As a three-day photographic project I decided to shoot an old shopping mall. After two long and productive days I felt like I had got all the images I could possibly have taken. I was done. My mentor encouraged me to go back though. Unmotivated, I did, and as I followed my now familiar path up and down the staircases and escalators I suddenly stopped dead, shocked at my unexpected inspiration. I would turn around and walk in the opposite direction. And just like that everything looked new and interesting again.
It is so easy for us to get into a rut, to follow the same path every day. It’s the path of least resistance, the one that makes us feel comfortable. But innovation is about change and innovative thoughts require us to think differently than we normally would. So, do you want to think more innovatively on a regular basis? Do you want to think differently to solve a problem? Do you need to come up with a new idea? Then you need some practical thinking tools and maybe a few little lifestyle changes to lift you out of your comfort zone.
When I work with people on their innovative thinking we push ourselves really hard to approach problems in ways we normally wouldn't. There are lots of great tools you can apply, but one of my favourites is to start by trying to walk in the opposite direction and brainstorm the total opposite of what you are trying to achieve. So, if we wanted to improve communication in our company, we’d start by thinking how we could ruin communication in our company. The freedom this gives your brain is amazing and the radical ideas come much more easily. It’s then a couple more simple steps to turn these new ideas into something useful and, most importantly, different.
You can change your own perspective too, to stimulate your brain and get it out of that rut. Try travelling a different route to work listening to something new - a podcast instead of music, or vice versa. Or eating a different lunch, in a different location, with a different person. Anything that changes your perspective. Rather than say ‘How do we fix this problem?’ try ‘What’s great about this problem?’ There are lots of ways to think differently. Try something new today and see how it stimulates your brain.
Does the photo stimulate your thinking in a different way? What have you tried to stimulate innovative thinking?
To see more of the images from this shoot you can look at Ming Arcade.