Try changing your thinking habits and solve problems effortlessly
By: Esther Cooke
Tags: Creative Thinking, Positive Thinking, Creativity, Problem Solving, Overthinking

Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. Edward de Bono

My middle school teacher’s favourite teaching tool in the world was Edward de Bono’s 6 thinking hats. Every day I donned a new figurative hat. It was so repetitive at the time, but looking back I can see it taught me valuable skills.

I learned to view a problem from all perspectives — positively, negatively, using facts as well as emotion.

I want to focus on the most under-utilised hat, the green hat, which represents creative thinking. Because as adults we forget creativity is always a tool in our toolkit.

The proof that we’re not utilising our creativity is when our thoughts become obsessive. Mulling over a problem often feels like getting stuck in mud, the wheels are spinning, and you’re not even inching forward. It’s stressful, and so distracting from everything else going on in your life.

The reason why we get stuck is because we’re looking for a novel answer while using the same old established patterns.

But we can’t force answers to flow on demand, right?

Well creative thinking is about deciding what you want, setting up the space for a solution, and then trusting the answer to come to you, without micromanaging the thought process. We all have difficulty letting go of control, but if you trust yourself, you can, and will find the answer you need.

How to set yourself up for creative problem solving:

Define your ideal outcome.

Rather than focusing on the problem, what would your ideal situation look like if the problem was already solved? You don’t know how to get there at the moment, but do you know where you want to go? That’s really important. And if you don’t know right now? Just make it up.

Believe that this outcome is possible.

Mindset matters. Ideas never come to me until I have committed to reaching the end result. Wishing for an outcome is not the same. It has to be a done deal in your mind. The way to get into this mindset is to use your imagination and visualise it. And really go into the details. What does the scene look like, sound like, feel like? The more details you have in a visualisation the more real it will become, and the more it will stimulate the brain to develop new neural connections. Now you have a conflicting mental image and current reality. Perfect. It’s time to resolve this conflict.

Do a non-judgmental brainstorming session

The aim is to come up with way more solutions than you need. Take 10 minutes and write down every single idea that comes up, no matter how ridiculous. You’re not looking for the RIGHT answer here, you’re looking to expand your mind. The results may spark inspiration to take action, but they may not. It doesn’t matter, you’re getting the ball rolling.

Make space in your day for the solution

Which means, walk away. You didn’t create a visualisation to obsess over it, that will take you back to your habit of overthinking. There’s a reason why people say “sleep on it”. This works for any situation that you feel stuck in, the best thing you can do is take a break from it. Don’t beat yourself up or try and push through it.