Train Your Brain to Be More Creative in These 5 Steps
Many believe that creativity is naturally fitted in an individual. Creative thinking skills are not a part of your personality; they are actually a series of learned mental habits as well as the ability to develop those habits.
The five-step process, discussed below, has been developed based on years of studies examining how we generate new, original ideas and includes ways to make this happen for you.
Step 1: Gather Raw Material Obsessively
Being creative does not mean you will create something completely new, but create a new combination of previously existing ideas. This means the quality of your original ideas will depend on the inputs you provide your brain.
Read frequently, and also read items that are not related to your field of interest. Engage in conversations with people whose work has nothing to do with you. Keep a separate document to keep notes on things that interest or surprise you.
The goal is not to collect information on a specific topic, but rather to create a repository of ideas to draw from when you are trying to solve a problem later in time.
Step 2: Work the Problem Hard
After gathering information, the next step is to sit down with your challenge and really think about it. This is your time to take a look at the information and think about what you have learned by looking at all the facts from different perspectives and trying to make different things fit together in new ways.
Many people stop too soon at this stage because it requires being uncomfortable and pushing through the urge to take a quick solution. Push past it, ask yourself, what will happen if I take that assumption and turn it upside down or look at it from the perspective of someone who is in a completely different industry or ethic?
According to research from Stanford University's d.school, one of the best ways to generate new, original ideas is to reframe the actual problem before jumping into solution-mode. Good creative thinking encompasses the ability to question the question you are trying to solve.
Step 3: Step Away and Let Your Brain Work Quietly
This is the step that feels like doing nothing but is actually doing the most important work. After you have thought about your subject matter, dismiss it and go do something enjoyable and physical to handle the energy that remains from your thoughts.
Take a long walk, have a nice bath, prepare yourself a meal, or find a hobby that will keep your hands busy and your conscious mind quiet. This is not procrastination; this is an essential part of how creativity works!
Step 4: Capture the Idea the Moment It Arrives
Eventually, the idea will return to you with a sudden newness that energizes you. These moments of discovery can feel like epiphanies, but if they go unrecorded, they can pass away very quickly. If you don't capture the idea when it hits, it will fade away in a few minutes.
If you want to build the habit of capturing your ideas, create a system for doing so as soon as they pop into your head.
A notebook by your bed will provide a quick reference right before bedtime; an audio note system during your commute, or even just a text message stored somewhere safe, may be enough.
The point is to capture the idea while it is fresh in your thoughts before your conscious thoughts move on and bury that nugget of thought.
According to the American Psychological Association, the moments of insight (known as "aha" moments) are neurologically different from ordinary problem-solving and produce higher-quality solutions. They are worth catching!
Step 5: Refine, Test, and Improve Through Feedback
First versions of ideas rarely prove to be the best. You must allow your idea to "go out into the world" and be criticized in order for it to be successful, so that you can then modify the idea based on what people say about it. Creative thinking skills today are where implementation meets the reality of the real world.
Share your new idea when it is fresh with a colleague, friend, or small test audience. When people provide feedback of any kind, it does not necessarily mean the idea is bad; rather, it provides you with better clarity on what changes, if any, need to occur to the sharper picture.
Here is what this refinement stage looks like in practice:
● Share a rough version before you feel fully ready
● Ask specific questions rather than "what do you think?"
● Separate feedback about the idea from feedback about your execution
● Iterate on one element at a time rather than overhauling everything at once
● Set a deadline so refinement does not become a reason to never ship
According to Harvard Business Review, the top creative performer is one who views feedback/criticism as collaborative instead of simply resulting in a judgment of work; this shift greatly influences the overall output of a person.
The Hidden Driver Behind All Five Steps
One thing that speeds up this process, and it is not always acknowledged, is restful sleep. Researchers have determined that a stage of REM (rapid eye movement, an active state of dreaming) is linked to creative thinking ability to solve problems; because during this stage our brain makes connections among unconnected memories and ideas.
In other words, good sleep is not just recovery. It is an active part of how creative thinking skills develop and deepen over time.
Creativity Is a Practice So Try It!
Creativity isn't just about having a new idea at first or being the only person who has ever thought it. Creativity often comes from combining things with new ways to approach something that already exists.
The five steps above will help create consistent opportunities to connect different types of ideas.
The people you think of as naturally creative are not working from inspiration alone. They have built environments, habits, and routines that make creative thinking skills show up more consistently. You can build the same thing. Start with step one today.
Jonesha Smith