How to Boost Creative Thinking

Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. You can change it. You can influence it. You can build your own things that other people can use. ~Steve Jobs

Have you bought into that age old fallacy that the ability to be creative is reserved for the select few? If so, then prepare for a shift in mindset, because the truth is you were born with the potential for limitless creative thinking.

Take a moment to consider what creativity really means... to produce something that is both original and worthwhile. By definition, this can mean anything from a work of art; to an innovative idea for a product or new business; to new ways of solving problems... in other words creative thinking opens our minds to all the possibilities of life and is a skill worth mastering.

Creativity can be cultivated and strengthened over time, but keep in mind creativity is dynamic. Think of it as a muscle that needs to be used regularly to keep it flexible and strong. If somewhere along the line you've convinced yourself that you are not creative, then to some extent that has become a self-fulfilling prophecy, and to reverse that you'll need to become intentional about strengthening your creative thinking muscles.

Consider the Benefits of Creative Thinking

Creative thinkers:

• Achieve more goals, faster
• Are confident decision-makers
• Are optimistic and open to challenges
• Are focused, less likely to experience stress
• Are open to new experiences
• Look at obstacles as opportunities

If you're ready to boost your creative thinking skills, the following strategies will help to get you started. But please remember, mastering any new skill begins with your mindset. You must accept that you are by nature a creative being and that what you are setting out to do is stretch and strengthen your existing creative thinking muscles... one day, one action at a time.

Strategies to Boost Creative Thinking

Ask More Questions

Creative thinkers pay attention to what's going on around them and ask "Why?" or "Why not?" questions. Begin by challenging assumptions, because it's so easy to fall into the habit of doing things the way they've always been done. The next time you find yourself in that situation, take a couple of minutes to consider if there isn't a better way. Or, if there's something you've always wanted to do but put it off because you could see no clear way to make it happen, spend some time thinking about "How could it be done?" and practice opening your mind to all the possibilities. There is no "one" right answer, no idea is too crazy! Creative thinking is about looking for the opportunities in every situation, and prevents you from living life in default mode.

Be Willing to Take Risks

Remember cultivating creativity is all about strengthening those muscles, and that means you're going to have to get uncomfortable from time to time. In other words, you're going to have to get outside that zone of comfort you've built up over the years and take a few risks by trying new things. Of course not every effort will lead to success, but it will lead to personal growth, and what you learn with each new experience will help to build your confidence, knowledge and creative thinking skills for the future.

Tame Your Ego

For some people, being right is more important than finding the best solution, and that means their ego has taken control. Effective creative thinking is about being focused more on what is right, than who is right.

Finish What You Start

This isn't just about cultivating discipline and determination - it's also about opening your mind to exploring different paths and results. Sometimes detours can lead to far more exciting and fulfilling outcomes than the original goal!

Learn Something New

Building your creative muscles requires that you expose your mind to new ideas and possibilities. Read books in different genres, explore different types of music or take an art class; build connections with colleagues and friends from diverse backgrounds and who work in different fields. Bounce ideas off them and challenge yourself to be open to other perspectives.

Make Time for Creativity


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7730869

How to Improve Everything in Five Minutes (or Less)

1.) Efficacy

If you don't know the word, get acquainted with it. More or less, it means that your understanding of the universe is that you carve your own fate. The world isn't happening to you (fatalism or determinism). You are crafting it however you see fit. When you find yourself complaining about how you aren't successful because of some outward variable, you aren't in a state of efficacy. And good luck, because luck is all you're counting on. Instead, when you start looking for ways that you personally can change the landscape, that's how you choose your destiny. And that destiny is whatever you want within your control. So take control.


2.) Visualization

I can't impress this upon people enough. There has never been or ever will there be a successful person who doesn't picture what they will accomplish. Get a handle on visualization exercises. The human mind is the most powerful thing on the planet. It is responsible for subjugating all animals under its dominion. It has built empires and moved mountains, literally. It understands the particle physics of the sun and can predict the cycles of the celestial bodies. It can reap terrible consequences both for good and for evil. If you aren't taking a minute or two on a regular basis to focus your thoughts on end goals, you aren't just lazy, you're broke and broken in spirit.

3.) Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously

Humility is great because it keeps you from getting out of control. But it also helps you realize that we're all just people tripping our way through life. You aren't better than anyone; and no one is better than you either. If you fail, it's okay. It really isn't the end of the world. You get another chance as long as you're on this side of the dirt. Do you really think everyone else has their lives together? All are prone to mistakes. Get used to it. Be OK with it. Attain a certain level of sublime freedom in screwing things up from time to time. At the end of the day, princes and paupers both lie down to sleep and get another chance upon waking.

4.) Work. Period.

