How to Use the Imagination You Supposedly Don't Have
Avoid telling yourself that you have no imagination., Don't worry about other people's summations of your imagination., Accept that each of us has lazy or stressed days or periods., Give yourself time., Travel back to your childhood., Create...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Avoid telling yourself that you have no imagination.
You can be your own worst enemy if you tell yourself all the time "Oh, I don't have any imagination".
This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and can also be a rather lazy way of sidestepping the tasks in life that require a little thinking outside of the ordinary.
Give yourself a break and don't narrow your opportunities down through negative self-talk.
Your imagination is as good as anyone else's.
It may feel a little rusty because you haven't let yourself use it for a while but it's still there, totally intact and awaiting revival.
Find positive things to say about your imagination.
Tell yourself that you love imagining new ideas, ways and solutions to things in your life.
Avoid making comparisons.
As soon as you start comparing your skills with someone else's, you risk putting your skills down and over-inflating someone else's.
We each have different gifts; lean on yours rather than envying someone else's. -
Step 2: Don't worry about other people's summations of your imagination.
For one thing, these people aren't inside your head and therefore don't have a clue.
Second, people who are rude about your imagination are being mean-spirited and shortsighted; if they wish to pass judgment on your imagination, remind them that they are being very subjective and one-sided by pretending to know what is going on inside your own head.
Being rude about someone else's imagination can be a sign of jealousy, annoyance or intellectual laziness.
Sometimes a person wishes that they had thought of something first or that they had a talent you have that they don't have and in order to deal with their own confusion, they project their annoyance onto you.
Don't take this to heart. , Times of stress, exhaustion or needing to unwind can cause the imagination to lock up, or at least it can seem so.
If you scold yourself as a result of this, things will just feel worse.
Instead, be accepting that sometimes, your imagination is on vacation (and it's probably a sign you need a break too). , Setting aside time without interruptions from electronic and digital devices is an essential pathway to restoring your imagination.
Television, computers, video games, and the like are entertaining but they sap your creative energies by feeding you someone else's creativity and by being action-packed, noisy and non-stop.
Your imagination will benefit from having a break from other people's noise and interpretations of the world, so choose device-free times each week or day to allow your imagination its own space. , Children have vibrant imaginations, so if you aim to think like a child, you'll let yourself feel some of that childhood creativity flowing back in.
Look at the clouds and try to create more magical cloud creatures; create a whole new being from paper, straw, plasticine or whatever; think of games you can play in your head or on paper using the things around you; daydream; get down to child level and see the world anew.
And most importantly, make believe; pretend you're a king or queen for a day or a pauper or beggar.
See the world through different eyes. , When you're standing in line for your coffee, look around you.
Put to practice what some people call the "Cloud Effect".
Look at objects anywhere and try to find pictures or even hidden meanings inside them.
You could start a visual journal.
Use this journal to get creative with paper and anything else that can be attached to the journal. , Even if you think you cannot draw, it is a fact that every human can draw; it's all about finding your style and not criticizing yourself.
From stick and dot figures to fully fleshed out people and landscapes, just draw in whatever way you like.
Doodles are absolutely perfect, as are building things from shapes or colors.
Drawing can really kickstart your imagination and can help you solve problems visually.
If you are sitting in a meeting or lecture that tires you out, try drawing some of the concepts instead of writing them down in words.
You might be amazed at how much more dynamic this can make the material you're working with seem. , As with drawing, writing can unleash a great deal of imaginative thoughts and ideas.
You can write short stories, novels, poems, messages, sayings, even nonsensical lines.
Just write down whatever pleases you and helps you to make sense of your world.
Novels can be a lot of work but the process is very creative.
You will establish characters, plots and storylines.
You may even dispense with the typical requirements for a novel as convention insists upon and come up with totally new ways to approach a novel.
That's your imagination on fire! , Mindfulness and meditation practices can help you get to your inner core and unleash a lot of creativity. , Be your own person and turn away from the beat of other's people's drums.
Your drum call can only be found if you give yourself the time, the space and the freedom to "just be"
and to be alone at times, in solitude. -
Step 3: Accept that each of us has lazy or stressed days or periods.
