Learning to effectively employ one’s imagination is a key part of my work with clients, patients and students. It is important for use with a great many therapy interventions, important in so many aspects of life when seeking to advance; so much so that I wanted to give some simple instruction on how to use it better.
“You have all the reason in the world to achieve your grandest dreams. Imagination plus innovation equals realization.” ― Denis Waitley
The world and our lives can pretty much always benefit from the
increasingly effective use of imagination and creativity. I’ve written before
on the topic of creativity and recommend these two articles to explore further:
– Creativity: 8 Brilliant Ways to Increase Yours.
https://www.adam-eason.com/creativity-8-brilliant-ways-increase/
– Be More Creative and Enhance Your Creativity With Self-hypnosis.
https://www.adam-eason.com/creative-enhance-creativity-self-hypnosis/
Every day we are facing new problems and challenges. Too often, we continue to
respond to these problems in the same way that we have always responded. We
keep doing what they have always done and keep getting the same result.
Instead, perhaps we should be searching for new ways of solving the problems.
This is where imagination can play a great role and value in each one’s life. In the modern world creativity is valued as the most important skill, says a recent survey. Research by Siyuan Liu and Allen Braun (who tracked brain activity of freestyle rappers) showed that the parts of the brain that we use in ‘business as usual’ thinking are totally switched off when we are being creative, whereas other parts of our mind that we do not use every day are quite active.
What challenges do you face in your everyday life? What obstacles stand in your way of achieving the success you dream about? Are you so focused on the problems that you fail to see the opportunities around the corner? Shift your focus to the possibilities. Choose a new path into the future. Imagine a better world for yourself. Albert Einstein once said,
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
What are you doing to boost your imagination — to open the doors for more creativity? What are you doing to escape the often black hole of negative thinking? Here are five ways to improve your imaginative thinking and to advance your life as a result.
Develop an attitude of curiosity:
Be curious about everything. Look for connections
that others do not see. As children we were very curious about the world around
us, but as adults many of us have lost our curiosity. Many have accepted the
myth that there is only one answer to every question.
Question accepted beliefs, assumptions and practices:
Just because you have always done it a certain way
does not mean you should continue to do it that way. Too often we continue to
do things because that is how we were taught. We need to question why we do the
things we do in everyday life. Look to do things differently and stimulate your
brain accordingly.
Explore the world:
“If you fall in love with the imagination, you understand that it is a free spirit. It will go anywhere, and it can do anything.” ― Alice Walker
Travel to places you have never been. Travel will help you to view the world through a fresh set of eyes. Read books in fields of learning that you normally don’t read. Sometimes the ideas of others will spark a new idea that you can apply to simplify your everyday life. Strike a conversation with a stranger and learn from them. If you develop a habit of listening to others, you may be surprised by what you will learn.
Conduct a daily practice of doodling:
Doodling helps to relax your mind and start your creative
juices flowing. Drawing can free your mind of entrenched ways of seeing and
help you create new ways of seeing. When you are faced with a problem, tap into
your imagination by doodling.
“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” ― Gloria Steinem
Let your mind relax by doodling for 10 to 15 minutes. Focus your attention on the doodling. Don’t worry about being artistic. And don’t be surprised when the answer to your problem surfaces almost out of nowhere. More difficult problems may require more doodling sessions. Learn to trust your instincts and your insights. You have the answers within. (You can even buy books for doodling these days, due to it being recognised as so beneficial)
Conduct daily practice of writing:
Write everyday for 10 to 15 minutes. Don’t worry
about grammar, spelling or punctuation. Start with the phrase, “In the
future, I”. Keep writing for the full 10 minutes. When you run out of
things to write, start again with the phrase, “In the future, I”. You
can change the starting phrase as you desire.
Another good starting phrase is “I remember”. Like doodling, writing practice will help to relax the mind and start the creative juices flowing. Writing practice holds a key to accessing knowledge and wisdom you have stored within your mind. Listen and trust yourself.
Spend some alone time:
“Without great solitude no serious work is possible.” – Picasso
Alone time is often where the ideas form. My distance running days proved this to me. Shut out the noise and dedicate time to recharge and reboot. It’s crucial that you allocate time to spend time with yourself. So you can hear your thoughts and tune into your inner voice.
Quietness is where we get to know ourselves and can tap into our imagination.
Whether it’s going for a walk, heading to the gym, meditating, or finding a space in your house, think about a place you can go physically and then mentally to unwind, reflect and create.
Do things that feed your soul:
You’ve probably heard it time and time again, do what you love and do it often. To unlock your creativity you need to be connected with yourself and open to new thinking and ideas. So it’s important to keep inspired and also push yourself out of your comfort zone.
Write a list of the top 2-3 things which most inspire you. Do you enjoy watching vintage movies or listening to live music or gazing in awe at spectacular scenery?
Now ask yourself how many times you have dedicated time to doing any of those things in the past week or month. Not as many times as you’d have hoped, right?
Prioritise doing the things that make you happy and also try to do something new, every week if you can. It can be as easy as choosing a new restaurant or trying to cook a new recipe at home. Variety is all fuel for our minds.
“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” ― George Bernard Shaw
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Has this piqued your interest in this field? Then have a read of these pages:
1. Would you like a satisfying and meaningful career as a hypnotherapist helping others? Are you a hypnotherapist looking for stimulating and career enhancing continued professional development and advanced studes? Explore the pages of this website.
Adam Eason’s Anglo European training college.
2. Are you a hypnotherapist looking to fulfil your ambitions or advance your career?
Hypnotherapist Mentoring with Adam Eason.
Likewise, if you’d like to learn more about self-hypnosis, understand the evidence based principles of it from a scientific perspective and learn how to apply it to many areas of your life while having fun and in a safe environment and have the opportunity to test everything you learn, then come and join me for my one day seminar which does all that and more, have a read here: The Science of Self-Hypnosis Seminar. Alternatively, go grab a copy of my Science of self-hypnosis book.