Find a grindstone and put your nose to it. Don't burn yourself out all the time. BUT LEARN WHAT IT ACTUALLY FEELS LIKE TO BURN YOURSELF OUT. A lot of people think they've worked too hard before they've even begun to push it. And I would argue that you can't burn yourself out doing something you love while reaping all kinds of success and benefits from it. You are never going to learn what you're capable of by playing it safe, staying within your comfort zone, or simply making it through the day. Have an obsession, if only for a moment. Have passion. Lay it all on the line, just once. Be too much. Be over the top. Have some character. It's true that no one on his deathbed ever said, "I wish I would've spent more time at work." But no epitaph ever read, "I regret that Olympic Gold Medal," "I regret that Pulitzer Prize," or "I wish I would've never cured my digestive health, become pain free, lost 100 pounds, remedied my hypothyroidism, reversed my diabetes and attained all of my wellness goals."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7504698

The Starfish Story

One day a man was walking along a beach, when he noticed a boy hurriedly throwing things into the ocean. Approaching the boy the man asked ' Young man , what are you doing?'

The boy replied, ' Throwing Starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out.If I don't throw them back they will die'

The man laughed and said ' Don't you realise there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of Starfish? You can't make any difference'

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another Starfish and threw it into the surf. Then smiling at the man the boy said,

' I made a difference to that one'

How to Find Your Creative Spark

I recently read an article about two young women, engineering students, who came up with an amazing invention. It's a soccer ball that stores the gyroscopic energy it gets from being kicked around and converts it into power for an LED lamp. The women had these balls and lamps produced and gave thousands of them to children in impoverished countries. Now the kids can do their homework at night even if their homes don't have electricity.

It's such an elegant solution, you wonder why no one thought of it sooner. It got me thinking about where great ideas like these come from.

In the case of the ball-powered lamp (dubbed the Soccket), the women were brainstorming and someone thought of those emergency flashlights that get their power from being shaken.

Collaboration is one way people come up with innovative solutions like the Soccket. In other cases, the solution arrives via solo daydreaming. For me, brainstorming sessions get my mind pumped, but then I need to let the ideas sit. Take some quiet time and wonder. This combination helps my brain make connections it might not see right away.

What's your creative style? Perhaps you're competitive by nature and like the energy and interaction of a group. Or maybe you need to be alone in order to think. Do ideas tend to come to you while you're out on a run? After you sleep on it? Do you need to put a whiteboard in your shower?

Whichever method works best for you, here are some ways to get and keep those creative juices flowing.

o First of all, let go of the belief that you're not the "creative type." Just because you're not a concert pianist doesn't mean you're not creative.

o Flexing your brain will help it get used to generating ideas. Try this exercise: sit down and make a list of 50 ways to use a safety pin, drive to work, or solve some small but annoying problem. The sheer length of this list means you have to think fast and accept whatever pops into your head. Don't censor yourself. Give yourself permission to be silly and serious.

o Remember, not every idea has to be a winner. Many of us are perfectionists and have a hard time conceptualizing anything that might not be successful. But in order to be creative, you have to put that perfectionism aside. Just as in the safety pin exercise, give yourself permission to churn out ideas without the requirement that you must implement them all. Later, you can choose which ideas are the best fit for you and your company.

o Relax! Some of the world's greatest thinkers and inventors say they arrive at their ideas while not thinking about the problem. Not only do great inspirations happen in the shower, but while you're doing the dishes, walking the dog, even while you're asleep. Sometimes, in order to solve a problem, you need to step away from it for a while. Give yourself permission to daydream.

o Take care of yourself. Get enough sleep. Coming up with ideas when you're exhausted can be a real challenge. If you're considering using chemical assistance, don't: it's more likely to hurt than help. All those tortured geniuses who supposedly produced their masterworks while downing a fifth of scotch or ten gallons of coffee? In real life, creativity doesn't work that way.

o If all else fails, go for a walk - preferably in a natural setting. Mother Nature is the undisputed master of innovative solutions. Something you see in the environment may give you just the nudge you need to make that idea burst forth.

The end of January is a good time to approach creativity with a new mindset.How can you build regular creativity time into your schedule?

Andrea Novakowski, MBA, is an executive coach who has been helping clients align their professional goals with their personal values since 1997. She guides executives from strategic vision to measurable action plans, and works with high-potential employees seeking to move up in their careers. By tapping into Andrea's knowledge, tools and skills, clients are able to meld career development and personal growth to reach higher productivity and deeper levels of job and personal satisfaction. Learn more at http://www.coachandrea.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrea_Novakowski

