Creative Thinking Exercises

Some people have the mistaken notion that only a few lucky geniuses can unlock their creative thinking skills.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact of the matter is that creativity is something like an organ we’re all born with, but that may become atrophied and weakened if not used regularly.

However, like any other part of our physical bodies, creative skills are something that can be trained and strengthened with regular use. Here are a few techniques for creative thinking:

1. Absorb everything around you.

Before you can produce yourself, you need to learn how to soak in as much information as you can. Train yourself to be stimulated by everything you see; the world is full of an endless amount of elements, that can be combined in new and dazzling ways.

Ancient thinkers claimed that the essence of philosophy was allowing oneself to be “amazed” by the world we live in, to be thrilled by its mysteries. If you allow life to amaze you, it will.

2. Make creativity a part of your daily schedule.

Start out with a disciplined approach, by making creative thinking a component of your everyday life. Make a point of taking photographs, sketching, or writing creatively for a half hour or so every day. Before long, you’ll be creative without even trying. When it becomes a habit, you won’t have to plan it deliberately.

On creative thinking exercise is simply to describe an everyday object as if you’re seeing it for the very first time. See it as something alien and strange, and try to describe it without calling it by its accepted name, or resorting to the same old phrases and cliches. Reinvent the object as you describe it from your own unique perspective. See the world as you did as a child.

3. Color outside the lines.

Restrictions are actually useful; it’s by resisting and violating the norms of what is creatively “acceptable” that we break new ground with our creation.

Robert Frost once spoke of poetry without rhyme and meter as like “playing tennis without a net.” Sometimes working within strict forms can unleash your greatest creative power—as it is with a sculptor, battling his material, struggling to express himself through stone. Be disciplined as you work to bring form to your creative impulses.

4. Seek out your undiscovered countries.

Go somewhere you’ve never been, whether that travel is physical or intellectual. Open a new book, drive down a road you’ve never traveled, or strike up a conversation with a total stranger. You’ll be amazed at the unexpected, and creative, combinations that accidents can bring, if we’re willing appreciate them.

Don’t allow yourself to be complacent or comfortable. Live daringly, seek out things that challenge you. This is the only way to grow, both personally and creatively.

5. Genius is close to madness.

When it comes to madness, there’s no reason to overdo it! But it’s no secret that the most creative people simply refuse to be normal , to be bound by the constraints of what most people accept as the possible.

Rebel, and revel in the supposedly impossible. As the Roman saying went, “He’s either mad, or he’s writing poetry.” Break down those accepted barriers, and amaze those around you by blazing a new trail.

Use these principles to develop your own creative thinking style. These are just a few examples of creative thinking techniques. Soon, you’ll think of your own, as you embark on a new journey of creative discovery!

Photo by regolare, flickr.com.