. That means, instead of thinking of a cut-and-dry end goal to certain situations, they sit back and examine the problem in different ways before beginning to work. So, if you find yourself stagnating by focusing on generic problems ("What would be something cool to paint?"), try to re-conceptualize the problem by focusing on a more meaningful angle ("What sort of painting evokes the feeling of loneliness?").

6. Consume Content that’s Way outside Your Comfort Zone                                                     

            We all love reading about stuff of our field which may lead to motivation or inspiration but typically this doesn't boost creativity. If you want to get your creative juices flowing, start consuming content you wouldn't normally consume. Read blogs outside of your interest. Read books outside of your normal genre of choice. Talk and have lunch with a complete stranger (just make sure they're not a bad stranger). Research also suggests that reading/experiencing something absurd or surreal can help boost pattern recognition and creative thinking. The mind is always seeking to make sense of the things that it sees, and surreal/absurd art puts the mind in ‘overdrive’ to give a meaning to the meaningless.

7. Restrict Yourself                                                                                                                           

             The idea that freedom leads to more creative ideas is wrong. Counterintuitively, it turns out that constraints can actually increase our creative output. The research shows that many people often take the path of "least mental resistance," building on ideas they already have or trying to use every resource at hand. The research also suggests that placing self-imposed limitations can boost creativity. Try limiting your work in some way and you may see the benefits of your brain coming up with creative solutions.

8. Create During a Powerful Mood                                                                                                                       For a long time, the research has pointed to happiness as being the ideal state to create in. Research also affirms that thinking about love can produce more creative thoughts. Some studies on creativity in the workplace make this bold conclusion: Creativity increased when both positive and negative emotions were running high. I don't propose here that one has to be in a bad mood to create something, but next time you're in any strong emotional state, sit down and focus that energy on creating something worthwhile.

9. Exercise                                                                                                                                         

              Is there any wonder that ‘exercising " is one of the most desired good habits in the entire world? Some research even suggests that exercise can actually boost creative thinking as well, due to it's ability to get the heart pumping and put people in a positive mood. When we’re physically active, the body loosens up and our mind is a little freer. So it’s easier to come up with solutions to problems and think of new ideas. Once when researchers had half the participants in a study perform an exercise video while the other half simply watched a video, those who had exercised outperformed the others in terms of divergent thinking - or, coming up with more possible solutions to a problem.

10. Ask, "What Might Have Been?"                                                                                   

             According to the research surrounding the process of counterfactual thinking, looking at a situation that has already occurred and asking yourself, "What could have happened?" can boost creativity for short periods of time. According to an analysis by Jeremy Dean analytical problems are best tackled with a subtractive mind-set: thinking about what could have been taken away from the situation. Expansive problems benefited most from an additive counterfactual mind-set: thinking about what could have been added to the situation.

11.  Work When You’re Tired                                                                                           

            Creative thinking actually works better at non-optimal times. So, if you’re a morning lark, your brain will be better at finding creative insights at night, when you’re tired. The reason behind this is that a tired brain struggles to filter out distractions and focus on one thing. It’s also more likely to wander off on tangents. While that seems like a bad thing when you’re working but creative thinking actually benefits from distractions and random thoughts. Research has shown that we’re better at "thinking outside the box" at our non-optimal times.

12. Make Connections                                                                                                                      

            We always think creativity is about coming up with original ideas, but it turns out creativity is really just about making new connections between existing ideas. This is pretty exciting, because it means creativity suddenly seems less scary: we can all connect things that already exist, right? Steve Jobs agrees with this theory of what creativity is all about: “Creativity is just connecting things.”

13. Traveling Improves Creative Thinking

The research on this one is still small, but one study showed that for college students, those who travelled (abroad) scored higher on creative thinking tests than those who stayed at their main campus. ‘This particular study followed students who travelled from their college in the US to take part in a summer study program in England.’ In many countries, cultural norms differ greatly between different states or areas, so it follows that we might see an increase in creativity from even interstate travel.

14. Dim Lighting Makes Us Feel More Free                                                                                  

              I like a lot of natural light in my workspace. However, I was surprised to find this research that proved dim lighting can improve creative performance. The researchers completed six different studies, which all showed that dim lighting increased creativity. They found if the lighting around them was dim, participants were likely to be more creative. The reasoning came from the subconscious feeling of being freer to explore: darkness elicits a feeling of being free from constraints and triggers a risky, explorative processing style.

