How To Increase Creativity

							Title:
How To Increase Creativity

Word Count:
552

Summary:
Can you increase creativity in your thinking, problem solving, and life?
Easily - and you can see results today.


Keywords:
increase creativity, creativity, brain


Article Body:
To increase creativity, you need to do two things. First, you need to
encourage it. Second, you need to train your brain. Start on both of
these right now, and you can experience greater creativity today.

<P>Encourage creativity and you'll increase creativity. This is true of
most things you want to see more of in your life. Encouragement can work
wonders. How do you encourage creativity, though?

<P>First, by paying attention to it. Your subconscious mind tends to give
you more of what you pay attention to. If you ignore the creative aspects
of your life, you are telling your subconscious that they are
unimportant. If you consciously note when you are creative, and you look
for opportunities to be creative, your subconscious mind will start
feeding you more creative ideas. Look for it and you'll find more of it.

<P>Another way to encourage and increase creativity, is to write your
ideas down. Keep an "idea journal." If you do this regularly, you'll
notice that you often start having more ideas the moment you start to
write. A so-so idea may normally be forgotten, but by writing it down,
you may remember it, your subconscious works on it, and it can transform
into something very creative.

<P>You can also encourage greater creativity in yourself by putting
creative ideas into practice. If you paint or write, for example, try
anything new. Even just driving a different route to work to see if it is
quicker can help. The point is to get you mind working outside of its
regular patterns.

<P>Just changing your surroundings can encourage creativity. If you want
more creativity in your love life, go hike up a mountain with your
partner. If you write, try sitting on a roof to write. If you need new
ideas for your business, take a notebook to the park and sit by the duck
pond. A change of enviroment can get your brain out of it's ruts.

<P><B>Creativity Training</B>

<P>If you want to dramatically increase creativity, develop creative
habits of mind. Watch a good comedian and you'll see that she has trained
her mind to look for the "different angle" on everyday things. You can
train your mind to do the same.

<P>Challenge assumptions, for example, until it becomes habit. Looking
for ways to get customers into your store? Stop and say, "Do I really
need more customers?" The question suggests other creative solutions,
like finding ways to make more money off existing customers, or ways to
cut expenses. These may lead to more profitable ideas. Challenge
assumptions to increase the creativity of your solutions.

<P>As you drive to work, randomly choose anything around you and ask how
it may be connected to whatever problem you are working on. A helicopter
overhead might make you think about a way to track where the car goes
when you loan it to your kids. A palm tree may lead to a new design for
patio umbrellas.

<P>The above techniques are called "Assumption Challenging" and "Random
Presentation," and are two classic creative problem solving techniques.
There are dozens more. Train your brain to habitually use these, and
provide it with a little encouragement, and you really can increase your
creativity.