How To Become a Creative Thinker

The creative mind is developed over time and with practice. Some individuals arrive with an innate sense of creativity. They are the ones most others envy. However, when you develop and learn how to become a creative thinker, you join the ranks of thousands of free form creators.

The possibility you lack a creative bone in your body may cross your mind from time to time. Even if you believe without a doubt you lack the bone of creativity, you may be wrong. Entertain the idea while we embark on a journey of developing a creative thinking position in life. After all, you are not a robot, are you? If you have zero creativity in you, you would be robotic. So let’s set this topic to rest and build some value to your life.

Believe In Yourself

Grab hold of the first step in the development of the creative thinker inside of you. Believe you can develop and hone in the creative skill set. We hinder our creative sides when we doubt ourselves. We also block creativity the more we mull the idea in our minds. We set up a mental roadblock, which validates our belief. If you carry forward the mindset, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

When you genuinely believe in yourself, you open up blocked doors. The possibilities are endless. When you decide to give creative thinking a shot, you remove the blinds, lift the shades, and throw open the windows of doubt.

Develop Creativity

To foster creativity in your life, begin to think of where you want to apply your newfound creativity. A simple goal to shift your paradigm may include cooking a new style of food for a dinner party, or you might start an art project you’ve admired for years.

Painting, scrap-booking, or collecting leaves a smidgen of ideas to develop a creative mind. Maybe you want to become a writer, so you set a goal to read a book on how to write, and then, as you explore the suggestions in the book, you start to write. Maybe you are already a creative writer, but you want to try another genre, like Non-Fiction, Poetry, or Sci-Fi.

Sharpening your goal with parameters sets you up for success. Too broad and you get overwhelmed, too simple: you become bored.

You might want to broaden your horizons with an artistic goal in your free time. The possibility of you lacking zeal toward an artistic type of person-hood is potentially a setback; however, all is not lost. Maybe you are a production person and you recognize you have a gift of planning and develop better solutions to common problems at the office.

No matter what your goal is, try applying some of these creativity boosting tips:

Brainstorm Sessions.

When looking for ideas for a project –or solutions to a challenge –write down everything, which comes to mind. Stop holding back. Don’t worry about logistics or staying organized; just let your mind go free.

Free Writing is another form of brainstorming. Pick up a pen and let your mind go wild on the topic of your choice. Time yourself. Plan on 5 minutes the first time you free write. The next time, add about 5 more minutes until you build up for 15 minutes of free writing.

While you free write, make sure you resist pausing or putting the pen down. Keep writing, no matter what until the buzzer rings (phone alarms work well). Your mind at first, might hesitate to dump out stuff, however, once you write a sentence your brain will begin to unload and fill your paper up. Don’t be surprised if you get a good story or poem from some of your ideas.

Change Writing Locations

Some writers prefer quietude and serene settings with clean desks, sharpened pencils, and other special notebooks for writing. Others need the buzz of conversation to inspire them to scurry to a bookstore, grab a coffee, and settle down to write.

Even others, like me, put their feet up in the recliner, a laptop cradled between their knees, while they type away at 5:00 A.M. Some change it up as they go along, following cues their moods impress them with as they seek to balance creative expression and putting in solid writing times.

Writing patterns change from place to place. You might find the bookstore inspires conversation-style writing whereas the solitary kitchen table inspires academic-formatted work.

Never fear the stuck mind. I liken it to “mudder’s” rut up on the four-wheeler’s trail. You gotta ride the rut’s cliff to get out of the sticky mud. Instead of going straight into the gooey mud, you ride up and out.

Change helps shift the mindset. Your environment impacts you in different aspects, so don’t be scared of writer’s block. Go out for some fresh air or hang out in a coffee shop. The change may bring what you need. You’ll discover new and exciting ideas with a simple shift in location.

Take notes.

Carry some kind of note-taking device with you, whether you prefer a small notebook or a mobile device is up to personal choice. Record your ideas as they come to you, no matter where you are at the time.

Creative thoughts come and go. If you write the ideas down you won’t forget them. I know I have forgotten many a fantastic idea or quote I created on the fly, and then promptly told myself I’ll remember it later.

Never, have I ever remembered the thought.

Research Different Topics.

Research is fun. Really, believe me, it builds the dynamic of what you want to write and validates what you have to share. Especially if you use credible sources. Stay the heck away from Wikipedia, and lean toward non-biased sources for your validation.

Sometimes a research paper may seem boring, however, you can quickly skim the paper to find relevant information to back up a thought.. I have the APA-Psych-Gold where I can look up numerous academic research articles to add credibility to my work. When you add the new information to your knowledge bank, you’ll gain mental power. You enable the workings of your brain to grow beyond the place it normally wouldn’t have gone.

Sharpening your goal with parameters sets you up for success. Too broad and you get overwhelmed, too simple: you become bored.

Enjoy the journey as you follow a love for learning. Research provides a writer with new angles of thought, critical idea formulation, and a focused direction in creativity.

Consider Other Perspectives

While everyone comes with a unique set of abilities, each writer improves their focus, opinions, and creativity when they enhance their work. When you develop a special creative mindset, you learn how to come up with new ideas, solve problems, and write from different points of view.

Whatever the challenge you face, spend time in direct consideration of the perspective of others. Even when your opinion differs from another writer, you’ll figure out what builds their world view.

Consider their feelings, where they come from, and develop empathy toward what you explore. You’ll create a bridge to cover the gap of separation while you build faith in your personal world view as a writer. Besides, you’ll keep an open mind, which builds and fosters creativity.

Utilize the tips above often. Your outbursts of creativity will increase as will your desire to explore ideas and topics.

~Just a thought by Pamela

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This post was previously published on Live Your Life On Purpose.

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