Post by jeannerené on Oct 19, 2007 21:02:37 GMT -8
Some mental arobics for Creativity I found on Braingle
#1 Sleep On It
Have you ever had the problem where you have a deadline for a project and can't think of a satisfactory solution before the deadline, but then as soon as the deadline passes, a better solution springs to mind? This happens because your unconscious mind is an extremely important player when it comes to creativity. You must learn to start projects early and take breaks to give your unconscious mind time to ponder the problem. Pulling an "all-nighter" to finish up a project right before the deadline will never result in the best solution because your unconscious will never have a chance to process the problem.
It is also important to make sure that you allow your mind to relax during these breaks. If you are too stressed out, your mind will not be able to get into a state where your unconscious can freely think about the problem.
**
#2 Emotional Blocks
Emotional blocks can affect our ability to communicate our creative ideas to others. One of these emotional blocks is a fear of taking risks and making a mistake. Another block is the predilection to judge ideas prematurely. This is why deferring judgment is a strategy used by creative people.
Another emotional block is the inability to tolerate chaos or ambiguity. New ideas are by nature not perfect. They are going to be rough around the edges and may have conflicting points. Through an iterative refinement process, you will be able to resolve these ambiguities.
The lack of a challenge can also be an emotional block. If you are not challenged, then you are not going to be interested in the outcome and it is unlikely that you will be able to put a lot of creative energy into new and interesting ideas. Picking problems that interest you, or finding ways to add excitement to uninteresting problems will help.
**
#3 Mental Smells
Close your eyes and try to recreate the following smells. This exercise helps improve your ability to form concrete impressions from memory.
1. A rotten egg
2. Pumpkin pie
3. Wet dog
4. Freshly cut grass
5. A new car
How well did you do at recreating the smells?
**
#4 Ego and SuperEgo
According to Freud, the mind is made up of the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is concerned with satisfying our needs, the ego is aware of the self and the world, and the superego is concerned with morality.
Creative ideas originate in the unconscious id and must be filtered through the ego and superego before they can be expressed to the world. The ego may reject an idea because it is unrealistic or impractical and the superego may reject an idea because it is against our ethics.
For example, an idea to genetically engineer a purple cat might be rejected by the ego for being impossible. The idea to throw a cat into a vat of purple paint would be rejected by the superego for being cruel.
Very few creative ideas will get past an overly restrictive ego and superego. At the same time, an excessively passive ego or superego will result in the expression of many impractical or immoral ideas. Through exercises such as brainstorming, we can train our ego and superego to be more or less selective depending upon our needs.
**
#5 Mental Emotions
Visualize 5 things that make you irritated.
Try to get a clear image of each item in your mind. You may have to close your eyes to get a vivid image.
Now visualize 5 things that make you laugh.
The more you practice, the better you will get at visualizing images and recognizing your emotional state.
**
#6 Mental Audio
This exercise will test your ability to recall and recreate sounds in your mind. This stretches the part of the brain where audio is stored. Close your eyes and try to hear the following sounds:
1. Your favorite song
2. A stapler stapling some paper
3. Fingernails on a chalkboard
4. A toilet flushing
5. A babbling brook
How well did you do at reproducing those sounds in your head? With practice, you'll get better at imagining sounds.
#1 Sleep On It
Have you ever had the problem where you have a deadline for a project and can't think of a satisfactory solution before the deadline, but then as soon as the deadline passes, a better solution springs to mind? This happens because your unconscious mind is an extremely important player when it comes to creativity. You must learn to start projects early and take breaks to give your unconscious mind time to ponder the problem. Pulling an "all-nighter" to finish up a project right before the deadline will never result in the best solution because your unconscious will never have a chance to process the problem.
It is also important to make sure that you allow your mind to relax during these breaks. If you are too stressed out, your mind will not be able to get into a state where your unconscious can freely think about the problem.
**
#2 Emotional Blocks
Emotional blocks can affect our ability to communicate our creative ideas to others. One of these emotional blocks is a fear of taking risks and making a mistake. Another block is the predilection to judge ideas prematurely. This is why deferring judgment is a strategy used by creative people.
Another emotional block is the inability to tolerate chaos or ambiguity. New ideas are by nature not perfect. They are going to be rough around the edges and may have conflicting points. Through an iterative refinement process, you will be able to resolve these ambiguities.
The lack of a challenge can also be an emotional block. If you are not challenged, then you are not going to be interested in the outcome and it is unlikely that you will be able to put a lot of creative energy into new and interesting ideas. Picking problems that interest you, or finding ways to add excitement to uninteresting problems will help.
**
#3 Mental Smells
Close your eyes and try to recreate the following smells. This exercise helps improve your ability to form concrete impressions from memory.
1. A rotten egg
2. Pumpkin pie
3. Wet dog
4. Freshly cut grass
5. A new car
How well did you do at recreating the smells?
**
#4 Ego and SuperEgo
According to Freud, the mind is made up of the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is concerned with satisfying our needs, the ego is aware of the self and the world, and the superego is concerned with morality.
Creative ideas originate in the unconscious id and must be filtered through the ego and superego before they can be expressed to the world. The ego may reject an idea because it is unrealistic or impractical and the superego may reject an idea because it is against our ethics.
For example, an idea to genetically engineer a purple cat might be rejected by the ego for being impossible. The idea to throw a cat into a vat of purple paint would be rejected by the superego for being cruel.
Very few creative ideas will get past an overly restrictive ego and superego. At the same time, an excessively passive ego or superego will result in the expression of many impractical or immoral ideas. Through exercises such as brainstorming, we can train our ego and superego to be more or less selective depending upon our needs.
**
#5 Mental Emotions
Visualize 5 things that make you irritated.
Try to get a clear image of each item in your mind. You may have to close your eyes to get a vivid image.
Now visualize 5 things that make you laugh.
The more you practice, the better you will get at visualizing images and recognizing your emotional state.
**
#6 Mental Audio
This exercise will test your ability to recall and recreate sounds in your mind. This stretches the part of the brain where audio is stored. Close your eyes and try to hear the following sounds:
1. Your favorite song
2. A stapler stapling some paper
3. Fingernails on a chalkboard
4. A toilet flushing
5. A babbling brook
How well did you do at reproducing those sounds in your head? With practice, you'll get better at imagining sounds.
