Creativity can be beautifully displayed in many tangible areas such as art, music and architecture. But creativity goes much further and can be applied when facing a problem or challenge. One way to excel in creative problem solving is with a 4 step method.
First, identify a problem. We all have them. Big or small, ready or not, pick something you want to tackle, then run your problem through these four steps to find a new, creative solution.
MOVE FORWARD IN TIME
Ask some questions. What will the problem look like in the future? Why is this a problem? What are the outcomes you will see if you let the problem continue?
Think of something completely ridiculous and make your problem so large that the national guard will have to step in, or your mother or friend or whomever is huge in your life. Sometimes seeing the problem as large as the abominable snowman counterintuitively lessens the problem and opens thinking for a solution.
MOVE BACKWARD IN TIME
What caused your problem? How did you get to this point? What is the root of the problem?
Find a time when this problem didn’t exist. How old were you and at what stage in life? Who were the important people in your life, and what were you doing? Look at the changes from the past to now and identify large differences or nuances. This can let you hone in on what contributes to the problem which many times reveals a solution.
BREAK THE CHAINS
In this step, you want to break the correlation between the cause and effect. You can apply inversion and neutralization. Inversion changes the relationship between the problem and the outcome. You can double the effect or minimize the effect. What happens to the problem and what variables cause the change. Neutralization eliminates the relationship between the problem and the outcome. What are some outlandish ways the problem no longer causes any outcome? Slight variations may be the way to break the chains.
BELIEFS AND PERSPECTIVE
Once you’ve looked at the problem from the future and the past and doubled or negated the effect on the outcome, look at the lens through which you view the problem and your vantage point.
A belief is nothing more than a thought we keep thinking.
Adopt the opposite belief or perspective from what you normally hold and force yourself to view it differently. Choose a person you respect or a cartoon character and imagine how each individual would solve it.
Once you have all this information and generated ideas, implement a small change and keep iterating.
Creative problem solving can open new doors to solutions that were previously hidden. Give it a try and see.
Thank you for reading.
Wishing you beauty and joy, kindness and compassion, and creative super powers.
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