Many good innovators take an existing object and ask clever questions to twist the very concept of it and make it new. Steve Jobs didn’t start with the idea of a smartphone. He just took an existing cell phone and asked a very simple question: how can we improve it to make it better – or the best?
At its core, creative thinking is intentionally gaining new insights and different ideas through existing information. Often, creative thought involves tapping into different styles of thinking and examining information from different viewpoints to see new patterns. Anyone can foster a creative mind with some practice!
Using a wide variety of brainstorming strategies can help you discover new solutions for issues in every area of your life, including at work.
In fact, 61% of employees say they’re expected to come up with creative ideas or new ways to do things at work. But, with only 30% of employees saying they’re given time to think or discuss new ideas daily, it’s becoming increasingly important to develop our creative thinking muscles.
The greatest paradox is that creative thinking is not necessarily the product of IQ or enlightenment via the proverbial apple falling on your head. It is a matter of regularly training your imagination, practicing your powers of observation and dreaming, big or small. It sounds so simple, and yet in this era of information overload and highly charged urban life, this important element is often missing from our everyday lives.
All too often we stay focused on the main task at hand, devoting our mental powers to routine actions (including Instagram and Whatsapp – well, I am sometimes guilty of this too), so that at the end of the day the most creative idea we can come up with is just to finally take a break in front of the TV or computer screen. Sound familiar?
Just like exercise or healthy eating, creativity can be something you incorporate as a ritual into your routine. Set aside time each day or week to dedicate to a creative activity that you enjoy – it could be speaking a new language, practising a craft, or playing an instrument.
Giving your brain the chance to indulge and explore in a creative space will help to strengthen it when you need to tap into creativity in other areas of life.
In order to come up with fresh ideas, we need to expose ourselves to fresh situations. A 2018 study in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology found that diversifying our experiences can improve creativity. It could be as simple as taking a different route on your commute home or reading a book about a topic you’re not familiar with. Getting off your usual track outside your routine can support creativity.
As well as coming up with fresh ideas, creative thinking can be extremely powerful when you identify existing opportunities that have perhaps gone unnoticed. Make a point to take a step back and challenge yourself to look for connections or overlaps between things that may seem otherwise unrelated.
Whether it’s a series of problems that you’re trying to solve or a set of goals you’re trying to accomplish, drawing out a mind map and looking for ways to connect the dots can help you to unlock ideas and see things in a different light.
Once you’ve got the wheels turning, it’s important to have a strategy for processing and prioritising the ideas you’ve come up with.
Creativity is a tool that can empower you both in life and at work. Whether you’re faced with a problem with no obvious solution or you want to expand outside of your existing framework and seek new opportunities, having the ability to tap into creative thinking will drive you towards success.
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