Towards thinking deliberately, differently and creatively

How to train your brain to think differently
Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash
One thing that stands out for highly successful people is their ability to think differently. While everyone has more or less a conventional way of thinking and doing things, the distinguishing characteristic of the high-achievers is that they can step aside from the normal thought process, ponder with intent and get new ideas.

Gone are the days when people used to think that you were either born creative or not. There’s enough evidence to prove creativity is neither inherent nor a fixed trait. You can develop creative thinking if you train yourself and practice enough.

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Here are four ways to train your brain to think differently and hone creativity.

1. Work on gaining clarity

Each day thousands of thoughts cross your mind. If you don’t regulate them, your life can go haywire and become one big chaotic mess.

When random thoughts clog your mind, it affects your ability to think through things. You’re unclear about what you want to make of your life and which direction you want to move in. You slip into living in the default mode, doing things passively, performing work cursorily, and carrying out responsibilities mechanically.

Also, when you allow your thoughts unattended, they take you off-track by diverting your attention to ‘what ifs’ and worrying you about imaginary problems and setbacks.

Highly successful people know that their thoughts guide their actions and recognize the power of mental energy. They, therefore, use their thoughts to their advantage by organizing them and channelizing the thought process toward their goals and priorities. This helps them refine and clarify their vision of what they want to accomplish.

The peak performers keep working on their thoughts, replacing negative ones with positive ones, allowing a free flow of ideas, gaining new insights, and seeing things from different perspectives.

They move away from conventional thinking and engage in creative problem-solving by brainstorming about the solutions to the immediate problems they are facing.

Creative thinking encourages you to look for newer breaks and openings and also anticipate the challenges you might face in the future. With a bit of foresight, you can be better prepared to handle surprises and deal with eventualities that come your way.

2. Think out of the box

If you think and do things you have always been doing, you’ll get the same results and be like everyone else. To stand out, do things differently, and 10x your success, you have to shift from the beaten path and think differently.

Push yourself to learn new things, hone newer skills, and interact with different kinds of people. Practice mindfulness and observe everything around you closely. It will bring your attention to unique aspects of life to which you were oblivious.

Consciously eliminate the regular thoughts and encourage yourself to think in atypical ways. This mental practice will enable you to step away from the routine and experiment with unconventional opinions and views, thus broadening your mental horizon and creating space for new ideas.

Critical and lateral thinking stretches your imagination and enables you to create newer strategies to work effectively. It also helps you grow and evolve as a person.

When you train yourself to see things from a different standpoint, challenge the stereotypes, and apply newer methods to evaluate and sort out old and challenging issues, you look beyond the scope and devise innovative ideas to fix the problems.

3. Look for the positives in your life

No one has a perfect life. Everyone goes through good and bad phases and experiences highs and lows. Stuff happens, and this is what life is like.

Highly successful people don’t waste time cribbing and complaining about the obstacles in their path or the problems they face. They can deal with tough situations because they force themselves to think differently and act differently.

Instead of looking at your life in despair, develop a deep faith in yourself and your ability to navigate challenges. The more you train your brain to think what you want to believe, the newer connections and formed, and you can rewire your brain.

Instead of feeling like a victim and whining about your circumstances, zoom in on what’s working well in your life. A positive outlook will help you appreciate the silver lining and motivate you to make conscious efforts to work through your issues.

Understanding and accepting that life has its ups and downs will help you ride the roller coaster with an open mind and look at the positive aspects while ignoring the negative ones.

When your eyes are glued to the positives, your mind tackles the issues head-on. You respond positively, without panicking, and leave no stone unturned tide over the situation. The entire attention and energy are channelized into making things work by trying your best, thinking all aspects of the problems, putting all your resources to use, and even seeking outside help and support.

Positive thoughts act as a driving force that provides you strength to cope with difficult circumstances and forge ahead despite the challenges. A positive mind space helps you see things in perspective and gives you the courage to change what you can and accept what is not in your power to control.

A positive outlook won’t fix your issues. Still, it will help you adopt a productive and creative approach by shifting your focus to the good things in your life and identifying the doors of opportunities ahead.

When you’re positive, you’re hopeful that things won’t always remain the same. The bad times will end, making way for great times. This positive attitude will enable you to think differently while uplifting your spirits and keeping you hopeful.

4. Convince yourself there’s a solution to every problem

Your thoughts trigger your emotions. If you allow yourself to worry too much about the problems, you’ll be stuck with them and get overwhelmed by the fear, anxiety, and frustration that the issues might cause.

Great minds have a way of looking at problems differently. They embrace their situation and accept that they are experiencing challenging times. While others feel helpless when surrounded by difficulties, the high performers keep the flame of hope burning within. They allow themselves to think differently by shifting their focus from the problem to the solution and get busy figuring out the way forward.

When you disengage from the ‘feeling stuck’ state of mind, you can brainstorm the various options available and look for the best possible solution to your predicament. Thinking differently fuels your imagination and sparks your creativity.

A hopeful mind is open to accepting inputs and is adept at processing the situation to find ways of overcoming challenges. Any ray of light then becomes a lead and shows the path forward.

Once you can see the way, you get the courage to walk in that direction. And every step forward takes you closer to the solution. You might not arrive at the perfect solution every time, but seeing the problems in a different light will ensure you make the best of what you have and choose the most appropriate option to tackle your problem.

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In Conclusion

Your thinking shapes the person you become because your thoughts create your reality. Training yourself to think differently will create space for endless possibilities and open doors to newer opportunities. So tap into your mind power, expand your horizons, get out of the rut and become more creative.

Originally published on drroopleen.com

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