How to foster creative thinking

Creative thinking is the ability to create or otherwise bring to life something new, be it a solution to a problem, a method, a device, an artistic object or a form.

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 of creative professions - creativity can be successfully applied to solve a variety of everyday tasks.

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For example, the ability to think non-trivially for an accountant will help to save a lot of money for the company, and for a manager - to sell more goods and services. Every year this skill becomes more and more in demand.

Every person has the potential to build original logical chains [3] . Its level is determined by the coefficient of creative intelligence, which is commonly referred to as CQ (Creativity Quotient). It is believed to be unrelated to IQ, but it is also quite amenable to development and training. You can start actively generating fresh ideas and bringing them to life with a series of simple exercises.

To develop creativity, you need a special psychological attitude. If a person considers himself to be a failure, he cannot be a generator of new ideas. Fears, doubts and negative subconscious attitudes suppress creativity. Try to identify what is holding you back. For some, this is the fear of appearing stupid, for others it is self-doubt or fear of criticism. The most common source of such thoughts is our beliefs, many of which are formed in childhood. Because of them, we begin to interpret any events in a negative way.

Try to remember your successes more often and concentrate 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 split it in half. In the left column, list those fears that prevent you from achieving your goals. On the second half of the sheet, make a detailed plan of action to overcome your fears. If you do this exercise regularly, you will get into the habit of replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

Associations help to wake up creativity and stimulate mental activity. Steve Jobs also said that creativity is "just making connections between things." By combining different fragments from existing experience, a person synthesizes something new. Pick any item and try to come up with as many non-standard ways of using it as possible. For example, a plastic bag can be used in place of shoe covers, swimming cap, piping bag, or cling wrap.

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 action one more time. Now try to connect the resulting words together - you can come up with whole stories. Over time, the brain begins to create associations and unusual ideas faster. Each of the words is also useful to abbreviate and decipher. The most interesting thing is to do this exercise together - it will be very fun to compare the results.

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Role-based transformation helps to develop the ability to generate new ideas. Sitting on public transport or at a boring meeting, imagine yourself in the place of another person. It may be an architect who has to fulfill an unusual order. Or the head of a large enterprise in decline. Think about what anti-crisis measures will allow you to avoid bankruptcy and maintain your business reputation. Ideally, a fictional problem should be solved with a non-standard method and an original solution should be come up.

For most people, the right hand is the leader. She is more active, used more often, performs movements faster and more accurately. The right hand is controlled by the left hemisphere of the brain. It is also responsible for our analytical thinking. Imagination, complex imagery, and emotional intelligence, on the other hand, are the prerogative of the right hemisphere. If you sometimes perform the usual household activities with your left hand, you can improve his work and develop creativity. For lefties, this exercise will also be useful. Using the right hand will wake up the brain and activate its activity.

Free drawing is an exercise in creativity in itself. Prepare a white sheet, colored pencils and draw a simple landscape. It is best if it consists 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 your right and left hands and try to depict a butterfly, creating a mirror image. Hands can move both simultaneously and alternately. If you can't cope with this task, start with something simpler: circle the already prepared symmetrical illustrations along the dotted lines.

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There is no need to wait for inspiration - it almost never comes by itself, but arises already in the process of work. Developing creativity requires constant self-learning and creative growth. Read as much literature on your topic as possible, communicate with talented people and like-minded people. In social networks, you can subscribe to bloggers who in one way or another come into contact with your sphere. Constantly look for creative examples and learn from those who have already achieved some success. By looking at the work of other people, you will surely learn a lot of new and interesting things for yourself.

It is important to keep a close eye on your thoughts. Write down any ideas that come up in your head, even if they seem absurd. Creative impulses happen unexpectedly - at a meal, at workout, in a shoe store, in a dream. For example, Archimedes discovered his famous law while taking a bath. To write down ideas, it is best to have a special notebook and always carry it with you. It is very convenient to take notes on the go with a voice recorder. Just do not forget to transfer the audio recordings to paper later. In the future, reflecting on these notes, you can come up with a new project.

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