What are the factors that determine the direction of life? According to some psychological tips, and also from my personal experiences, we are likely to make decisions and conclusions, be it consciously or not by the way we think. So, I consider it being of a great important to learn and try to control our mind. Although of course this is not an easy thing to do, it is something that deserves your attention and commitment.
We are slaves of our routine. Why? Because, we memorize! We do things just because we are used to do them, therefore we make choices instinctively and we often decide subconsciously. It is crucial to take a moment and think before any situation that occurs. Unfortunately, sometimes consumer mind overtakes the creative one. We all want to boost our creativity. This article’s goal is to help you improve your creative and critical mind. Sometimes when we hear about ‘’creativity’’ we may think for artists, writers or musicians. But, this is not restricted issue. We can find ourselves in specific condition that requires from us a good managing and smart reaction.
Before we move on to some tips that can be helpful to increase your creativity, let me tell a short story about Albert Einstein. Einstein kept two cats in his laboratory; one was bigger than the other. For the cats to able to go in and out at their wish he build two separate in accordance to cats’ size- one big and one small door. Only afterward did Enstein understood that he could have build only one big useful door for the all cats care, enough to serve its purpose. I say this is a proper example that we are slaves of our everyday thinking and consumer mind. The key to this topic is to be able to identify different situations and act accordingly by putting in use creative part of the mind. If you ever wish to improve your creativity, please find below some steps that can be very helpful to you. Note that steps are not in order of their importance, therefore you decide which one is more important for you and fits you more.
Imagination – One day I was playing one game with my niece, she is five years old. The game we were playing requires drawing a circle first. We played it many times, and then she wanted to draw instead of me. She drew a square! I was almost shocked and couldn’t believe it. I would never be able to imagine playing the game with a square instead of a circle. She was thinking out of the box. Sometimes, I consider that is all we need. To imagine something else, something different and something that not necessary we knew or experienced before. Before deciding to act you must be able to imagine. Ask yourself for things you cannot see obviously. Try to imagine what is hidden out there. A powerful imagination can lead us to great ideas, start small but never feel limited. The phrase; ‘’What if…’’ should always be one of questions you have to answer in every situation.
Self-Confidence- Being free from doubts is very helpful to get away from consumer mind. Why? Because I thing that if you have the ability to believe in your own thoughts and feelings, then you will be more creative. Confidence is important in getting away from consumer mind. Common things are often welcomed by everyone, so people who do not believe in themselves have higher chance to be afraid of thinking something not common. This tip is important especially when you have to decide for personal things. Do not confuse this with being stubborn; just make sure you are being enough critical thinker while thinking for yourself. Remember, the result of this, desirable or not, will affect you more than everyone around you. So, be reasonable and confident. Creative mind could easily be feature of confident person. One of the worse enemies of creativity is self-doubt.
Objective perception- I have noticed that when it comes to judging or decision making we usually use our consumer mind. Bias and subjective perspective are almost the most common ways to create opinions. You have to be objective in order to be creative. Definitely, there is no exception here. Do not push your mind to reason things just because they are convenient for you. Being able to see the story as if you are in the other side is very healthy for creativity. If you stick only in your safe place, there is a small opportunity to think about something original.
Let your mind wonder – You should not rush in order to achieve creative results. Take your time to conceptualize the problem or the situation you are facing. While your brain is filled with a lot of information or pressure it is less likely to come up with creativity. Take notes. This can be depended on the problem, but taking notes is always good for having the whole picture in front of your eyes. Take a break from all the things you were wondering about. Then, when coming back to the actual issue you are more fresh and creative. Sometimes, the decision or behave is much more important than the time it takes for it to be done.
Know the exceptions– thinking creatively means not only to accept the information. Not to answer the questions, but to question the answers. Just because you have been in this situation before, or just because someone else has been, this does not mean that you have to think the same as. Consumer mind often suppresses the fact that sometimes exceptions are very possible. You can improve your creative mind if you do not take things for granted. While trying to figure out the right solution, do not base a lot of your conclusion in previous situations. This case, this story can be exception and consumer mind would never tell you this.
Do not jump to conclusions– for creative mind is very crucial to not hurry and come up with certain conclusions. Current situation or fact may lead you to particular conclusion, but not to the whole conclusion. Consumer mind tends to force actual belief without letting our creative side wonder for more. Especially in important issues for you it is not good to cover everything with incomplete conclusion. Be a good searcher and check your sources and circumstances before any possible conclusion.
Consumer thinking is the process which often disorientates us. Once you Google ’consumer mind’ you will be surprised that every single result talks about how consumers are attracted by tricks used to affect them in defined direction. That is what consumer mind does to us. While, creative thinking is the process to develop unique and original ideas. Creative mind is important in our daily life as much as it is important in our education. To get away from consumer to creative mind is a huge step to improve ourselves in generally and our thinking ability in particularly.
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