What To Do When Your Thinking Is Stuck

When you get stuck in your current way of thinking, it can be tough to come up with new ideas. You may feel like you’re not capable of doing anything different or that your options are limited. You may not be open to new ways of growing presented to you by friends, family and coworkers. If you’re always doing the same things and thinking the same thoughts, you’ll never grow or learn anything new. To be more creative and expand your thinking, you need to break out of your comfort zone and try something new.

When you expand your thinking, you are opening yourself up to new possibilities and opportunities. You are also expanding your knowledge and understanding of the world around you.

What do you do when you want to break out of your comfort zone and expand your thinking? I hope this post can get you kick started. Changing your thinking can be scary at first, but it’s a great way to challenge yourself and learn new things. It can also help you come up with fresh ideas and solutions to problems.

So, if you want to be more creative and expand your thinking, try some of the suggestions below and let me know how it goes.

Simple Start: Get New Sensory Stimulation

When it comes to creativity, sometimes the simplest things can make the biggest impact. Something as simple as eating a different food, wearing different clothing or driving a new path to work or can help you break out of your comfort zone and expand your thinking. By exposing yourself to new flavors, textures, sights and sounds, you’ll open yourself up to new ideas and possibilities. You might be surprised what your unconscious mind can generate when you break a simple pattern and expose yourself to new stimulus.

Try A New Hobby, Puzzle or Game

If you’re looking for ways to increase your creativity, consider starting a new hobby. Or take up a quick daily crossword or Wordle. Clients are often pleasantly surprised when I start an Enterprise Velocity training session with an opening game – it immediately shifts everyone’s thinking into a more creative space. When you’re trying something new, your mind is open to new possibilities and you’re more likely to come up with fresh ideas. By engaging in activities that are different from what you’re used to, you’ll train your brain to think outside the box and come up with inventive solutions.

Work in a New Location

People are creatures of habit. We like to stick to what we know, what’s comfortable for us. But sometimes it’s good to shake things up a bit and break out of our comfort zone. One way to do this is to work in a new location.

When we switch up our surroundings, it can help us see things in a new light. We may start to notice details that we never noticed before or come up with fresh ideas that we never would have thought of if we’d stayed in our old environment.

• Take a team meeting outdoors
• Answer your email at a local coffee shop
• Stop in at your library instead of opening another web browser
• Talk with a new hire while walking around a high school running track
• Bring your laptop to your local museum or well-treed park

If you’re feeling stuck creatively, or you’re looking for ways to expand your thinking, try working in a new location. Those new sights and sounds may spark your creativity.

Talk To People You Don’t Know

It can be daunting to talk to people you don’t know, but it can also be a great way to expand your thinking. When you talk to someone new, you’re exposed to new ideas and perspectives that you wouldn’t have otherwise encountered. This can help you come up with fresh ideas and see things in a new light.

The Human Library® is, in the true sense of the word, a library of people. They host events where readers can borrow human beings serving as open books and have conversations, they would not normally have access to. Every human book from their bookshelf, represents a group in our society that is often subjected to prejudice, stigmatization or discrimination because of their lifestyle, diagnosis, belief, disability, social status, ethnic origin etc. The Human Library is in Copenhagen, Denmark, so it probably won’t be convenient for most of my readers. But what if you started your own inside your own company or organization or peer group?

Need Some Inspiration?

Creativity and thinking outside the box are important skills to have in any field. Here are a few examples of how expanding your thinking has helped others succeed:

When chef Roy Choi first started cooking, he didn’t want to be limited by the traditional cuisine of his Korean heritage. He was inspired by the street food of Los Angeles and decided to create his own unique style of cooking. This led to the creation of kimchi tacos and other innovative dishes that have helped him become one of the most respected chefs in the world.

Inventor Dean Kamen was dyslexic and had trouble with traditional math and science classes. However, he was able to use his creativity and inventive mind to come up with groundbreaking new inventions, such as the Segway and the Slingshot water purifier.

The Segway was Kamen’s most famous invention, and it revolutionized the way people move around cities. The invention of the Segway was a happy accident – Kamen was originally trying to create a device that could help people with disabilities walk more easily, but he stumbled upon the idea for the Segway when one of his prototypes started moving on its own.

The Segway is now a common sight in cities all over the world, and it has helped reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions. Kamen is a true example of how creativity and thinking outside the box can lead to amazing innovations that change the world.

Maya Lin was just 21 years old when she designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. She wasn’t a trained architect, so she brought different perspectives and ideas to her work. Her creative thinking allowed her to come up with a stunning design that has been praised by critics and loved by the public for over 30 years.

Why You Should Get Unstuck Sooner Than Later

When it comes to creativity and productivity, it’s important to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Trying new things can help you come up with fresh ideas and solutions to problems. It can also make you more open-minded and receptive to change.

No one knows everything, and everyone can benefit from learning new things. By expanding your thinking, you’ll be able to see the world in a different light and come up with new ways of doing things. This can be extremely valuable in both your personal and professional life.

So don’t be afraid to try something new – you may be surprised at what you learn. Open your mind to new possibilities, and you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve.