Steps To Creative Thinking

RIGHT AWAY, WRITE IT DOWN.

Record ideas as soon as you think of them. Keep paper and pen handy at all times - in your car, by your television, on your nightstand.

“You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay? Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.”

LISTEN TO MUSIC.
Listen to whatever sparks your imagination, whether it's Michael Jackson, the Beatles, or something you've never heard before.

“Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking” Albert Einstein

EXERCISE.
Go for a run, shoot some hops, do jumping jacks - anything that starts your blood pumping and keep your mind sharp.

“Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.”Thomas Jefferson

BRAINSTORM WITH FRIEND, CO-WORKER, SIX-YEAR OLD.

Talk with someone who looks at the world a little differently than you do. Chances are he or she will inspire a new approach.

“The ideas that come out of most brainstorming sessions are usually superficial, trivial, and not very original. They are rarely useful. The process, however, seems to make uncreative people feel that they are making innovative contributions.”

DO IT POORLY.

If you're a perfectionist, don't be. Create something that isn't necessarily your best work, but that gets the job done. Then go back later to fix it or redo it.

“Instead of thinking about what you're missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.”

WATCH PEOPLE.

Go downtown or to the mall, sit on a bench, and observe the passerby, imagine what kind of life they lead.

“The thinking that we are has brought us to where we have already been.

In order to go somewhere else, we must think in a different way.” Albert Einstein

KEEP A JOURNAL.

Write about your life and what's important to you, then revisit your old thoughts when you need new ideas.

“Creative thinking may mean simply the realization that there's no particular virtue in doing things the way they always have been done” Rudolf Flesch

PRAY OR READ THE BIBLE.

Putting life into spiritual perspective can take the pressure off and jump-start the creative juices.

“There is a criterion by which you can judge whether the thoughts you are thinking and the things you are doing are right for you. The criterion is: Have they brought you inner peace? If they have not, there is something wrong with them / so keep seeking! If what you do has brought you inner peace, stay with what you believe is right.”

FREE-WRITE.

Sit down at the computer or with pen and paper and write whatever comes into your mind. You might be surprised at what comes out.

“Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, everyday, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.” Christopher Morley

CHANGE YOUR LOCALE.

Find new quiet place - a park, the beach, a library, or just a different room - and let your mind wonder.

WASH THE DISHES OR MOW THE LAWN.
It's easy and it gives you a feeling of accomplishment while you're trying to think.

SLEEP ON IT.

If nothing is working, your best bet may be to give up for now. Let your subconscious create overnight and you'll have fresh ideas tomorrow.

“Stop thinking in terms of limitations and start thinking in terms of possibilities”