Have you ever done any reading about Einstein and his writing on creativity and imagination? Do you desire how to be a creative thinker not destroy creativity?
We are great fans of Albert Einstein and have written about many of his stories.
No greater source than Albert Einstein said the true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.
As such, it is almost an indignity when learners are forced to stuff themselves full of facts. So full without bowing to the greater good of creativity and imagination.
Italy is known for tomatoes. Thailand for chilies. Germany for sauerkraut.
But tomatoes originated in Peru. Thailand imported chilies from Central America. Sauerkraut started in China.
Everything is a remix—and the world is better for it. Share what you know. Learn from others
It is by far the most overlooked part of a person’s learning. And it is a great way to destroy creativity and imagination.
Of the two, imagination is difficult to define. It is obviously an intellectual mechanism that takes existing data and reintroduces it in a variety of forms.
But what gives some people an abundance and others fear it? Research indicates imagination starts with a person’s play instinct.
This is the ability for us to recreate something with ourselves as a centerpiece. Imagination requires the reformation of existing outcomes – we call it a form of empathy.
You can stimulate such thinking with “What would happen” questions. Play and having fun is a great way to enhance imagination.
Truth be told, many peoples have rich and varied creativity and imagination. It can eke its way out if given a chance.
It includes musical, spatial, linguistic, math, relationships, and others that serve as a good base for developing both creativity as well as imagination.
Let me share a story with you. In 1960 two men made a bet. There was only $50 on the line, but millions of people would feel the impact of this little wager.
The first man, Bennett Cerf, was the founder of the publishing firm, Random House. The second man was named Theo Geisel, but you probably know him as Dr. Seuss. Cerf proposed the bet and challenged that Dr. Seuss would not be able to write an entertaining children’s book using only 50 different words.
Dr. Seuss took the bet and won. The result was a little book called Green Eggs and Ham. Since publication, Green Eggs and Ham has sold more than 200 million copies, making it the most popular of Seuss’s works and one of the best-selling children’s books in history.
At first glance, you might think this was a lucky fluke. A talented author plays a fun game with 50 words and ends up producing a hit. But there is actually more to this story and the lessons in it can help us become more creative and stick to better habits over the long-run.
But let’s examine what we can learn from Dr. Seuss. You see most of us limit our creativity and imagination abilities.
Here are the 16 most obvious ways you destroy your creativity and imagination. And more importantly some important pointers on what you should do to eliminate them:
Maintain the status quo
Working with a few new activities and new environments is a guaranteed way to limit both your imagination and creativity.
The true enemy of imagination is the acceptance of the status quo.
What to do:
Try to do and experience many new things. Do things differently.
This could be as simple as taking a new route to work or perhaps learning how to write with both hands.
The true enemy of imagination is the acceptance of the status quo.
Accept average quality.
Creative thinker … accept average quality
Have you occasionally noticed that you are spending most of your time on the wrong priorities?
Doing much more but everything at an average quality? No time for imagination or creativity in anything?
What to do:
Think about your priorities and how you can make things better. A man just made a small fortune redesigning the fork.
He made a wood model of one, watched how people used the fork, and imagined a better version. It can cut on both sides, fits into the hand better, and has dull tongs to grip pasta better.
He picked his priority and stuck with it.
Limited view of imagination
Are you constraining your view of what imagination really is? Shouldn’t be very many constraints should there?
What to do:
First, break the habit of seeing imagination as only appropriate for art or music. Almost every article written on imagination is about music or art.
Despite this fact, many other significant bits of intelligence need to be encouraged.
To stretch this limited view of imagination; note that everything you use has been invented by someone. Someone who has applied imagination to solving a problem.
Think about who invented the pocket or the wheel. How did they use better observation skills to increases the awareness of possibilities?
So the first priority is to give yourself problems to solve. This naturally develops and it encourages imagination.
Indeed, problem-solving is nothing more than applied imagination at work.
Overly reward imagination
Are you going overboard recognizing and rewarding your imagination?
That can constrain additional creative thinking and improvement ideas.
What to do:
If you compile an innovative way to solve a problem, accept it as such. However, continue to improve it.
If overly compensated for this effort, you may lose the desire for continuous improvement.
Creative thinker … always evaluate imagination
Do you evaluate your imagination or creativity? Again this can limit your out of the box thinking.
What to do:
Don’t evaluate imagination. Don’t tell yourself that the imagined solution is bad or good.
Don’t tell yourself why it will or wouldn’t work. Just explain it to yourself.
