Tips To Improve CreativityÂ
Here are some extra tips to improve your creative thinking, following on from the last article on creativity.
Have An Open Mind
Consider as many different possibilities as you can, the best ideas usually come after considering many.
Concentrate Single Mindedly
You brain can only hold 1 thought at a time, so try to focus your complete attention on the task at hand.
The more you allow yourself to become distracted by something (e.g. what’s on TV later?) the less brain power you will have available for solving your primary task.
Have Goals
If you have specific written intensely desired goals, your creative mind will be given a major boost.
With clearly defined goals you will find thinking up great new ideas a lot easier.
RelaxÂ
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Make sure you are in a relaxed frame of mind whenever you are working on something important, as stress or any other kind of negative emotion will hinder creativity.
This is why Google and Yahoo employees are allowed games, pets and music in the workplace. Anything that makes them feel comfortable will enhance the quality of their ideas.
Expect To Find The Answer
Don’t go into something saying “this is impossible” or “I could never do that”. Rather approach the task as if there was a logical solution, and always confidently expect to find the answer. It may not come to you immediately, but it will eventually.
Use Positive Language
Avoid using negative limiting language such as “problem”, instead try “challenge” or “opportunity”.
Remember you have complete control over the way you feel, so be careful what language you use and how you speak to yourself.
Define The Situation
Make sure you clearly understand what you are working with. If you go into something with only a vague idea, you will most likely end up frustrated and unhappy.
So try to educate yourself as much as you can, and make sure you clearly understand what you are trying to do.
Ask Questions
The more questions you ask the more answers you will get. Try asking obvious questions first and then consider the opposite to that answer.
Ask what other people would do in your situation. The more curious you can become the more creative you will be.
Write 20 Answers
If you have a task that you are trying to solve but can’t seem to think up any good ideas, try writing down a list of 20 answers to the challenge you face.
The first few answers are likely to come easily, as these will come from your conscious mind.
The last few answers will be the most difficult, but they will usually be the most valuable as they will come from your subconscious. However for this method to work you must do the list in one attempt!
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September 25th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
Hey,
Nice! Very nice!
The pictures do make a hell of a lot of difference.
Nice blue background. Happy colors. I like it - A LOT!
And to top it off, a nice read on creativity inducing exercises.
Cheers,
Jag
September 27th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Thanks Jag, I have just finished adding pictures to all my past posts, took me 3 days but i think it was worth it!
October 1st, 2007 at 3:04 am
Hello,
You have a very nice site by means of colours, but the quality of images is very low. Please don’t compress them too much. Now they have squares in them. It looksreally bad on 19″ monitor.
Alex
October 1st, 2007 at 4:01 am
thanks for the feedback Alex, I was trying to strike a balance between quality and speed. I will lower the compression level for future images.
October 16th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
My problem is not having any ideas, it’s more like i can’t focus on one for a long time enough before i come up with a new one which i feel for at the time before the next comes and so on it goes all the time…am i to distorted or something? What’s the best thing to do in my situation? I know you probably going to say something like “try to focus” or think of just one idea…but i’ve tried that and i don’t feel good about it, it feels like im missing the rest of everything if i do that…And i hate writting stuff down, i like to think instead.
October 18th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Hi Gabriel. If i understand correctly you are saying that you have trouble focusing on one idea, before your mind becomes occupied with another and this is causing you some frustration.
The fact that you have lots of ideas is an indication of a highly intelligent and creative mind. Leonardo da vinci was just like you, in the sense that he also had lots of ideas and his mind was constantly full of them.
Today he is recognized as a genius for the inventions he created, but what is lesser known is that he had many other inventions which he did not complete because he was always working on new things and so could not devote his attention to all of them.
You need to ask yourself what is most important to you. Do you want to have lots of ideas but do nothing with them, because you are constantly shifting your focus onto something else. Or do you want to take action on your ideas and make them a reality.
There is nothing wrong with having lots of ideas, but unless you are able to focus your energy on one thing at a time your ideas will remain just that, ideas.
You said you feel like you are missing out if you try to focus on one thing at a time, but it sounds like you also feel you are missing out by having so many ideas and not being able to take action on them.
