7 Techniques to Supercharge your Creativity and Solve your Problems

Do you ever encounter problems, challenges or obstacles in your business? If you answered 'no,' then you can stop reading and continue to rake in the fortune you must be making. For the rest of us, the answer of course is 'yes.'

For the most troubling problems, the biggest challenge is in your inability to come up with new and innovative solutions. This is because when you try to solve a problem, you probably use the same approach every time ('let me sit here and think about it until I come up with something?'). The next time you try to solve a problem, try applying any (or all) of these approaches:

1) Be Obvious - Cances are, whatever your problem is, there is some conventional wisdom about how to solve it. Ask yourself why you are not following it, and evaluate for yourself whether your reasons are valid. Sometimes the easiest solution is the one right in front of us.

2) Be Contrarian - The opposite of being obvious, being contrarian means to consider doing the opposite of what conventional wisdom says. If the standard advice is to buy, think about selling. Instead of working more, work less. Note: This does not mean you should automatically DO what the opposite is; it just means to let your mind wander over the opposite to get it working in another direction.

3) Start Where you are - Sometimes we get so caught up in the long term goal that we lose sight of where we are. Think about your problem and what you might do right now to solve it. Usually this results in frustration because we don't have a fully formed solution. But just because an idea is not fully formed does not mean that it does not have some validity. Start with your current idea and watch as new ideas present themselves.

4) Chunk up - If you can't figure out how to achieve your goal, try looking at the bigger picture. If your goal is to earn $10,000 this month and you can't figure out how, think bigger - maybe you want $10K because you want to earn six figures this year. Then start to brainstorm ways of earning six figures. Don't get so caught up on your problem that you lose sight of the bigger picture.

5) Chunk down - The opposite of chunking up. Think in terms of smaller details. Continuing with the $10K example, if you can't think of how to earn $10,000 this month, can you think of ways to earn $333 per day? Maybe, but even if you can't it gets the mind working in a new way.

6) Take a REAL Break - Stop working on the problem for a bit and let your subconscious work on it. This requires two things. First, you need to actually give your mind a break and recharge. Switching from thinking about one problem to another will not do it. Get away from the problem an your work, even if for only five minutes. Second, make sure you are not dwelling on the problem. Taking a walk to get away from work is great, but if you continue to mull over the problem your not really giving your mind a break from it.

7) Move - Get the blood flowing! Exercise, walk, run, stretch, whatever. Be it from blood flow, endorphins, or a change in focus, physical movement enhances creativity. I do some of my best thinking while shooting baskets. Find out what works for you and do it.

There are many different techniques you can use to solve a problem. Try the few above to start, and then come up with your own. Use them well, and watch yourself create new and exciting solutions faster than ever.

Avish Parashar is a professional speaker who runs seminars on creativity, teamwork, productivity, leadership, and communication using the principles of improvisational comedy.
http://www.professional-speaker-avish-para shar.com

Creativity e-book:
http://www.supercharge-your-creativity.com

In The News:


Creativity blossoms
Boston Globe, United States - 1 hour ago
... 35 wooded acres off Sunset Rock Road, on Wednesday celebrated the grand opening of its newly completed Dahod Center for Community and Creative Learning. ...

Times Online

Wave of creativity
Times Online, UK - 7 hours ago
The evolution of Tuath/North is more akin to a creative journey than a straightforward self-build experience. “Around 10 years ago we saw the site in a ...

Businesses need creativity to prosper in hard times
Dayton Daily News, OH - 1 hour ago
By Alexandra Hazlett DAYTON — A hard economy means businesses need to be more efficient, and sometimes creative in the ways they cut costs and run their ...

That's the spirt: New jobs can stir creativity
Fresno Bee (subscription), CA - 34 minutes ago
Fresno City college coach Tony Caviglia told The Bee last week that if he wasn't a football coach he'd want to be a winemaker. Which got The Local Scene ...

Aurora’s FAMFest provides venue for artists to show value of ...
Grand Island Independent, NE - 4 hours ago
"I think everybody has hidden creativity and often you don't have the opportunity to express it," Eckerson said. She said having this venue for FAMFest is ...

Creativity, courage needed in 1918 — just as they are now
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI - 9 hours ago
In a time of economic stress, he took steps that demonstrated both political courage and creativity. As we experience similar stress today, ...

Washington Post

Beanie's injury tests Buckeyes' depth, creativity
ESPN - Sep 4, 2008
... so let's see how he handles the spotlight I've gotten more than a few e-mails from Buckeyes fans criticizing a lack of creativity among the coaches, ...
Video: Terrelle Pryor Might Play in Ohio State Opener AssociatedPress
all 1,967 news articles

Study: Individual Personal Ties Strengthen Teams’ Overall Creativity
PhysOrg.com, VA - Sep 5, 2008
(PhysOrg.com) -- With more employees working in teams, it’s critical for companies to find ways to enable these teams be more creative in their work. ...

University of British Columbia

Geneticist David Ng Splices Science Literacy with Creativity
University of British Columbia, Canada - Sep 5, 2008
He’sa science teacher who wants to produce science-literate creative thinkers, from professional scientists to elementary school kids. ...

‘There is little creativity and too much business’–Valentino
Inquirer.net, Philippines - Sep 4, 2008
I became rather bored of continuing in a world which doesn’t say anything to me. There is little creativity and too much business.”
creativity - Google News


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