15. Inspirational Rituals                                                                                                                   

             One of the best ways to inspire yourself and create something new every day is to develop rituals that you begin to use regularly and routinely. This will condition your brain for better creativity. For instance, your ritual might be reading in the morning, listening music, meditating for a few minutes or taking several deep breaths.

16. Try To Create Something Every Day                                                                                                             Create something every day, even if it’s only for 5 or 10 minutes. Try to write articles, draw mind maps in meetings, cook a new dish and also collect and develop hundreds of ideas. Always have three projects in the pipeline, lots of them are not developed but they inspire. All those ideas are inspiring each other and generating new ones. It’s a wonderful feeling. Some people call this luck or planned serendipity.

17. Be Social and Have Fun                                                                                                                                  When we spend time with people we trust, we tend to have deeper conversations. These chats often lead to creative thinking because we’re really able to be ourselves and talk about our passions. Having fun with our colleagues or friends is a proven and popular way to generate ideas. It’s a great moment to open up to ideas of others, so you can make your ideas more consolidated. The best way to do it is to listen to ideas without judgment. Listening to fresh perspectives and seeing your issues in different angles may help you reconstruct your ideas.

18. Take Risks                                                                                                                                      

              A risk may be a double-ended sword, but the more you avoid it, the more you are leaving ideas unturned. Risks allow you to think out-of-the-box, look for the unconventional and embrace the difference. Creative thinking doesn’t necessitate you to conform all the time; in fact, most of the ingenious concepts are born from deviating. Don’t be afraid of being wrong or being rejected. I would think that the biggest hurdle to innovations or new creative ideas is the originator’s perception that he can be ridiculed for voicing his thoughts. Although this happens a lot, you may never know the outcome until you speak. If Marie Curie had been afraid of being wrong, we wouldn’t have radium.

19. Be Childlike                                                                                                                                

             Be childlike, or at least consult with one from time to time. Children can connect things that we don’t normally think go together. They can see patterns and problems that we, as adults, can’t. What’s more, children’s natural curiosity is a must for any business leader. Asking the right questions may be the only way for you to get ahead of the competition.

20. Use Your Sense of Humor                                                                                                                      Essentially, innovations and great ideas are just old concepts that are put together in a way that is fresh and possibly quite funny. Humor puts things that don’t make sense together in such a way that they do make sense. Learning to laugh at yourself and your creative ideas frees yourself to think of the most outrageous things, and may be you can stumble upon that combination of concepts for your next big project or task.

21. Write by Hand.                                                                                                                           

            Drs. Carrie and Alton Barron, authors of ‘The Creativity Cure’ advise us to skip the Microsoft Word doc and pick up a pen instead. Sometimes the whole experience of writing by hand—the ink on our fingers, the smell of a fresh notebook—is all it takes to trigger our creativity. Try taking ten minutes to jot down anything and everything that comes to mind without judgment, a technique called “free-writing” or “free association”.

22. Meditate                                                                                                                                                        Stuck in a mental rut? When panic strikes, try meditating: It promotes divergent thinking, a state of mind in which we’re able to generate new ideas. Spend time alone. It’s true that hanging with friends can boost creativity, but sometimes a little peace and quiet is necessary. Meditating everyday not only will evolve new ideas in your mind but it also will increase your concentration and mental health. Only a healthy mind can be creative.

23. Think about Something Far Away                                                                                

           Research suggests our ability to solve problems improves when we think about events far off in the past or future or in another location. So picture New Year’s Eve 2025 or dining at a café in a forest area and let the imagination go! You might as well imagine how people will be communicating in India in 2050. You are sure to get some nice creative ideas.

24. Make a Creativity Space (Room)                                                                                 

           Designate a physical space for creativity in the house and include objects related to hobbies, mementos from favorite memories, and vision boards. If not enough space try a “creativity corner” in a single room. That way, says Dr. Mark Banschick, “the brain will get into the habit of being creative every time we’re in that area.” The room needs to be set up so that it is as inspiring as possible – the most important elements are light, colour, flexibility in the use of space, comfort, warmth, music if desired and a good supply of goodies and drinks. You may also try an imaginary space in your mind with natural greenery (of your liking) etc. So whenever you close your eyes and enter that sacred space you will start getting new and creative insights.