by Denisa Howe

Created on: July 12, 2009

As a society, we have turned our world into hyper-fast never stopping life. Problems arise in a speed-bump form and disrupt everything. Although we have become almost professional in multi-tasking, we fall short in the thinking area. To deal with problems one needs to start creative thinking.

Creative thinking is about making informed, enlightened, educated, open-minded decisions in life in general. Literally thinking about something from many angles. The steps involved in this process are:

Restraining emotions: Emotions play a vital role in our lives. They teach us to feel compassion, help others, reach out in times of need and relate to others. On the other hand, emotions can cloud our judgment and interfere with logical decisions. One way to know if your emotions are ruling is to ask yourself the following questions. 1) Did you immediately feel anger or sadness? 2) Did you find it hard to explain why you held an opinion and not know why? If you think your emotions might be interfering, try these tips. Listen to all side or the argument. Try to figure out which emotions are making you think this way. Do not let your emotions turn you away from making a decision. Look at all sides of the thought. Control all negative thoughts. Ask yourself why you decided this way and then why again and again, till you can completely explain your decision.

Looking at things differently:
Simply put this means looking at the problem from all possible angles. It means digging down past the surface problem, struggle, and experiment and expand. One way to do this is to look at everyday items in a new way. Take a penny for instance, if our civilization were gone and another race found simply a penny; what would they see about us as a society. There should be ten things you can learn from looking a penny. Another brainteaser is what could 4 W on a C mean? Think of all the different symbols it could stand for. The answer? 4 Wheels on a Car.

Analyzing information: Take the problem at hand and break it down into different parts to understand it more clearly. An easy way to do this is by using columns. The good and bad and the possible results. Decide which column to use by facts only, no emotions.

Asking questions: Take the problem at hand and ask five questions about this problem. For instance, you need to find a new job. What five questions would you ask?
1) What type of job am I looking for?
2) What are my future goals?
3) What should I do first?
4) Do I have an updated resume?
5) Do I have schedule limitations?
Answering these normal questions on paper where you can see them and look at them will help more then you realize.

Solving problems: Identify and narrow the problem. Put your problem in writing. Write down why it's a problem, who the problem affects? Then solutions will come easily. Distinguishing fact from opinion: Don't accept information as fact, do your research. Remember a fact can be proven or verified. An opinion is a feeling based on emotions and past history effects on you and your thought process. Even with emotional problems looking at them with object ability and find a solution you will feel good about and be able to act on.

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