The reality is you cant do everything at once, so try to start taking action on your ideas and see them through to the end. if you keep stopping and starting you wont get anywhere.
i know you said you don’t like writing things down, but what you could do is create a list of the ideas you have and add any new ideas you may have in the future to that list. then resist the temptation to start work on them immediately, leaving your other ideas unfinished.
Then decide which ideas you would like to take action on and work towards completing them. If you want to work on more than one thing at a time, create a schedule so you work on one different idea each day of the week. But remember unless you are able to concentrate and focus on one thing at a time, it is unlikely you will complete anything and this is something you must try to discipline yourself to do.
You may also want to consider the possibility that you are afraid of failure, and by having so many ideas all the time you are not able to take action, and therefore cannot fail because you are not even starting in the first place.
bottom line
- if you don’t take action, you will miss out either way
- all good ideas begin in the mind, but require physical action to make them a reality. Often this includes writing them down, organizing them and creating a plan of action.
- decide what is most important to you. Having lots of ideas with no results. Or concentrating on a few ideas and getting results.
- if you don’t take action on an idea immediately, that doesn’t mean you have lost it. Put it away for a future date.
- devote different days to different ideas, but remember the more you try to focus on lots of different things at once the less you will achieve.
- see this article on how to prioritize yourself
http://www.eruptingmind.com/how-do-i-prioritize/
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Thank you so much for you’re advice it made sense, I guess ill try to make a list…
But I have another problem…and it’s in the process of the work, I easily get bored and give up fast when I feel like I’m stuck, it’s like it either got to be perfect or it won’t work and my efforts to make it perfect from within are not strong enough to meet up with my demand to make it.
I somehow feel it’s all connected with my early childhood which I don’t remember much of, it’s like it’s been suppressed all I can remember at most is that I used to be a very different kid from the others. And one of my specialties was that I always seem to come late to school even if I left home early I always winded up taking my time showing up late as If I hade reason for it, I think I needed attention or something. Anyways it feels good to rant this stuff out thanks.
So what do you think could be my main problem? Based on the description you have.
My main attribute and what I mostly stand for and is run by these days is justice, I want everyone to have it fair and I love helping and letting people know what they are missing when they are understandable enough to receive it. Even if that sentence might sound negative like I’m in demand of control, I have to say yes, I have hade fantasies about taking control over the world to make it a better place
but who hasn’t?
Anyways I think I already feel a little bit better now…
October 28th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Whenever someone says they will “try” to do something, it usually means they wont. The language you use and how you speak to yourself will affect your actions, so use more powerful and positive language rather than limiting language.
if you are getting bored easily it can be due to many things, one of which is that you are doing something you do not naturally enjoy and so do not have the drive or motivation to keep going.
have a look at this article and work out your dominant forms of intelligence to see what things you are naturally good at, there is also a test you can take in the 2nd part of the article to help you determine this.
http://www.eruptingmind.com/multiple-forms-of-intelligence/
if you are working on something you do not enjoy but have to do it anyway, because you are at school for example, don’t worry we have all been there!
the best thing to do in this situation is to try and make the activity fun and approach the subject with an attitude that you will find the answer eventually.
if you are stuck have a break and don’t worry about it. Your mind functions best when you are in a relaxed state, so the more you worry about something the less effectively your brain will work.
Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes, so don’t feel that everything you do has to be done perfectly. By all means try your best, but don’t obsess about perfection.
If concentration is a problem for you, that is something you can work on and improve. Certain things such as watching tv will decrease concentration, whilst activities such as reading will improve it.
Diet can also play a role in concentration and is something i have been writing about recently. Things like junk food, sugar and soft drinks can all decrease concentration levels.
Don’t feel bad about about wanting to gain attention from others. The desire to be recognised and appreciated is one of our most basic human needs, and we each do it in different ways.
Being in control is also another basic need, and how happy we feel about ourselves is strongly correlated with how in control of our lives we feel we are.
I understand your desire to help others, and i also feel the same way. However recognise that some people may not want your help, even if you are right in what you are saying, some people may see it as a critism and dislike you for it.
Overall i don’t think you have a “problem” as such, you seem to be a very creative and caring person, sure there are areas of your life you can improve on, but the same could be said for anyone.
You seem to be very good at analysing yourself and recognising areas that need improvement. So i would suggest to continue doing what you are doing by actively learning new information that will help you improve, and asking questions when needed.