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Author Kurt Vonnegut once gave this advice to those with a creative bent: “We have to be continually jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.” Yes, there is risk-taking involved in exploring new territory, but how else can we spread our metaphorical wings?
Here are some tips for taking that exciting leap.
INVOLVE ALL YOUR SENSES
Not only should you improve your receptiveness to sensory input (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and sensations), but you can also try various combinations. The late Gregory Hines, for example, once revealed that he developed tap routines by listening to common sounds that came to him as he walked the streets of New York City. Nature itself is an inspiration, just ask any outdoor painter. And if you watch “Chef’s Table” on Netflix, you know that culinary masters want to figure out how to make a dessert float or how to capture the smell of spices on a pillow placed on the guests’ table.
Trying to express ideas in words that are not normally associated with a given meaning. (You’ll find metaphors helpful here.) For example, if you could taste anger, would it taste like salt on your tongue or vanilla ice cream? If you could feel it, would it feel like sandpaper or velvet?
EXPAND YOUR THINKING
One of the best ways to stimulate new thinking is to ask “What if…” questions. For example, “What if women ruled the world?” Then consider what the consequences of such a reality would be. One result could be that toilet seats are lower than up. When faced with a personal or work problem, think of new possibilities with questions related to the situation.
TOLERATE CONFUSION
Research has repeatedly shown that creative people have a higher tolerance for confusion than most of us. When you’re tempted to stop brain storms because you’re feeling overwhelmed, let the thoughts keep bombarding each other inside your head. Being too neat or too organized can stop us in our tracks when, in fact, we should be moving towards a certain destination.
HAVE SELF-IMPOSED LIMITS
Just for fun, once in a while, set some limits. The increased awareness can easily produce some amazing results. So see how many sentences you can produce that have only five words. The first word must begin with an A; the second with a B; the third with C; the fourth, with D; and the last word, with an E. An example might be “Any child can develop enlightenment.” Sentences do not have to be deep, but they must not have repeated words, both within a given sentence and within the entire collection of sentences. If you can create more than 20 sentences in a five minute period, you have great potential.
In a famous hiring scenario, applicants were asked to work in groups to come up with 30 ways to improve a bathtub in five minutes. The second aspect of the challenge was to remove one person from the team and come up with 30 ways (without repeating any) to improve a bathtub in just four and a half minutes. The second list often had better ideas than the first.
MODEL YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT YOURSELF
There is no one like you in the whole world. Extend this singularity to the development of new concepts. Avoid old patterns, because, as creativity guru Edward de Bono tells us: “Without creativity, there would be no progress and we would be repeating the same patterns forever.”