Rabbit from a Hat: Pulling Ideas out of the bag

Ever run out of ideas? Whether it's an idea for an essay, a narrative, a business, a journal, or a blog?

I certainly have.

What's this about idea generation that becomes so difficult? What keys do I lack to unlock the door to the figments of my imagination? Is that door blue? Or red? Why not both?

How am I going to continue this post? Video? Visual illustration? Nothing but words?

In this modern age, society perceives creativity as a natural talent; some are born with it, some are not. This could not be further from reality - creativity needs to be nurtured, and exercising your brain juice is the best way to develop it.

And boy, this article has such a unique and healthy perspective on creativity. (Hint: It's real simple!)

But today, I specifically want to focus on idea generation. This article on Idea Generation is great as well because it explains what practical measures could be adopted to develop an idea, and this article on Solidifying a Creative Idea in 3 Phases is the basic perspectives we could view from when we develop ideas.

But what exactly comprises a well-established idea? It may not necessarily need to be a 'good' idea, but how can we say that a plan or a concept has been properly thought out? And how can we get through the psychological barriers that prevent us from innovating?

What's commonly taught
 
However, this shouldn't be what an idea be. I think having complete support for an idea would be quite ludicrous.

What it should be

This inverted pyramid looks more like a well-established idea. Stable? Not really. Then why is it a well-established idea?

 

Thus, this leads me to the main article that I want to discuss
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_88.htm

Breaking Thought Patterns

All of us can tend to get stuck in certain thinking patterns. Breaking these thought patterns can help you get your mind unstuck and generate new ideas. There are several techniques you can use to break established thought patterns:

• Challenge assumptions: For every situation, you have a set of key assumptions. Challenging these assumptions gives you a whole new spin on possibilities.
  You want to buy a house but can't since you assume you don't have the money to make a down payment on the loan. Challenge the assumption. Sure, you don't have cash in the bank but couldn't you sell some of your other assets to raise the money? Could you dip into your retirement fund? Could you work overtime and build up the kitty in six months? Suddenly the picture starts looking brighter.
• Reword the problem: Stating the problem differently often leads to different ideas. To reword the problem look at the issue from different angles. "Why do we need to solve the problem?", "What's the roadblock here?", "What will happen if we don't solve the problem?" These questions will give you new insights. You might come up with new ideas to solve your new problem.
  In the mid 1950s, shipping companies were losing money on freighters. They decided they needed to focus on building faster and more efficient ships. However, the problem persisted. Then one consultant defined the problem differently. He said the problem the industry should consider was "how can we reduce cost?" The new problem statement generated new ideas. All aspects of shipping, including storage of cargo and loading time, were considered. The outcome of this shift in focus resulted in the container ship and the roll-on/roll-off freighter.
• Think in reverse: If you feel you cannot think of anything new, try turning things upside-down. Instead of focusing on how you could solve a problem/improve operations/enhance a product, consider how could you create the problem/worsen operations/downgrade the product. The reverse ideas will come flowing in. Consider these ideas – once you've reversed them again – as possible solutions for the original challenge.
• Express yourself through different media: We have multiple intelligences but somehow, when faced with workplace challenges we just tend to use our verbal reasoning ability. How about expressing the challenge through different media? Clay, music, word association games, paint, there are several ways you can express the challenge. Don't bother about solving the challenge at this point. Just express it. Different expression might spark off different thought patterns. And these new thought patterns may yield new ideas.

Connect the Unconnected

Some of the best ideas seem to occur just by chance. You see something or you hear someone, often totally unconnected to the situation you are trying to resolve, and the penny drops in place. Newton and the apple, Archimedes in the bath tub; examples abound.

Why does this happen? The random element provides a new stimulus and gets our brain cells ticking. You can capitalize on this knowledge by consciously trying to connect the unconnected.

Actively seek stimuli from unexpected places and then see if you can use these stimuli to build a connection with your situation. Some techniques you could use are:

• Use random input: Choose a word from the dictionary and look for novel connections between the word and your problem.
• Mind map possible ideas: Put a key word or phrase in the middle of the page. Write whatever else comes in your mind on the same page. See if you can make any connections.
• Pick up a picture. Consider how you can relate it to your situation.
• Take an item. Ask yourself questions such as "How could this item help in addressing the challenge?", or "What attributes of this item could help us solve our challenge?"

Shift Perspective

Over the years we all build a certain type of perspective and this perspective yields a certain type of idea. If you want different ideas, you will have to shift your perspective. To do so:

• Get someone else's perspective: Ask different people what they would do if faced with your challenge. You could approach friends engaged in different kind of work, your spouse, a nine-year old child, customers, suppliers, senior citizens, someone from a different culture; in essence anyone who might see things differently.
• Play the "If I were" game: Ask yourself "If I were ..." how would I address this challenge? You could be anyone: a millionaire, Tiger Woods, anyone.
  The idea is the person you decide to be has certain identifiable traits. And you have to use these traits to address the challenge. For instance, if you decide to play the millionaire, you might want to bring traits such as flamboyance, big thinking and risk-taking when formulating an idea. If you are Tiger Woods you would focus on things such as perfection, persistence and execution detail.

This certainly describes what I do on a regular basis. I think my issue personally isn't with 'Connect the Unconnected', since I do already use random word generators, map stuff out, write creatively, using visuals, videos, and online resources via surfing the web.

Perhaps my issue is that I usually think like the average Bill, and I don't challenge assumptions, uncover the 'humour' in cases where it's supposed to be hilarious, don't think in reverse or express myself through different media (apart from writing). Perhaps I should begin to do more art.

I also tend to worry, not to challenge authority, and stick within the boundaries established, and this does definitely limit innovation and imagination. How do you dream if you constantly have insomnia, or are kept awake trying to stay alert all the time?

Maybe I should indeed start shifting perspectives as well. I mean, it's good that I have a plethora of hobbies that would give me different perspectives, as well as I have 6 years of being a journalist (or rather, a writer-in-training) that would help with angling thoughts and ideas. But I don't consider from sufficiently many stakeholder's point of view yet. I need to think what a lawyer would do, what a teacher would do, what an economist or a business owner will do.

Conclusion: The Application
If you have trouble even knowing what to have ideas for in order to develop yourself, how about having ideas about what you can start? A journal? A business? A video? Music? 

Then, finding the content shouldn't be that difficult either. What are you passionate about? What would you be willing to fight for? What topic are you able to talk to me for hours in a row? What makes you go 'awww!' or 'that sucks', or makes your heart ache?

Do something about it. Use the media you identified as your pen and the content you want to create as your ink and combine them together to start spinning masterpieces! It'll provide so much pleasure and growth through sharing and reflection, give you something else to write on your university, scholarship, or job application, and help you gain influence.  

It's always only the first few steps that are hard. But, like an inverted pyramid, ensure that the idea starts big, and only focus down on the details at a later stage.