{"id":73250,"date":"2017-02-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-07T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/problogger.com\/?p=73250"},"modified":"2017-02-14T14:46:14","modified_gmt":"2017-02-14T03:46:14","slug":"where-will-your-great-ideas-come-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/problogger.com\/where-will-your-great-ideas-come-from\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Will Your Great Ideas Come From?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"You<\/a><\/p>\n

By ProBlogger expert Ellen Jackson of Potential Psychology.<\/em><\/p>\n

I have big plans for 2017, blog-wise and business-wise.<\/p>\n

I bet you do too.<\/p>\n

My word for this year is ‘bigger.’ I’m going to think bigger, to play bigger. After a year of hard work and incremental improvement it’s time for a quantum leap.\u00a0\u00a0It’s time to shake things up;\u00a0to think differently about what I do.<\/p>\n

A new year is a great time to plan, to get organised and to come up with your big ideas.\u00a0But where do these great ideas come from?<\/p>\n

Returning to work after a\u00a0holiday break I’ve found it difficult to fire up the brain and get the ideas flowing. The heart is willing, the\u00a0motivation present but the grey matter\u00a0is luxuriating in holiday mode.<\/p>\n

I could keep\u00a0busy with Netflix and cheese until\u00a0inspiration\u00a0hits, but\u00a0time waits for no woman – no\u00a0matter how much she’s enjoying Brooklyn Nine-Nine<\/a> and marinated feta.<\/p>\n

So to crank up\u00a0I’ve uncovered\u00a0what psychology says about getting ideas to flow. Let’s take a look, shall we?<\/p>\n

Original and functional<\/h2>\n

When we talk about ideas, we’re talking about creativity. Creativity is not the preserve of the arts and artistic. It’s the ability to solve problems, to see things differently and to come up with new concepts and\u00a0approaches. We are all creative.<\/p>\n

At the heart of creativity is\u00a0originality and<\/em> functionality. A bright idea is pointless if it’s not practical, and repeating\u00a0the same old, same old won’t lead to a bigger, better result.<\/p>\n

This is good news for the blogger and online entreprenuer. You can put your <\/em>creativity to work to develop practical results. Fresh\u00a0blog topics. New\u00a0digital products. Irrisistable\u00a0online services.<\/p>\n

You might find new and more productive ways to work.<\/p>\n

But how?<\/h2>\n

Psychologists recommend six simple strategies for upping your creativity.<\/p>\n

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  1. Allow\u00a0your mind to wander to unleash fruitful\u00a0ideas. To do\u00a0this well, without your mind\u00a0meandering to your next imagined meal, there\u2019s\u00a0a three\u00a0step process. Step one, make sure you have thought long and hard about the problem or question already. Step two, disengage from external tasks and let your mind relax. Take\u00a0a shower, jog or cook. Do something enjoyable that requires little thought or attention.\u00a0Step three,\u00a0turn your attention inward\u00a0to your stream\u00a0of thoughts. This is called\u00a0volitional daydreaming<\/a> and it might just be where your next great idea is hiding. Have a pen and paper handy to jot it down.<\/li>\n
  2. Delay a little. <\/strong>Turns out that putting things off is not all bad. Studies<\/a> have shown that delaying a task can lead to divergent thinking. That’s the blue-sky thinking\u00a0we need to arrive at\u00a0new ideas and material. Stick too close to time and task and you\u00a0get to your first idea and stick there. Delay and your mind has time to wander and discover alternate possibilities. Don’t put things off too long though. Once you’ve got a few options to choose from,\u00a0get back on task. The stress of an impending deadline can be enough to shut things down for good.<\/li>\n
  3. Hang out on your own.<\/strong> Solitude is creativity’s friend. Spend every hour in chatter and distraction and your mind is too cluttered to arrive new ideas. Take time out to walk, meditate and observe the world in silence. This allows your brain’s imagination network<\/a> to\u00a0engage. You’ll see things you haven’t seen and\u00a0think things you haven’t thought.\u00a0Let your mind\u00a0meander and see where it takes you. Just make sure to\u00a0leave your phone at home.<\/li>\n
  4. Embrace doubt.<\/strong>Self doubt is a creativity crusher. When we doubt ourselves and allow negative thoughts to take hold our minds close down. The ideas stall. This is a normal response to the uncertainty that comes from creative thought. ‘I can’t do that. That’s a ridiculous idea. There’s no way that would work.’\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Sound familiar?<\/p>\n

    Put those thoughts aside and you free your mind to fulfil its creative potential. Practice helps. So does mental reframing – thinking differently about the situation. Believe that others think you’ll fail? Prove them wrong! Don’t believe you have good ideas? Remind yourself of every great idea you’ve had in the past. Doubt is normal. Embrace it and you free yourself.<\/p>\n

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    1. Give yourself permission to fail.\u00a0<\/strong>I wear a bangle on my wrist that says, ‘What if I fall? Oh but my darling what if you fly?<\/a>‘ It’s a reminder that failure is always an option – but so is success. The beauty of embracing failure is that often our greatest achievements come from trying, trying and trying again. When we\u2019re prepared to take risks and try new way of thinking we may fail several times but in each iteration we improve on where we\u2019ve been before.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      To embrace the possibility of failure, jump in and get the creative juices flowing, consider your latest idea and ask yourself these questions:<\/p>\n