The expression “creative thinking” is used so often that these words have become hackneyed. They have become a mandatory formula for a resume – along with responsibility, stress resistance and the ability to work in a team. However, the ability to come up with something new and find an unexpected way out of the current circumstances is a really useful skill both in life and at work. Let’s figure out how to learn it.
Method 1. Developing divergent thinking
The term “divergent thinking” was coined by American psychologist Joy Paul Guilford in the 1950s. He noticed that the IQ test could not fully assess a person’s intelligence, and developed his own theory, according to which people’s mental abilities include about two hundred different aspects. In particular, he identified convergent and divergent thinking.
Guilford called convergent thinking the ability to analyze a large amount of data and find the optimal solution using an algorithm. A classic example of convergent thinking is school math problems. There is always only one correct answer. You don’t need to invent anything to find it. Just take the data from the condition and follow the pattern.
Guilford called creative thinking divergent. It implies that there is no single “correct” solution to a problem, but there are many options. The more options you come up with, the better.
It is important to understand that divergent and convergent thinking are not “good” and “bad”. They are simply needed in different situations. For example, to come up with new directions for the company’s development, you need creative divergent thinking. Here, it is important not to limit yourself and offer even the boldest ideas. But to implement them, you will need convergent thinking: you need to divide the task into specific steps, analyze risks, and forecast costs.
How to proceed
Come up with new ways to use familiar things. This is a classic exercise for developing creativity. Take any object: a pen, a plastic bottle or nylon tights. Think of as many ways to use these things as possible. For example, you can make a flower vase, a summer washstand, a funnel or a small dollhouse from a plastic bottle. You can play this game in a group: who can come up with more interesting options. Or develop creativity alone – on the way to work or in line at the checkout.
Never settle on the first option. This is a basic brainstorming technique: throw out as many ideas as possible before choosing the best one. You can practice it at any time. For example, when you need to choose a gift for a friend, come up with plans for the weekend, or compose a title for an article. Do not limit your imagination and write down all the options that come to mind. Then choose the best one.
Learn new things more often. Most new ideas are an unexpected combination of several old ones. The more you know, the broader the base from which you draw ideas. Therefore, try to learn new things more often: read books and watch movies of different genres, attend lectures and creative meetings, go to museums, master new sports, communicate with professionals in different fields.
Method 2: Make up stories and invent your own worlds
The theory of divergent thinking is criticized for being too “academic.” It seems to put creativity into an algorithm and therefore can interfere with truly free thinking. For example, small children often cannot come up with original ways to use familiar objects in response to an adult’s request. But they cope with this task perfectly in free play, making up stories and creating entire worlds.
Making up stories is a common way for people to think . We easily arrange any events and experiences from our own lives into coherent plots. However, it turns out that the more often we compose and tell stories, the more creatively we think. This was discovered by American scientists Angus Fletcher and Mike Benveniste. According to them, divergent thinking is based on memory, logic and associations, while narrative thinking frees up imagination and allows us to create something new.
How to proceed
Create your own universe. Fantasy and science fiction have a lot of fans because people like to explore new worlds. Why not create your own? If you don’t know where to start, try to change something in your real world in your mind. For example, imagine that all people spoke the same language and understood each other. How would the world change?
Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Ideally, you need a partner for this exercise who will represent a different point of view. For example, your interlocutor is a teacher whose noisy and unruly students are disturbing her lesson. Let her talk about the problem as she sees it. Try to understand her and come up with a solution that would satisfy the teacher. Now, on the contrary, look at the situation through the eyes of a bored fifth-grader who can’t wait for recess. Take her side and come up with a way to fix the situation from this perspective.
Place a familiar character in an unusual situation. What laws would your grandmother pass if she became the President of the United States? What would Karabas-Barabas do if he fell down the rabbit hole from Alice in Wonderland? How would Thumbelina act in the place of Dr. House’s assistant? Before you create a story, study the character and the context in detail. This practice will help you better understand others and react more quickly in critical situations.
Method 3: Learn to be bored and wait for insights
Coming up with something new is not always an active process. Sometimes ideas come to mind by chance: in the shower, on a walk, or in a dream (remember Mendeleev and his table). However, these coincidences are not accidental. In order for a unique invention project to come to your mind, you need to meet several conditions. First, set a task for your brain and load it with all the necessary information. For example, study possible strategies for developing social networks or the known properties of chemical elements. Second, keep your body and, in particular, your brain in working order: get enough sleep, eat a balanced diet, move more, and regularly go outdoors. And third, do not fill your schedule to the brim and leave time for boredom, which psychologist John Eastwood calls “an unoccupied mind.” It is in free time from work and unnecessary thoughts that new ideas come.
How to proceed
Lead a healthy lifestyle and monitor your mood. Research shows that a good mood increases creativity. In a bad mood, on the contrary, it is more difficult to come up with something new. To maintain a good mood , try to get enough sleep, eat tasty and healthy food, meet more often with nice people and do your favorite hobbies.
Practice mindfulness. This doesn’t necessarily mean meditation, although it does develop the ability to think creatively. Try to avoid unnecessary information noise, especially during routine monotonous tasks. For example, many people are used to walking, running, washing dishes or cleaning, while listening to podcasts. This clogs up the brain and prevents it from “getting bored,” that is, from putting things in order in your thoughts and inventing something new. Instead of constantly absorbing information, be in silence. Listen to your feelings, let your thoughts go, let them flow smoothly and aimlessly. Perhaps this will free up space for new ideas.
Keep a notebook handy to jot down ideas. Creative people say that new ideas often come at the wrong time: in the shower, while jogging, or right after waking up. Think ahead about how you will record your thoughts. For example, you can put a notebook and pen on your bedside table, and during workouts, record interesting ideas on your phone’s voice recorder. Set aside time to structure everything you come up with.
