Sometimes our biggest creative enemy is ourselves. That’s right, us. You and me.
We all have an inner voice that can barrack for us and help us push through tough situations, or it can feed into our fears and doubts, providing us with every reason in the world as to why we should stop in our tracks and not follow through on a project or idea.
While you’re brainstorming, try to turn off your inner critic. Don’t listen to your inner lawyer, your inner accountant, your mother, or your ex-partner’s voice.
You’ll get the most out of a brainstorming session if you push past the ‘No, that’s not possible’, because the unimpeded flow of ideas is an essential part of the creative process.
Instead, follow your ideas down your own yellow brick road. No matter how crazy they seem, or how unrealistic they become, don’t interfere with your imagination mid-journey. In fact, I would encourage you to push the boundaries of your own creativity. Exaggerate your vision, emphasise your ideas, be outrageous and over the top. The more broadly you cast your brainstorming, the more ideas you’ll have to work with when you wrap up your session.
And, when you are finally done – when you’ve reached your own version of Emerald City – then, and only then, apply your wait-can-this-actually-happen filter. And be realistic. Not all ideas will be winners. Some might be ridiculous, even terrifying, while others might be complete gems, and so timely that you can’t believe you never thought of them before.
[quote]If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it. – Albert Einstein[/quote]
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