Unbind Your Mind
People who rank high in the following six
characteristics tend to be more creative:
Fluency of ideas: The more creative you are, the more
ideas you can produce in a given time. If your brain can
rapidly produce 30 ideas, it does not matter if most of
them are of little value. You say that one good idea
is better than 30 bad or mediocre ideas, but it can take
30 ideas to produce one good idea. Most people do not
produce their best ideas until their brain has sorted
through some average ideas. It is almost as if the brain
needs to get warmed up in the same way athletes put their
bodies through warm-up periods before competition or
training.
Withholding of judgment: If you delay your judgments, you
will get more high quality ideas when you are
brainstorming. When you judge, you are looking for what
does not work or fit, rather than possibilities. It is
within possibilities that creativity sits.
Tolerance of ambiguity: Tolerance of ambiguity is the
ability to live in a universe where there are no right or
wrong answers, where ideas or thoughts are vague and yet
unformed. There are two sides to this ability:
willingness to see both sides of the same coin, and
willingness to stay in the questioning phase before
rushing to an answer.
Flexibility and imagination: Creativity demands flexible
thinking, almost a childlike attitude of wonderment. To
be creative, you must operate as if the world can be as
you create it.
Concentration: This is the ability to stay focused on a
subject, even while you feel frustrated or bored. It is
the ability to ignore distractions while trying to solve
problems or accomplish something. Concentration and
determination are critical aspects of creativity.
Preference for disorder: Creative people tend to like
disorder. This does not necessarily mean mess. One of the
stereotypes of creative people is that of the messy
inventor or writer with piles of paper everywhere. Mess
has little to do with creativity. Disorder is something
else. Preference for disorder refers to asymmetry in
design, nonlinear thinking, or shaking up the normal
order.
Mind
Flexors
Mind Flexors are concise exercises to practice the
six characteristics listed above. If you put on ice
skates and skate a little bit each day for the next year,
you will definitely be better on ice at year's end.
Research and common sense tells us that regular flexing
of your creativity capacity will make it easier for you
to be creative on demand.
Mind Flexors are designed to be fun and to exercise
your mind. You don't have to do all of them to increase
your creativity, but practice never hurts! Some people
who have attended TMI's Unbind Your Mind creativity class
share ideas across e-mail or do the exercises with
colleagues or family.
There are no correct answers to the Mind Flexors.
Give yourself permission to think of as unusual answers
as possible.
What
five themes would make an unusual cereal bowl series? A
cereal bowl series is pictures of something at the bottom
of the bowl.
Choose a book and redesign the cover.
Write
a letter to yourself telling you why you are creative. Be
very complimentary and list specific examples.
Redesign a soda pop can.
What
improvements could be made on highlighter pens?
Write for a period of time today holding your pen
differently. Notice how this adjustment makes you
feel.
A
new child's toy has been introduced to the market. It is
called a Spicker Kicker. What is it?
Previous "Mind
Flexor" selections:
 #1, #2
| TMI, USA has a
complete book of 365 Mind Flexors exercises
available. It is authored by Janelle Barlow,
Ph.D. and is titled, Mind Flexors.
We will also publish here new (never before
seen!) Mind Flexors--a month's worth at a time,
or one per day. We invite our readers to add
their own creativity to this list, and we'll
credit you with your contribution. We'll also
list your creative answers on this page if you
send them to us. |
Go to Creativity
Training Program
Go to Unbind Your Mind & Mind
Flexors Publications
|
