How to break out of routine and start thinking creatively

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Neuropsychologist Estanislao Bachrach explains where creative ideas come from in his book "Flexible Mind" and gives examples of techniques that can be used to become a more creative person.

How we invent something new

The idea that a person loses the ability to learn and create new things with age is hopelessly outdated. The brain can learn and change throughout life. This ability is called neuroplasticity. The nervous system is designed in such a way that the discovery of something new stimulates the centers of pleasure, which is why we love to travel, try new dishes, try on new images while shopping.

However, most of our energy is conserved when we are at rest. That is why we are so pleased to meet with friends, unhurried walks in the park, quiet watching a movie.

Everyone knows the theory of the right and left hemispheres of the brain, according to which the right side is responsible for rationality, and the left is for creativity. Eric Kandel proposed a new model of the brain structure - smart memory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000. According to Candel, logic and intuition work simultaneously in various combinations.

All events in a person's life are recorded in one or another part of the brain. Our memory is like a closet with many drawers that open and close at random, and memories are mixed in them. This gives an impetus to the emergence of new ideas.

Conceptual mixing is one of the forms of creative thinking, when a person finds associations between seemingly completely different topics. Linking different concepts, the ancient people learned how to make fire, created the first tools, and began to engage in art. The genius of Leonardo da Vinci is that he mixed in his projects the concepts already known to him and constantly observed.

To learn to see the connections between different concepts, use the technique of Edward de Bono. Pick four words at random. Come up with a criterion by which one of them will become superfluous. For example, take the words dog, cloud, water, door. According to the first criterion, they can be related as follows: a dog, water and a door can be in the house, a cloud cannot. According to the second criterion, the words "dog", "water", "cloud" are united by the letter "o".

Why do we stop creating spontaneously with age

An adult largely lives on autopilot and makes most decisions based on his experience, data and cultural characteristics known to him. Children, on the other hand, create intuitively, they are not afraid to experiment with objects and shapes.

Every child is an artist. The difficulty is to remain an artist beyond childhood.

Pablo Picasso

We can become more creative if we feel like children.

In one experiment, students were divided into two groups. The first group was told: “Imagine that you are seven years old and you don’t have to go to school today. You can do whatever you want all day. What will you do? Where are you going? " The second group was told, “You can do whatever you want all day. What will you do? Where are you going? " The students were then asked to do tests of creativity, such as coming up with alternative uses for the tires of an old car. The guys from the first group, who were reminded of their childhood experiences, turned out to be more creative and generated twice as many ideas than the students from the second.

Techniques to help you deal with creative stupor

Funny questions

If the problem were a living thing, who would it be? Think about her past and present? Imagine you ate the problem. What does it taste like? Is there something beautiful about her? What's interesting? Imagine that you are a problem psychotherapist. What do you think she would admit to?

Inverted beliefs

We are all slaves to habits and prejudices. Write down all the biases associated with the current task on a piece of paper, and then try to look at them from a different angle.

How not to miss out on a good idea

Ideas can strike you at any time, but most often they come when we are most calm and relaxed. Everyone has situations where new solutions seem to come by themselves. Someone begins to be creative when driving a car, someone enlightens during sports or meditation.

Be sure to write down everything that comes to mind. You will sort it out and analyze later.

There is nothing more harmful to creativity than criticism. Another danger is that when a good idea comes to mind, there is a risk of stopping at it and not coming up with a better one. Make it a goal to come up with a certain number of ideas per day or week. Classify them and write them down in a notebook or phone.

What to do if you don't know how to implement an idea

Dr. Beeman of Northwestern University found that 40% of the time we solve a problem creatively, the other 60% is insight. Everything new is born from a small spark of inspiration, which can be easily extinguished by fear of the problems that can be encountered while implementing an idea.

What if there is a feeling that the idea has potential, but it is not clear how to realize it? Switch to something else, do something interesting, and then return to the task. And this is not about procrastination. The more you focus on the problem, the more anxious you become, and this interferes with creativity. Your task is to relax and let go of the situation for a while.

If you can't concentrate, follow a simple exercise. Imagine that your obstacle has taken shape in one of the items you are wearing: a hat, sweater, boot. Remove this item, then you will feel freer and calmer.

Why curiosity matters

Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School, published the results of his research in 2009. It was attended by 3,000 top managers and 500 entrepreneurs whose activities were related to innovation. Professor Christensen has identified common patterns.

Creative people are more likely to use conceptual blending. They know how to associate concepts that at first glance are in no way connected with each other, and experiment in their searches, not being afraid to make mistakes, since not only the result is important to them, but also the process itself. They are interested in everything that surrounds them.

How to develop curiosity

Be open to everything new

Try to make sure that you are faced with something new every day. Visit places you've never been, taste unusual dishes, travel, meet new people. Try to surprise someone. Ask atypical questions or voice thoughts that you never dared to voice before.

Record your appointments or activities each day. In a few weeks, you will find a pattern and decide on the topics that interest you more than others. Usually, we are so immersed in the daily problems that we do not notice or ignore what we really care about.

Ask questions

We are so used to relying on authorities, especially at work and school, that we accept ready-made decisions as the truth. To rethink ordinary things and develop curiosity, start doubting.

• The "Why" question helps to understand the real state of affairs. Why do most people work 40 hours a week? Why is the competitor's product more popular?
• The “What if” question helps you find new opportunities. What if we sell not a one-time service, but a subscription? What if we give up meetings for a while?
• The question "Why not" helps you understand what restrictions are in your way. Why are our employees so disliked by innovations? Why not offer customers a free car wash if they buy from us?

Why you need to overcome fear

Fear was and remains a very important feeling for survival. But often it slows down the creative process. Therefore, we can remain silent at the meeting and not express any idea, deciding to stay on the option approved by the others. We are afraid to stand out among colleagues or friends.

Another fear may also appear - the fear of success. We doubt ourselves, our strengths, that we can maintain the set bar. We are afraid that we will not have enough knowledge or skills to bring an ambitious idea to life.

When it comes to creativity, we can be stopped by fear of failure. Remember the last time you decided not to take risks and again went down the known path. Why did you do this? The consequences were real or imaginary?

The flexible mind: how to see things differently and think outside the box became a bestseller in Argentina, stayed at the top of the charts for two years, and is now out in Russian. Estanislao Bakhrach spoke in simple terms about the complex structure of the brain and gave many techniques that will help develop creative abilities. Some of the tasks will seem ridiculous and silly, while others will make you think about important things.