Have you ever felt frustrated when your boss asked you to come up with creative ideas but you struggled to come up with one?

 

Unfortunately, those hours you spent at University didn't help much at being more creative unless you'd studied courses in the art program.

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One study showed that we were born creative geniuses but the education system crippled us from being creative thinkers.

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If you feel that you've lost your creative side, here are 7 ways you can relearn to be creative. 

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7. List questions for things you don't know

What do you do when you don't know something?

 

Well, I like to list them down in a form of questions.

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This way, I know what words I should use to find my answer. When you list things down using a pen and paper, you're forcing your mind to think.

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This process is sort of like an exercise for your brain. If you don't believe me, you can try it out and notice how your head starts to feel a little heavy from thinking so hard.

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6. Keep your eye open for opportunities

How do you spot an opportunity?

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Well, I believe anything that brings benefits to you is an opportunity.

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When seeking for opportunities, you're encouraging your brain to think outside of the box. Too much of this can overwhelmed your mind and body.

 

So, if you're new to this, I suggest not to over think but keep up with the process.

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5. Recognize patterns

Recognizing patterns is like being a scientist. You're always in the lookout for patterns. So, take a walk outside and see what patterns you can find.

 

Describe the pattern in a storytelling kind of way and share your findings with your friends and family. I bet they may find your insight to be intriguing.

 

But if they don't find your insight intriguing, don't be offended by their reaction. They just haven't found their creative side yet. You just keep telling your story until they comprehend.

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4. Be inspired by TV shows

TV shows and movies have always gotten me to think differently about certain things. It inspired me to read more books and do something meaningful in my life.

 

That is what TV shows and movies supposed to do to the viewers. Next time, when you watch a movie or a TV show, take notice of the main character’s behavior.

 

How does he or she behaves? And describe the character. That will surely trigger your creative part of the brain.

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3. Mind mapping

Mind mapping allows you to lay down your ideas from the thinking part onto the paper. That is where the magic happens.

 

When you're thinking of an idea, try using a mind map to find the meaning of your ideas and build connections between each ideas.

 

In the center, your put the main topic. Create a branch around the main topic and add the sub topics around it and fill in the rest as you think.

 

If you don't know how to use mind mapping, you should click the link here to learn more.

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2. Visualization

Visualization is kind of like role playing but you're not actually moving and the action is all in your head. This method helps you to get a clear picture of what you're thinking.

 

Creative thinking is actually a process and visualization is a way to see what you're thinking. I'm sure you've used visualization before but you just don't know that it has an actual name.

 

Next time, when you're thinking of something interesting, why don't you close your eye and visualize what you're thinking. I bet there are something you may have missed.

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1. Role playing

This is where every part of your body and mind are working together. You can pretend to be a different character and see the idea in the mind of the character you're playing.

 

Let's say, you pretended to be Steve Jobs, the former CEO of Applc Inc, and you have to solve a business problem. Solve the problem as Steve Jobs and you'll find your answer.

 

If you don't know who Steve Jobs is, I suggest you make reading a habit. That is another way to improve your creative thinking skills but this is taught at school and will not be discussed in this post.

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To sum up

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To be creative, it requires more than a piece of paper and a color pencil. You have to try different things outside of what you're comfortable with.

 

At the end of the day, you'll produce extraordinary results and that is something you don't see every day

 

So, make creative thinking part of your everyday routine and remember that anyone can be creative. It only takes a mere second of practice.