The imagination cannot always be judged by those close to it. Truly imaginative work can require a long gestation.
Outside of asking for an acceptable explanation of the work, judgment should be left until a later date.
Limit experiences
Do you lack the ability to explore and try new things? Does it make you feel uncomfortable?
What to do:
Observation is the mother of imagination. A person who is not exposed to new things cannot bring new thinking to a problem.
For imagination to grow, a silo filled with resources must exist to feed it. The more experienced, the greater the imagination that can be brought to bear on potential solutions.
Follow the rules
Are you one that follows every rule? Never question or overlooks those that make no sense?
What to do:
Let just say not all rules are good ones. There are some stupid ones out there.
Pick your spots and explore. Kill the bad rules.
Don’t practice
Hate to practice and use new skills? Don’t think one can practice and improve skills like imagination and creativity?
What to do:
Creativity and imagination are like any other learned skills. Unless you are the rare minority, you weren’t born with amazing creative skills and boundless imagination.
You will need lots of practice and experience. And lots of failures and not so good results.
Be patient and stick with it. All good skills take time.
Don’t collaborate
Do you avoid collaboration? Are you fearful that others will recognize your undeveloped creativity and imagination?
What to do:
Collaboration drives creativity because new ideas always emerge from a series of sparks. Never a single flash of insight.
Surround yourself with creative people in different fields. Learn from what they share.
Find people that are also looking for collaboration and give it a try.
Limit play and experimentation
Are you one that works all the time? Believes that play is not an ingredient of work.
And don’t like to experiment with new ideas because you abhor mistakes and failure?
What to do:
Actively play and experiment with new ideas. Keep an open mind and focus on continuous learning in new fields.
Keep in mind that knowledge is what you already know. Imagination is what makes it grow.
Don’t worry about finishing what you start
Like to keep lots of balls in the air? Good at multitasking?
But your record of completion of tasks is not that great?
What to do:
Remember you are trying new things. And not expecting great results. Expect many failures.
If you don’t finish, it doesn’t count as experience or a failure. Just a give up.
Don’t question authority
Do you avoid questioning why things are done the way they are?
Avoid questioning the decisions of bosses up the line?
What to do:
Don’t become a pain, but ask for explanations.
And don’t hesitate to offer recommendations for change. Especially challenge the authority of your own longstanding beliefs.
Don’t think broad
Have a problem with a vision of what could be, especially in new fields of endeavor? Are you lacking confidence in expanding your horizon and setting aggressive goals?
What to do:
Make new friends in new fields and use their expertise to infuse new ideas into your thinking cap. Create diverse teams and rotate yourself into new projects and roles.
This is especially true for ones you are fascinated by.
Limit your questions
Believe that questions can be a nuisance to those around you?
What to do:
Ask about everything that will help you learn and explore.
After asking questions, ask different questions. After asking different questions, ask them in a different way.
Fear bad ideas
Do you fear to make mistakes and surfacing bad ideas? Don’t like failures?
What to do:
Remember people with bad ideas occasionally succeed far more often than people who have no ideas at all.
Someone once asked me where I get all my good ideas. They explained that it takes them a month or two to come up with one.
I seem to have more than that. I asked him how many bad ideas he has every month. He paused and said, “none.”
And there, you see, is the problem.
Don’t stretch yourself
You are not comfortable with going beyond your current boundaries. You are happy with where you currently are.
What to do:
Build on your imagination and your curiosity. They are your most important creativity assets.
Work hard at avoiding the old ways you do things. Getting the old ways out of your head is one of your most difficult tasks.
Embrace the new paradigm of active learning, curiosity, and imagination. Offer a spark to others around us and may even build a new movement.
The bottom line
This list is simple, but makes good sense doesn’t it?
But here is the thing. An example.
Over his lifetime Da Vinci created 13,000 pages of sketches and notes. 13,000 pages.
By hand, on individual sheets of paper. And how many masterpieces by perhaps the most creative thinker of all time?
Probably 3-5 depending on who you ask. Persistence is a key, isn’t it?
Lack of persistence is perhaps this is the most important reason we have less creative people, isn’t it?
So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you. But believe in the effectiveness of collaborative innovation. And put it to good use in adapting to changes in your business environment.
It’s up to you to keep improving your learning and experience with innovation and creativity efforts. Lessons are all around you. In this case, your competitor may be providing ideas and or inspiration.
But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.
When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your creativity, innovation, and ideas?
Do you have a lesson about making your creativity better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.
More reading on creativity from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.
