Creative Thinking

Most people associate creativity with the arts like writing a novel, painting a picture, or composing music. These are all creative endeavors, but not all creative thinkers are artists. Indeed, many jobs require a lot of creative thinking, despite having nothing to do with the arts. Creativity simply means being able to come up with something new. If you can do that, not only can you enrich your own personal life, but you’ll have an advantage in whatever field you enter.

You just need to recognize your own creativity.

Defining Creative Thinking

Creative thinking means thinking about new things or thinking in new ways. It is “thinking outside the box.” Often, creativity in this sense involves what is called lateral thinking, or the ability to perceive patterns that are not obvious. The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes used lateral thinking in one famous story when he realized that a dog not barking was an important clue in a murder case.

Some people are naturally more creative than others, but creative thinking can be strengthened with practice. You can practice creative thinking by solving riddles, by becoming aware of and letting go of your assumptions, and through play—anything unstructured and relaxing.

Creative people can devise new ways to carry out tasks, solve problems, and meet challenges. They bring a fresh and sometimes unorthodox perspective to their work and can help departments and organizations to move in more productive directions. Is it any wonder many employers seek candidates with creative thinking skills for many different jobs?

Examples of Creative Thinking

• Arranging a retail display to have maximum impact
• Brainstorming at a staff meeting to set a strategy for the next year
• Brainstorming ways to cut energy use
• Coming up with new procedures to improve quality
• Constructing a research model to test a hypothesis
• Creating the packaging for a product
• Designing a logo

Ways of Developing Creative Thinking

• You need inspirational rituals – One of the best ways to inspire yourself and create every day is to develop rituals that you begin to use regularly and routinely. This will condition your brain for better creativity. For instance, your ritual might be reading in the morning, listening music, meditating for a few minutes or taking several deep breaths.
• Try to create something every day – Create something every day, even if it’s only for 5 or 10 minutes. I try to write articles, I draw mind maps in meetings, develop business models, concepts and I also collect and develop hundreds of ideas.
• Instead of discipline, think devotion
• Take breaks – When you feel stuck with an idea and you have nowhere to go. You need a breather. Forcing yourself to find a solution will only lead to exhaustion. Try standing up from your desk, walk outside or to the vending machine, grab a coffee, talk to people and look at the scenery outside your workplace. Some inspirations will strike you at the most unexpected places, and you’d be surprised when you get them when you’re actually not working. I find most of my inspiration when I’m cycling in the woods or talking with friends.
• Make a list and select your ideas – Sometimes the opposite of creative block happens – you just have too many ideas! While it’s good, it can also make you confused. You can sort thoughts up by keeping a list. List down each idea that comes to mind and determine which one you think is the best. You can also bring a pen and small notebook wherever you go so you don’t forget the ideas that come to you when you’re riding a bus, having a lunch, reading a book or watching videos in the internet.
• Ask the right questions – When you need to start a creative session, always start with why, how, what, when question and try to answer it.
• Think about spaces and making time for collaboration, and ways of helping people across the organisation to connect
• Provide with access to creative thinking tools – such as an online creative thinking toolbox
• Develop ‘Innovation Challenges’ – post up business issues and challenges for people to work on
• Communicate stories of creative thinking successes in the organisation.