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Step 4: Give yourself time.
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Step 5: Travel back to your childhood.
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Step 6: Create whenever you can.
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Step 7: Write.
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Step 8: Practice mindfulness.
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Step 9: Do what suits you.
Detailed Guide
You can be your own worst enemy if you tell yourself all the time "Oh, I don't have any imagination".
This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and can also be a rather lazy way of sidestepping the tasks in life that require a little thinking outside of the ordinary.
Give yourself a break and don't narrow your opportunities down through negative self-talk.
Your imagination is as good as anyone else's.
It may feel a little rusty because you haven't let yourself use it for a while but it's still there, totally intact and awaiting revival.
Find positive things to say about your imagination.
Tell yourself that you love imagining new ideas, ways and solutions to things in your life.
Avoid making comparisons.
As soon as you start comparing your skills with someone else's, you risk putting your skills down and over-inflating someone else's.
We each have different gifts; lean on yours rather than envying someone else's.
For one thing, these people aren't inside your head and therefore don't have a clue.
Second, people who are rude about your imagination are being mean-spirited and shortsighted; if they wish to pass judgment on your imagination, remind them that they are being very subjective and one-sided by pretending to know what is going on inside your own head.
Being rude about someone else's imagination can be a sign of jealousy, annoyance or intellectual laziness.
Sometimes a person wishes that they had thought of something first or that they had a talent you have that they don't have and in order to deal with their own confusion, they project their annoyance onto you.
Don't take this to heart. , Times of stress, exhaustion or needing to unwind can cause the imagination to lock up, or at least it can seem so.
If you scold yourself as a result of this, things will just feel worse.
Instead, be accepting that sometimes, your imagination is on vacation (and it's probably a sign you need a break too). , Setting aside time without interruptions from electronic and digital devices is an essential pathway to restoring your imagination.
Television, computers, video games, and the like are entertaining but they sap your creative energies by feeding you someone else's creativity and by being action-packed, noisy and non-stop.
Your imagination will benefit from having a break from other people's noise and interpretations of the world, so choose device-free times each week or day to allow your imagination its own space. , Children have vibrant imaginations, so if you aim to think like a child, you'll let yourself feel some of that childhood creativity flowing back in.
Look at the clouds and try to create more magical cloud creatures; create a whole new being from paper, straw, plasticine or whatever; think of games you can play in your head or on paper using the things around you; daydream; get down to child level and see the world anew.
And most importantly, make believe; pretend you're a king or queen for a day or a pauper or beggar.
See the world through different eyes. , When you're standing in line for your coffee, look around you.
Put to practice what some people call the "Cloud Effect".
Look at objects anywhere and try to find pictures or even hidden meanings inside them.
You could start a visual journal.
Use this journal to get creative with paper and anything else that can be attached to the journal. , Even if you think you cannot draw, it is a fact that every human can draw; it's all about finding your style and not criticizing yourself.
From stick and dot figures to fully fleshed out people and landscapes, just draw in whatever way you like.
Doodles are absolutely perfect, as are building things from shapes or colors.
Drawing can really kickstart your imagination and can help you solve problems visually.
If you are sitting in a meeting or lecture that tires you out, try drawing some of the concepts instead of writing them down in words.
You might be amazed at how much more dynamic this can make the material you're working with seem. , As with drawing, writing can unleash a great deal of imaginative thoughts and ideas.
You can write short stories, novels, poems, messages, sayings, even nonsensical lines.
Just write down whatever pleases you and helps you to make sense of your world.
Novels can be a lot of work but the process is very creative.
You will establish characters, plots and storylines.
You may even dispense with the typical requirements for a novel as convention insists upon and come up with totally new ways to approach a novel.
That's your imagination on fire! , Mindfulness and meditation practices can help you get to your inner core and unleash a lot of creativity. , Be your own person and turn away from the beat of other's people's drums.
Your drum call can only be found if you give yourself the time, the space and the freedom to "just be"
and to be alone at times, in solitude.
About the Author
Raymond Gibson
Committed to making pet care accessible and understandable for everyone.
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