Even if we are not among the people of creative professions, the ability to think outside the box is useful in everyday life. Psychologist Amantha Imber has discovered simple solutions to help us break the mold and create something of our own.
Creativity can and should be developed like any other. In his book The Formula for Creativity1 Amantha Imber has reviewed the scientific research on the subject and described as many as 50 evidence-based ways to improve our creativity. We have selected six of the most unusual.
1. Turn up the volume.
Although intellectual work in general requires silence, new ideas are best born in a noisy crowd. Researchers at the University of British Columbia found that 70 decibels (the sound level in a crowded cafe or city street) is optimal for creativity. It contributes to the fact that you are more likely to be distracted from your task, and some dispersal is important for the creative process.
Squeezing a ball with your left hand activates areas of the brain responsible for intuition and creativity.
2. Look at unusual images.
Strange, bizarre, stereotype-breaking images contribute to the emergence of new ideas. Participants in the study who viewed similar pictures offered 25% more interesting ideas compared to the control group.
3. Squeeze the ball with your left hand.
Psychology professor at the University of Trier, Nicola Baumann, conducted an experiment in which one group of participants squeezed a ball with their right hand and the other with their left hand. It turned out that such a simple exercise as squeezing a ball with your left hand activates the areas of the brain responsible for intuition and creativity.
4. Play sports.
30 minutes of active physical exercise improves the ability to think creatively. The effect persists for two hours after class.
30 minutes of active physical exercise improves the ability to think creatively
5. Correctly wrinkle your forehead.
Neuroscientists at the University of Maryland have suggested that active facial expressions, associated with the expansion and contraction of our visual perception, affect creativity. The study found that when we raise our eyebrows and wrinkle our forehead, smart thoughts come to mind more often. But when we narrow the field of view and shift them on the bridge of the nose — on the contrary.
6. Play computer or video games.
No wonder the founders of large innovative companies set up recreation areas in their offices where you can fight virtual monsters or start building a new civilization. No one will blame them for this: computer games have been proven to give energy and improve mood, which is useful in solving creative problems.
7. Go to bed soon.
Ultimately, the success of our creative thought depends on the ability to make the right decisions. This is best done in the morning, when our cognitive abilities are at their peak.
Even if you don’t consider yourself a creative person, try one of these ways to pump up your creativity.
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1 A. Imber «The Creativity Formula: 50 scientifically-proven creativity boosters for work and for life». Liminal Press, 2009.