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What can I do to increase my creativity?
The simplest answer of all, based on the power of our subconscious is
"Take a walk"
. How may ideashave you had while you were jogging, walking, gardening, washing the dishes or driving? Oursubconscious mind is constantly processing the ideas and stimuli received consciously. A usefultechnique is to actively work on a problem before going to sleep, allowing the subconscious to take over.Review any ideas when you awake, and make sure you have a pad and pen by your bed to record theideas.There are no sure-fire ways to guarantee success in creating great ideas. Structure can be good but has akey downfall and is a stumbling block to many. True inspiration is not physically measurable, nortangible in any concrete way.Specific methods of generating ideas are discussed, but the point remains that these discussions rest on aquality which cannot be measured, though it may be discerned with the attuned mind, ie. any mind thatseeks attunement. This is because creativity cannot be limited, and therefore anything which limitscannot contain creativity.For many artists and creators, in our Western society, creativity is viewed as something to do. There is aperception that hard work is required to create the best works. Yet, there are great artists that don't needto overwork to succeed, while others need to work very hard. This belief is deeply ingrained in oursociety.A person's creativity is often influenced by their viewpoint on creativity. One way to increase creativityis to understand how we view creativity itself and specially how it works for each one of us. We cannotteach creativity to a group of people and expect them to perform similarly. This looks surely so obvious,but creativity is rarely taught in that way. Learning how to be creative is not the same as learning to bakea cake.Eastern philosophies have some components relative to creativity, in particularly, Buddhism (includingZen Buddhism) and Taoism. It is believed that we cannot create adequately from the control and illusionof the mind. One must go beyond it, beyond its power, and just let the mind be free to express anything itwant. As soon as we try to create, i.e. "to do it", we start controlling. We have to learn to loosen control,to let the mind be. Instead of forcing anything, we let it come, or more appropriately, we give it a chanceto come (although this does not work with everyone). This message is very similar to TimotheyGallwey's book
The Inner Game of Tennis
and discussed further in theBrainsection of the CreativityWeb.Creativity is strongly linked to a receptiveness to life and what it has to offer us. It means being open towhat is true, about ourselves and about others. Creativity flourishes when the truth about things isadmitted to oneself. For instance, it is always true that people are important. If I try to achieve my goalsby neglecting the rights/feelings of others, I deceive myself, and my perception of reality is blurred.Since creativity depends on accurate information about one's environment, my lack of concern for othersbecomes a roadblock to creativity.Another contributor writes:Another area where honesty with myself allows me to be more creative is in my personal
 
Problem Reversal
From "What a Great Idea" by Charles Thompson.The world is full of opposites. Of course, any attribute, concept or idea is meaningless without itsopposite.Lao-tzu wrote
Tao-te Ching
which stresses the need for the successful leader to see opposites all around:The wise leader knows how to be creative. In order to lead, the leader learns to follow. Inorder to prosper, the leader learns to live simply. In both cases, it is the interaction that iscreative.All behaviour consists of opposites...Learn to see things backwards, inside out, and upsidedown.
The method
State your problem in reverse. Change a positive statement into a negative one.1.Try to define what something is
not 
.2.Figure out what everybody else is
not 
doing.3.Use the "What If" Compass4.Change the direction or location of your perspective5.Flip-flop results6.Turn defeat into victory or victory into defeat7.
1. Make the statement negative
For example, if you are dealing with Customer Service issues, list all the ways you could make customerservice
bad 
. You will be pleasantly surprised at some of the ideas you will come up with.
2. Doing What Everybody Else Doesn't
For example, Apple Computer did what IBM didn't, Japan made small, fuel-efficient cars.
3. The "What-If Compass"
The author has a list of pairs of opposing actions which can be applied to the problem. Just ask yourself "What if I ........" and plug in each one of the opposites. A small sample:-Stretch it/Shrink It
q
Freeze it/Melt it
q
 
Personalise it/De-personalise it
q
...
q
4. Change the direction or location of yourperspective
Physical change of perspective, Manage by Walking around, or doing something different.
5. Flip-flop results
If you want to increase sales, think about decreasing them. What would you have to do?
6. Turn defeat into victory or victory into defeat
If something turns out bad, think about the positive aspects of the situation. If I lost all of the files off thiscomputer, what good would come out of it? Maybe I would spend more time with my family?! Whoknows!
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