[five-minute read]
We often associate creativity with artistic disciplines like writing, illustrating, and music. The artist hones their creative talents almost like a hard skill –– a tool they’ve developed to drive, inspire, and inform their work.
While creativity does carry a great deal of value in the arts, it’s also essential to your growth in any professional discipline or life skill. That’s in large part because creativity and innovation go hand-in-hand. For example, when you encounter obstacles with an open mind, you start to see them less as problems and more as an opportunity to learn, grow, and establish a more efficient path forward.
Whether or not you consider yourself to be naturally creative, suffice it to say it’s a skill that can be developed. But how exactly do you tap into those creative corners of your brain?
For some, it could be a series of questions to ask yourself that reframes or deconstructs the problem at hand. For others, it could be as simple as changing up your environment, talking about it with a trusted peer, or meditating to center your mind.
Below we offer some exercises you can explore that might help build those creative skills. The next time you encounter a challenge with no obvious way forward, we invite you to experiment with outside-the-box thinking, and embrace everything from smashing success to epic failure.
Use These Exercises to Boost Creative Thinking Skills
Talk To Others for a Fresh Perspective
Whether it’s a trusted peer at work, a close friend, or a family member, bouncing ideas around with different people can bring you a fresh perspective that could take longer to discover on your own. With different skills, talents, and ways of thinking, there’s so much we can learn from those around us.
Get a Change of Scenery
Routines have a way of grounding us, but they can also stifle the creative parts of our brain. The next time you feel like you’re struggling to come up with answers to a problem, try changing it up. If you don’t have the time or the means to go somewhere new, you can achieve similar results by rearranging your office desk or your home furniture.
Just Send It
When we put ourselves out there, we open ourselves to failure. But we also might surprise ourselves with unexpected success. If you can put aside any fear for the former outcome and embrace the occasional messy result, you’ll feel more comfortable pursuing creative, out-of-the-box approaches to any kind of challenge.
Ask Yourself The Right Questions
It might sound subtle, but being more intentional about what kinds of questions you ask yourself can make worlds of difference in the pursuit of growth. Avoid questions that end in yes or no, and start asking questions that begin with how or why. This subtle shift can ease you into thinking less black and white, and more creatively! Here are some examples of questions that you can ask to inspire innovation:
- “What problem(s) do I want to solve?”
- “What’s going well? What isn’t working?”
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“What could I try that might now work?”
- “What skills, talents, or perspectives can I offer that others can’t?”
Join Our R&D Team
Our company’s story began around our founder’s kitchen table when he asked himself a simple question, “Can overnight oats be even more convenient than the make-it-yourself version?” What emerged after many rounds of experimentation was our mold-breaking Overnight Oats Shake. This spirit of innovation infuses everything we do, especially our collaboration with customers who help us develop flavors. We’d love to have you on our team and fuel your personal innovation with a nutrient-dense breakfast, too.
If you need to restock your supply, check out some of our new flavors.
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