{"id":8499,"date":"2017-10-09T16:40:56","date_gmt":"2017-10-09T22:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/?p=8499"},"modified":"2017-10-09T16:34:21","modified_gmt":"2017-10-09T22:34:21","slug":"the-things-you-can-think-up-if-only-you-try","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/the-things-you-can-think-up-if-only-you-try\/","title":{"rendered":"The things you can think up if only you try"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThink left and think right, think low and think high, oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try.\u201d<\/span> \u2013 Dr. Seuss<\/p>\n

Idea generation and problem solving go hand in hand. They both require us to think and tap into our creativity to identify new and better ways and new and better solutions.<\/p>\n

When I am trying to come up with a new idea or a solution for a problem I have learned that it\u2019s important not to focus on whether a solution is possible or whether it can easily be done \u2013 I have learned to focus on thinking of a bunch of ideas that could possibly solve the problem, then I write them all down on a post-it note (or napkin as I tend to do) and then I put them all out where I can see them together on a wall or whiteboard and I look to see which ones make the most sense. It\u2019s important to write down every crazy idea in this process and not to limit yourself to just ideas that seem doable.\u00a0 Sometimes the best ideas are born out of the craziest solutions.<\/p>\n

Another way to help you generate solutions is to use what is known as Reverse Thinking. This is where you ask the opposite question of the problem you want to solve, for example if your goal is to have a better relationship with your spouse your question you would pose is \u201cwhat is the best way to destroy my relationship with my spouse?\u201d and make a list of answers such as \u201cnever spend quality time together\u201d and \u201cnever share my thoughts or feelings\u201d etc and then you reverse each of those to figure out what you would do to improve your relationship so you would end up with a list like \u201cspend quality time together on a regular basis\u201d and \u201calways share what I am thinking and feeling openly and honestly\u201d etc.<\/p>\n

And one more way to spur creative thinking is to use the SCAMPER method. This method was developed by Bob Eberie and it can be used to create new products and ideas or to improve existing ones. \u00a0In this method you use the key words below to help you ask questions that will spur your thinking. I have placed examples of how one might use those words to help them come up with a new idea or solve a problem:<\/p>\n

S\u00a0\u2013 Substitute (what can I substitute to solve the problem or to improve something)<\/p>\n

C\u00a0\u2013 Combine (are their two existing things I can combine to make a new better one)<\/p>\n

A\u00a0\u2013 Adapt (can I adapt something that exists to turn it into a better solution)<\/p>\n

M\u00a0\u2013 Magnify (can I magnify something existing in a way that expands its reach)<\/p>\n

P\u00a0\u2013 Put to another use (can I take something existing and use it in a different way)<\/p>\n

E\u00a0\u2013 Eliminate (can I take away features of something existing to make it more user friendly and effective)<\/p>\n

R\u00a0\u2013 Rearrange or Reverse (can I rearrange the order of things or reverse the problem to identify a solution).<\/p>\n

I think the very best way to spur creative thinking is to DO because as we begin doing we start learning and coming up with better ideas along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudies have\u00a0shown<\/a>\u00a0that when we fully immerse ourselves in joyous\u00a0doing<\/a>\u2014as opposed to anxious mulling\u2014we can become more creative.\u201d<\/span> \u2013 Peter Himmelman<\/p>\n

Have a fabulously creative day!
\n~Amy Rees Anderson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThink left and think right, think low and think high, oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try.\u201d \u2013 Dr. Seuss Idea generation and problem solving go hand in hand. They both require us to think and tap into our creativity to identify new and better ways and new and better solutions. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15152,395,2079,15143,1870,536,15146,15140,1864,15154,259,15142,554,15158,41,67,15145,15155,12951,15156,15141,378,2045,783,15147,15148,15159,2632,15150,15153,15144,15160,112,15157,569,15151,172,6743],"class_list":["post-8499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-adapt","tag-amy-rees-anderson","tag-anxious","tag-become-more-creative","tag-brainstorm","tag-business","tag-come-up-with-new-ideas","tag-creative-thinking","tag-creativity","tag-crowdsource","tag-do","tag-dont-overthink-it","tag-dr-seuss","tag-dumb-ideas","tag-entrepreneur","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-generate-solutions","tag-hand-in-hand","tag-idea-generation","tag-identify-new-and-better-ways","tag-immerse-yourself","tag-improve","tag-intelligence","tag-joyous","tag-launch-a-company","tag-new-business-ideas","tag-post-it-note","tag-problem-solving","tag-product-solution","tag-reverse","tag-scamper","tag-scamper-method","tag-self-improvement","tag-starting-a-business","tag-startup","tag-think-differently","tag-try","tag-whiteboard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8499"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8502,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8499\/revisions\/8502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}