11. Thinking Outside the Nonexistent Box

We’ve all been there. The deadline is approaching fast and you’ve got nothing. You try to change your perspective, but it just won’t click. The mental blocks keep piling up, then tearing you down. You throw a pity party for yourself, hoping that someone will feel bad for you.

Stop it!

No one feels bad for you except yourself. We are all capable of creative thinking, the barriers that shelter our ideas are figments of our imagination. They are normalized by a society that loves to feel bad for itself.

It’s actually quite oxymoronic. We create something that blocks our creativity. Now that’s creative.

Lets look at 10 examples of phony mental blocks.

•  Trying to Find the “Right” Answer: There is always more than one.
• Logical Thinking: Life is illogical, think of it that way.
• Following Rules: “Quit worshipping rule breakers and start breaking some rules.”
• Being Practical: The best ideas are often the craziest.
• Play is Not Work: “You’ve heard the expression ‘work hard and play hard.’ All you have to realize is that they’re the same thing to a creative thinker.”
• That’s Not My Job: Be an explorer. “It’s those who happily explore completely unrelated areas of life and knowledge who best see that everything is related.”
• Being a “Serious” Person: In the end we are all fools. “The persona of the fool allowed the truth to be told.”
• Avoiding Ambiguity: “Ambiguity is your friend if you’re looking to innovate.”
• Being Wrong is Bad: Learn from mistakes, but never repeat them. “Thomas Edison was wrong 1,800 times before getting the light bulb right.”
• I’m Not Creative: “Denying your own creativity is like denying you’re a human being.”

About these ads