Boost your creativity! 5 suggestions…

One of my big interests is SELF-IMPROVEMENT. It involves a lot of things, i.a. social- and personal skills and development. Because of self-improvement being such a huge interest of mine, I’ve read quite a lot of material about it (websites as well as books), and I’ve tested a lot of the methods I’ve read about.

I’ve picked 5 (in my opinion) great methods, of which you’ll be able to develope and expand your creativity.

Brainstorm
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This is a classic example of idea-development. THE BRAINSTORM. It works so great (at least for me) that it’s a must on this list.
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Gather a few (distinctly different) people, think, innovate and discuss a determined subject, product or method, find the 10 best ideas (e.g. through idea-validation) and let them pass a SWOT-analysis. Now, you should have a great idea to work from
Of cause…the brainstorm should be done in its original form. NO LIMITS!

Pen + Paper
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It is important to write all your ideas down on a sheet of paper. By that you’re not taking the risk to forget them, and furthermore you free up space in your brain for new ideas! Many of the ideas which you’re going to write down are unuseful, probably 80% or so, but it’s the last 10-20% you’ll neew
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Now and then, the book work as a source to inspiration and new ideas, maybe you’ll be able to develop old ideas in combination with new knowledge on a specified field.

Environments
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One of the greatest ways to get new ideas, inspiration, and inputs is, concerning myself, when you take a walk in your environments. Whether it’s a city, it’s nature or something else, it gives you free space and capability to think! A change of atmosphere, and the fact that you do a little gentle exercise ( => fresh air) helps your brain think clearly! Use it…
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If you want to be inspired by the elements of nature, Ross Lovegrove is definitely a role model, he’s called “Captain Organic”! Read more here

Books
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If you want to come up with great useful ideas, you have to know how society and other people think. You have to understand other peoples thoughts and perspectives if you want to communicate to them in some way.
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One of the methods you can use to understand what other people think, is by reading books! Books are fantastic because you read about a subject, (often) seen from anothers point of view, and thereby you’ll automatically discover things you (probably) haven’t thought of yourself. You’ll be able to make creative connnections between things, exactly that helps you develop!
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Furthermore, to read is a good exercise for your braincells! Keep them busy

People
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People is always a good way to find and develop ideas from. Do you have an idea? Have you discussed and reviewed it with other people? You should…
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Sometimes you get absorbed by your idea which makes you blind to potential problems and issues. Therefore it’s a good idea to request some constructive criticism (read my post on this here) from a familymember, a friend, or a complete stranger. It really sets things in perspective, and that’s what you need if you really want to develop your idea!