What makes some people so creative?
Why is it that certain people seem to have a million and one ideas, while others just stare into space and struggle to come up with even one?
Why do some people seem to be natural innovators, while others struggle to come up with the next bright idea?
Everyone has the potential to be creative. Creativity is a skill that, with proper effort and commitment, can be honed like a finely-sculpted muscle.
Here are 5 Tips to help you think more creatively:
1. Reframe it
When we phrase a question or problem in a different light, we are more likely to find more solutions.
We often look at things from a single angle preventing us from seeing all the possibilities.
One way to think more creatively is to phrase the question differently or to put the problem in a different scenario.
So rather than “how can we increase sales?” look at it from the different angle of “how can we get customers to spend more?”
“The solutions to problems are rational – the process of finding them is not.”
2. Avoid logical thinking
Logical left brain thinking can prevent us from innovative thoughts, because when we think logically we only use what we know.
Creative ideas are built from what we don’t yet know. To facilitate this process, you can look for inspirations from music, arts or people. Or you can use your dreams to come up with solutions.
Studies show that dreams help us problem solve and one advantage is that dreams do not follow logic or rules, but instead give us new insights.
“The mind is like a parachute – it must be open to work.”
3. Avoid following rules
This point relates back to Tip 2, because we usually stick to rigid ideas or beliefs about how things must, should or are usually expected to work.
Instead, we should become more flexible and more fluid – and ask ourselves the question ‘what if?’ What if we tried?
“A hunch is your creativity trying to tell you something.”
4. Avoid being practical
This point relates to the methods we use to problem solve.
Sometimes, we tend to stick to one tried and tested method and not try other ways.
Instead, we should be trying to combine different ideas or methods together.
“It’s better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong – than to be always right by having no ideas at all.”
5. Don’t force it
We are often most creative when we don’t try to be.
Sometimes, ideas just come up to us through insights or unique experiences.
Certain dreams are one example of this, although we do not really control what we dream about.
“The human mind once stretched by a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions.”
