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8/12/2019 Adopt A Pet -Ballon

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Creative Blocks

7 Ways to BoostYour Creativityby Gregory Ciotti

Creative Blocks


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Design and Photography by Karalee Olsen,

Written by Gregory Ciotti.

This booklet was created for educational

purposes, and no other reasons. It will not be

used commercially.


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Creative Blocks

7 Ways to BoostYour Creativityby Gregory Ciotti


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Creativity can seem innate, but like many things , it

is actually a delicate balance of nature and nurture.

In other words, creative thinking can be enhanced by

external forces , and isnt necessarily reliant on goodgenes or natural ability.


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1. Restrict yourselfFamously, Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs &

Ham after betting that he couldnt produce

a story using less than 50 words. The

research shows Seuss was on to something.

Most people naturally take the path of

least resistance and build off of older

or existing concepts when brainstorming,which can lead to less creative ideas.

In order to put the brain in overdrive, you

can mimic Dr. Seuss and place restrictions

on yourself while creating, which will

prevent you from falling back on past

successes. If you usually write 1000-word

short stories, try to create a story in

under 500 words. Only use a small handful

of chords in your song or colors in yourdesign. The limiting nature of the task can

bring out your most creative side.

Luckily, new research points the way to a variety of mental and environmental

approaches that can help us improve our creative output:


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2. Re-conceptualize the

problemResearchers have noted that creative

people tend to re-conceptualize problems

more often before starting a creative task.

As Einstein once said If I had an hour

to solve a problem Id spend 55 minutes

thinking about the problem and five minutes

thinking about solutions. Instead of looking

at the end goal of a creative project (i.e.

I need to create a memorable painting),

its better to re-visualize the problem

from other, more meaningful, angles before

starting (What sort of painting would

evoke the feeling of loneliness that we all

feel after a break-up?).

Oftentimes, the best approach is to picture

the intended audience of your next creative

project. What inspires them? What are

they sick of hearing about? What are the

problems they face but are rarely able to

talk about?


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3. Separate work from

consumptionIt has been shown that we are particularly

terrible at creating when we try to combine

the gathering of information and actual

creation. Researchers recommend only

consuming information in an absorb state

where you are not attempting to multitask.

In essence, the absorb state is a form

of batching that emphasizes forced

consumption over output. No interrupting

yourself to start working on segments

of your project while you are consuming

information, instead use tools such as

Evernote or Pocket to remember key ideas,insights, and articles that you will apply

later when creating.


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5. Use counterfactualthinkingCounterfactual thinking, also known as

asking, What might have been? has

been shown to increase creativity for

short periods of t ime. To experiment

with this technique, take events that

have already happened and re-imagine

different outcomes, alternating between the

subtractive mindset (taking elements out of

the event) and the additive mindset (adding

elements into the event).

A silly example of counterfactual thinking in

action can be seen on The Big Bang Theory,

when one of the main characters makes

a game of the phenomenon, asking his

roommate: In a world where Rhinoceroses

are domesticated pets, who wins theSecond World War? You, however, can

apply it to more realistic scenarios, such as

mapping out outcomes whenever you are

doing creative problem solv ing, subtracting

or adding what if elements that would

have affected the outcome.


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6. Daydream aftergetting startedWhile research has shown that daydreaming

can help with creativity, it is important

to note that studies have revealed that

daydreaming only works when youve

already committed effort towards a project.

The reason? Daydreaming can be beneficial

because it allows for the incubation of

ideas. But incubation is only effective when

we already have information to chew on.

So be sure to get started on your project

before drifting off.


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When creating, even for personal

projects, think about how someoneelse will enjoy, use, and incorporate

your creation into their lives.


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7. Think about othersResearch has shown that this psychological

distance is an important part of being

creative. For instance, one study found thatpeople who thought their work would be

used by someone else came up with more

novel ideas. Conversely, those who were

told that they would be using their own

creation later came up with less novel ideas.

One such test in the studies above included

telling participants that their drawings

would later be used by other subjects to

create a story. Those who had been told

this came up with much more creative

drawings (as evaluated by a selected board).

When creating, even for personal projects,

think about how someone else will enjoy,

use, and incorporate your creation into

their lives.


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How about you?What do you do to

put yourself in the best

mindset to generate

new ideas?


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Designed by Karalee Olsen.

Photography by Karalee Olsen.

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