I hope your year is off to a great
start. Last
month I suggested using an idea journal to keep record of your thoughts
and ideas. Many readers let me know they started their own journals
- nice work. Keep it up!
This month’s Idea Sandbox tip will help
you expand your creative ability, enjoy!
Creativity Tip
Expand Your Brain Storage Yard
Creativity can be described as the ability to use your
imagination to develop new, original ideas. When you need to be creative
your imagination pulls from your brain “storage yard” – the place filled with experiences
you’ve seen, heard, tasted, smelled, and felt (both physically and emotionally).
The more experiences you expose yourself to, the larger your storage yard. The
larger your storage yard, the more inventory you have from which to spark and
build new ideas.
You can expand your brain storage yard immediately by exposing your senses to
new, different and unfamiliar material.
Here are some suggestions…
- Head to your local bookstore or newsstand and purchase a magazine
on a topic you know nothing about. Read it from cover to cover – even
the advertisements and classified ads.
- Try a cuisine you’ve never experienced before. Or, if you’re
not that adventurous, order something you would normally
never try at a familiar restaurant. New tastes and textures
add to your list of descriptions.
- At your favorite music store - or even better, a music store you’ve
never been to - find a music genre you’ve never listened to
and purchase a CD.
- Visit a farmers market, a local natural foods grocer, or the produce
department of your local grocery store and take in the scents. Focus
on your sense of smell, but get in closer and pay special attention
to the scents... For example, have you ever smelled the green stems
on tomatoes? Very grassy and clean smelling.
- Pick a specific color for the day... and look for that color throughout
the entire day. You will see the world with a different filter.
- Take a whole roll of film (or at least 36 digital shots) of details.
Nooks, crannies, corners, shadows... Take the time to notice what’s
typically overlooked.
These tasks each provide your brain with input from
your various senses in ways perhaps you haven’t experienced before.
Try these out-of-the-ordinary experiences and increase the power of your
imagination!
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