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Kick Start Your Creativity!
by Linda Larsen, CSP
© Copyright 2000

You're in a slump. It's been the same-old routine for far too long. You're bored and stuck and ready for a change. You notice your competition coming up with some really interesting, innovative ideas, while you're struggling with what to order for lunch. You know the ideas are out there, but how do you access them?

Great question. Too many people are merely content with what they've always done. Their mantra in life sounds something like, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The reason being that if it worked before, it'll keep on working.

Bad reasoning. The bottom line is this: 1) past successes are absolutely no guarantee for future successes; they can actually make things more difficult, 2) creativity can be cultivated, and 3) the process doesn't have to hurt! In fact, there are 4 specific things you can do to kick start your creativity and come up with the new ideas you are looking for.

1. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Since about 95% of your thinking, feelings and behaviors are automatic and without conscious intention, it becomes very comfortable to do what you've always done. You don't have to step outside your comfort zone or strain your brain. It's just plain easy. If, however, you want to come up with some new, innovative ideas, then it becomes imperative for you to do something different, investigate uncharted territories, and exercise flabby brain cells.

Exactly what kinds of activities are we talking about? Do things you wouldn't normally do, and do them frequently. Drive to work a different way, eat or write with your non-dominant hand, wear clothes you wouldn't normally wear, read a magazine that wouldn't normally appeal to you. Learn to juggle, play a musical instrument or a new sport. Don't like hats? Wear one. Don't like to dance? Do it anyway.

If you're thinking right now, "I would hate that", then great! You're on the money! Simply take on this possibility: that the process of doing these new and awkward activities could actually become fun, will definitely wake you up and will promote stimulation in the creative part of your brain. In other words, you'll be building the muscle that you need for creative thinking.

2. Ask some dumb questions. There's a stock answer you may have heard when you asked why something was being done in a certain way. You may have heard, "Because that's the way we've always done it." If you're like most people, you probably thought, "Oh, well, I guess there was a logical reason for it."

The problem with that conclusion is that what may have been logical at one moment in time, may no longer be relevant today. To avoid that dead end, you have to start asking some dumb questions. Questions like, "But, why?" and "what was the thinking on that decision?" You'll have to become a nuisance.

Beware! People may look at you like you just lost your mind and call you names, like "idiot" and "troublemaker." You must ignore the disparaging references to your intelligence and simply persist. Memorize these words, "I'm sure there's a logical reason for this decision. Please help me understand it." DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT accept any of the following answers:

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
"Don't rock the boat"
"You're not paid to think"
"It's always been done this way"
"People won't like you if you keep asking these stupid questions"

Use humor. It's true. Studies have shown that laughing makes us more creative. 98% of children, age 4, test out as highly creative. Oh, and kids laugh about 110 times per day. About 4% of the 44 year old adults who were tested score as highly creative. And how much do we laugh as adults? About 10 times per day! On a really funny day.

Here are some things you can do around your office to stimulate more humor/fun and creative thinking:

Have a karaoke day
Have a weird hat day
Hold a spontaneous ice cream party
Have a best joke contest
Post baby pictures and let people guess who's who
Encourage anything that encourages laughing!
Put puzzles & Rubik's cubes on people's desks
Post cartoons - change them often

Have brainstorming sessions where anything goes, and give out prizes for the worst ideas.
Come up with at least 10 solutions to your problem. If you want to get one idea that works, generate a pool of ideas from which to choose. Most of the time when we are faced with a problem, we strain to come up with the one right answer. We won't even allow ourselves the luxury of thinking out loud. We do all the work inside our heads tossing out ideas before giving them a chance to see where they'd lead. Creative ideas come through association. One idea leads to another, which leads to another!

Examples: Need a new brochure design? Give yourself a limited period of time and come up with 10 designs. Looking for one way to improve employee morale? No. Look for 10 ways. Want your employee or co-worker to come up with a theme for this year's annual convention? Ask her to come up with 10! Do this with the caveat that all ideas are welcome - the good, the bad and the ugly. No censoring allowed. You'll be surprised at what some of those "bad" ideas will make you think of.

The point is this. You are a creative being, in spite of what you may have been telling yourself all these years. You were born creative, curious and courageous, but somewhere along the line learned that in order to fit in, you had to keep all those big ideas to yourself. After all, you didn't want to look foolish.

So, now that you know you ARE creative, all you need to do is give yourself a kick-start by practicing the above ideas. And by all means, have fun in the process!

Word count: 993

Tag line: Linda Larsen, CSP, helps individuals think strategically, communicate effectively, and celebrate success. She is an international keynote speaker, trial consultant and author of the book, True Power, and the best selling audio program, 12 Secrets to High Self-Esteem. She can be reached at www.lindalarsen.com or 941-927-4700.

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