2013- A Year to Embrace Personal Development

When Creativity Runs Out

Social media platforms have been a great help for most entrepreneurs when it comes to improving and refining their creativity. The new innovations these platforms regularly present somehow give entrepreneurs ideas on what people expect. Through other people and company's feedback, they gather information on improvements they can do to make their platforms more interesting. And if your company has also been taking advantage of these free social media platforms, which most businesses today do, you can also share the same benefit that others have. Brainstorming for new ideas to market your products could be draining and may not prove to be effective all the time. If you learn to manipulate and use the advantages of these social media platforms to your advantage, you could just be saving your company and creative team some mind-numbing work.
Aside from keeping your company updated through all these social media sites, you may also take a little sneak peek from your competitors. The aim is not to copy what their company has but to make it as an evaluation tool for your own company. Are you using several tools to your company's advantage? Is your company website up-to-date in terms of website content? Perhaps you could do a little improvement to your own business website?
The key to keep creativity coming is constant evaluation of where your business currently stands today. New improvisations may the stepping stones to turning simple ideas into more creative ones. The more you open your eyes to what is happening around you and your business, the more ideas you'll likely acquire that could be very helpful to your line of business.

Bonnie Dell Doguiles is a registered nurse with a Masters Degree. She has practiced her profession as a college professor in one of the well-known universities in the Philippines. She writes various informative articles on different niches like health and wellness and web development.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7331405

How Important Is Creativity to Every Day Life?

You may not think of yourself as a creative person. Grade school water colors may be the last time you picked up a paint brush - other than when you painted the bedroom. You might be lucky to call yourself creative when you match the towels hanging in your bathroom. Is it really a big deal if you are not creative? It can be.
Creativity does not mean you have to paint like Monet or write like Charles Dickens. Creativity shows itself in many ways. The arrangement of family photographs hung on the living room wall or the elaborately laid out dining room table at Christmas time could all be examples of creativity at work. Creativity can be anything in which you express yourself and which creates happiness for you.
Lives which are lacking creativity share common characteristics. A lack of creativity in your life may leave you feeling as though you are stuck or unappreciated. If everything feels same old-same old, it probably is. While it is not unusual for everyone to go through periods like this, it can be problematic if it drags on.
Not using your creativity to perk up everyday things in your life can leave Jack a pretty dull boy. Creativity is after all a form of play, a release. Whether you like to garden, cook gourmet meals or photograph landscapes and sunsets, those activities add spice to your life. They give it meaning and purpose. To deprive yourself of these activities, many of them simple, is to deny yourself joy. Constant monotony in your life can lead to listlessness, depression, even health issues.
Find an activity or two that you think you would enjoy and throw yourself into them. Challenge yourself to give your living room a makeover for less than $50. Pledge to read 10 books in three months. Teach yourself to cook Italian fare like an old Italian woman. Grab your camera and take random pictures on your walk.
Once you pick up the gauntlet and dare yourself, you will be surprised at the other opportunities that present themselves. Conquering one new skill will lead to a desire to conquer others. Your creativity will emerge and you will find yourself looking for more opportunities to grow as a human being. Your outlook and demeanor will be happier, too. We are born creators, we must create in order to feel alive


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7394744

Increase Your Creativity: Three Easy Techniques

Are you bored? Do you feel stalled-out in your work? Does it seem like you do the same old things every day? Could "writer's block" be the name of the street where you live?
Fortunately, it doesn't take a huge change in your life to break free of usual patterns and find yourself feeling more creative.
Try one or two small exercises in creativity. You might spend ten minutes on an exercise every day for a week-or just start with ten minutes a week and build from there. The idea is to experience the power of small changes, so it's counterproductive if you feel like you're really pushing yourself.
Here are three ideas to get you started:
Visit the Library. Check out a book (or several books) on a topic you love but seldom have time to read about. Explore a hobby you've neglected. Pick up a stack of art books or cookbooks-something you can page through for inspiration. Check out a stack of magazines, maybe National Geographic for its evocative photos, or a DIY magazine like ReadyMade.
Change Your Daily Routine. Experiment with different tiny changes. Pack a tortilla wrap for lunch instead of a cheese sandwich. Walk a different route to the bus stop. Make a phone call instead of watching your usual TV show. Visit a couple of different websites instead of the ones you always check. Wear a color you don't often wear. Get up ten minutes earlier. Drive a different route to the grocery store (or try a new grocery store).
Try Visual Journaling. Rather than (or in addition to) keeping a traditional diary, check out some websites and/or books on "visual journaling." (You'll find several resources if you look up the term in a search engine.) The idea is that you incorporate visual elements in a notebook or sketchbook, using any media you enjoy and/or find close at hand. Sketch a picture from your day. Print out a copy of a photo you took on your cell phone and paste it into your journal. Empty your pockets at the end of the day, and glue various bits of paper into your journal (a parking receipt, a movie ticket stub, a grocery list, etc).
To keep the creativity going, jot down your own list of small ways to encourage creativity by experimenting with small changes in your everyday life. Keep adding to your list, and keep incorporating small changes every week.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7396191