Ja-Naé Duane

People are always looking for the next big THING; the idea that will change the course of mankind; the thing that will change life as we know it. Most innovation comes from creativity. I would actually argue that all innovation comes from creativity. In today’s world, generating new fresh ideas is essential to survival. Whether you’re coming up with an integrated marketing campaign, the next Google or just looking for ways to innovate your life, here are 3 simple ways to feed your brain and get those creative juices flowing:

1. Lumosity is a site full of games to increase your attention span, improved your memory, and better your concentration. The site allows you to create a training course based on the areas that you are looking to improve upon. 10 minutes a day will do wonders. I love this site and cannot say enough about it!

2. Daydream Believer: Einstein did some of his best work while daydreaming. He would sit and stare out the window for hours. It was the secret to his revelations. If you have an idea that you are working out or trying to solidify, why not daydream about it? Write down your problem or your idea and allow the mind to wander and create viable solutions.

Do you have ADHD or have a child with ADHD? Dr Jerome Singer, an emeritus professor of Psychology at Yale University, says that his research shows that daydreaming can have many constructive uses, including self-regulation and helping children to plan ahead. To read the full article, click here.

3. Psychological Distance: Scientific America describes “psychological distancing” as anything that we do not experience which is occurring now, here. Any thoughts of the past or possible future would fall into the “psychologically distant” category. It’s also possible to induce a state of “psychological distance” simply by changing the way we think about a particular problem, such as attempting to take another person’s perspective, or by thinking of the question as if it were unreal and unlikely.

You may be wondering why psychological distancing would have an effect on our creativity. The article goes onto explain…

According to CLT, psychological distance affects the way we mentally represent things, so that distant things are represented in a relatively abstract way while psychologically near things seem more concrete. Consider, for instance, a corn plant. A concrete representation would refer to the shape, color, taste, and smell of the plant, and connect the item to its most common use – a food product. An abstract representation, on the other hand, might refer to the corn plant as a source of energy or as a fast growing plant. These more abstract thoughts might lead us to contemplate other, less common uses for corn, such as a source for ethanol, or to use the plant to create mazes for children. What this example demonstrates is how abstract thinking makes it easier for people to form surprising connections between seemingly unrelated concepts, such as fast growing plants (corn) and fuel for cars (ethanol).

All three exercises can be done in less than 20 minutes a day. Isn’t your next BIG thing worth that?

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