The old saying doesn’t ring true in today’s working world. Curiosity is necessary if you want to adopt an enterprising mindset. The challenges faced by businesses and individuals, requires a shift in thought process. The old models and formulas don’t work and a new approach is needed in most cases.
Expecting different results, yet adopting the same approach leads to disappointment, especially when you are looking for new job/project or working on one. It then feels like fishing in the same “shallow pond” as everyone else, where it’s really competitive and crowded. When you can step away from the crowded area, you can start to think more creatively.
When you turn learning into fun, you stretch yourself. The benefits are great, especially when you can stretch your comfort zone, whilst experimenting with different approaches/techniques or ideas. You grow in proportion to your curiosity and the more curious you are, the greater the learning opportunities.
Think different
Think Different is not just something Apple coined, and we can all benefit from thinking differently, especially if you find yourself stuck. When you feel stuck, it’s really easy to want to give up or feel frustrated. Don’t lose heart and don’t forget that there is a solution for everything. The aim to stretch yourself because you don’t know which opportunities will open for you.
Top Tips on getting your Creative Juices flowing:
- Go for a walk. Walking is great to help you work through a challenge. Choose a route you are not familiar as this will help you to look at things differently.
- Go to Art Galleries.
- Draw – use paints, pencils or whatever you feel unleashes your creative side.
- Read books.
- Write in a journal and try and see if you can come up with a solution. There is something magical about working through a challenge on paper. It doesn’t seem so daunting either.
- Take time out to do nothing. If you take time out and do nothing for about at least 10 minutes a day.
- Worrying never helps the situation and makes it much worse because you end up focusing on unrealised fears, which may never manifest.
- When you get into a specific way of thinking, sometimes, it can be hard to break that pattern. Instead, ask a question like “What else”
Cats are always curious but you don’t have to be a cat to have a great sense of adventure! Next time you feel like something isn’t working for you, leave the challenge aside for a little while and try one of the top tips above. It might feel strange at the beginning, but the more you experiment, the less weird it starts feeling. Your peers might be “fishing” in the same pond and not getting ideal results, but that doesn’t meant to say you have to copy them too!