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Each of us has the ability to become creative. It is a part of our natural make-up as people. The difficulty is that, way too frequently, many of us prevent our own innate creativity, create errors in our thinking and give ourselves more problems than we should. Listed here are seven approaches to open up your own natural creativeness and maintain clear channels of thought.
1. Do Not Make Assumptions. When we assume, we very often make an "ass" out of "u" and "me". Assumptions are examples of idle thinking. We basically do not wait to have all the information we need to reach the right conclusions. There is the story of a customer at the bank who after cashing a cheque and turning to depart, returns and says: "Excuse me, I believe you made an error." The cashier responds, "I'm sorry however there's nothing I can do. You ought to have counted it. Once you walk away we are no longer accountable." Whereupon the customer replies: "Well, okay. Thanks for the extra $20."
Tip: Whenever you sense yourself seeking to draw conclusions, just hold out until you have got all the details.
2. See Things From Point Of View Of Others. An open mind is ready to recognize that, not only do other people have other equally legitimate points of view from theirs, but that other points of perspective could be more legitimate. A story is told that the modernist artist Pablo Picasso had been traveling on a train through Spain when he got into conversation with a wealthy businessman who was dismissive of modern art. As evidence that modern art didn't correctly represent reality, this individual took out a photo of his wife and stated: "This is how my wife should look, not in some silly stylized rendering." Picasso took the photo, analyzed it for a few moments and asked: "This is your wife?" The businessman proudly nodded. "She is very small," observed Picasso wryly.
Tip: Don't have a monopoly on how things are. Things are not always what they seem to be. Be prepared to take into account additional points of perspective.
3. Keep Away From Yo-Yo Thinking. Many people tend to swing from a highly positive disposition one moment to a very negative one the next, all as a consequence of what they observe before them. It's just like a yo-yo: up one minute, down the next. It is far more healthy to remain neutral rather than let emotions get the better of you.
Tip: Understand that situations are seldom as good - or as bad - as you believe they are in the moment you are in them.
4. Eliminate Lazy Thinking Habits. Routine can be quite a significant stumbling block to clear thinking and an additional example of laziness. Try this test. Jot down the Scottish surnames Macdonald, Macpherson, and also Macdougall and ask somebody to pronounce them. Now follow these with the word Machinery and notice what happens. Most people are prone to mis-pronounce it. The reason being all of us have a tendency to think in habitual ways and do not like what does not fit.
Rule: Don't believe that, because things happened in a particular way once before, that they will take place that way once again.
5. Do Not Think Like An Old Person, Think Like A Child. Studies have shown that the volume of synapses, or connections, in the brain is higher in a child of two than in the average grownup. The explanation for this is that a youngster of two has no restricting world view, unlike us adults. It is just like a sculptor who begins with a large block of clay, more than he needs, and then little by little removes the clay as he moulds his sculpture. If we employ our brain like a child, receiving everything without judgment, we can actually stop and even reverse the brain ageing progression.
Tip: Don't be concerned about the delusion of age. Using the right stimulus along with an interest in learning, you can actually improve your brain's powers.
6. See The Detail As Well As The Big Picture. You may know the poem by John Godfrey Saxe named "The Blind Men and the Elephant". This tells how six blind men of Indostan visit an elephant and each try to work out what it is from touching it. One blind man touches the tusk, another the trunk, another the tail, and so on. Naturally, not being able to see the whole elephant, they come to wildly different conclusions.
Tip: Try to maintain the big picture while looking at details. It will help to put everything in its proper place and context.
7. Think For Yourself. Taking time out to think is still frowned on in many organizations that prize activity over creativity. People who work in creativity-constrained organizations are likely to think the way they are supposed to think, or as others think, or as has always been the way to think. It's like the blinkered thinking that Hans Christian Anderson describes in his story of "The Emperor's New Clothes". Everyone in the land refuses to see that the emperor is naked and has been duped into believing he is wearing a splendid costume for his coronation. Only a young boy who has been ill and not party to the cultural brainwashing can see the truth and cries out: "Look, everyone, the Emperor is wearing no clothes!"
Tip: Do not let others tell you how to think. When others ask your opinion, tell it to them straight.
When you make these 7 techniques part of your habitual thinking patterns, you will amaze yourself with how easy it is to come up with fresh, innovative and creative solutions to all of life's problems.
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