After understanding what self-awareness actually is and isn’t and being aware of the possible pitfalls we can fall into, it is important to improve our self-awareness the right way. Start small. Start with your thoughts. Noticing them, naming them, and then letting them go. This is not easy to do and the only way to do that is by keeping an open and non-judgmental mind. Judgement is the enemy of self-awareness whether we are talking […]
Category Archives: Creative’s tool-box
What is Self-Awareness?
A lot of the tips and tricks I’ve given require to first be aware of our thought patterns and behaviours. That advice is talking about self-awareness. A sort of “knowing is half the battle” kind of advice, but when most thoughts and habits are subconscious, understanding what it is and how to be able to do it will help since, as I’ve discovered these last few weeks, it is the first step to change habits […]
What are other problem-solving techniques? – Part 3
Design thinking: Is a variation on creative problem solving by combining steps and renaming them: This method is often used for design as the name suggests but is also used in business to come up with creative solutions to problems faced in business situations. These next techniques may help at one or more stage of any of the creative problem-solving methods: Creating a problem story: This technique helps to identify the problem by creating […]
How to improve your creative problem-solving skill? – Tips and Tricks
As we saw last week (see here if you missed it), there are specific steps in order to come up with creative and innovative solutions. There are also ways that these steps can go horribly wrong and not get the results that are needed or wanted. Things to watch out for in general: First, each step must be balanced with the others. It is easy to get caught in an overthinking cycle at each of […]
What is creative problem solving?
It was interesting this week to discover that creative problem solving was a named process created by Alex Osborn and Sid Parnes in the 1940s. Despite its age, this process is still around. It has also inspired several modern updates. This creative problem-solving process is usually used to generate innovative and effective solutions to problems, obstacles, and challenges. It is a process that helps to encourage creative thinking and helps to discover new solutions that […]
How to increase motivation and how to mitigate the overjustification effect.
You can boost your motivation for a task in many ways, but always start by acting first. Even if it is five minutes at a time, as long as you start, it can be a good way of boosting motivation that is already there. Understanding the difference between the internal motivation factors and external motivation factors is important here because piling on more rewards isn’t always the best way to move forward. (See my What […]
What is motivation?
When we think of motivation, we think of the drive, the energy, the persistence to tackle a task and get it done. No matter what it is. Crafting, creating, going to the gym, and even cleaning your house all feel like they require motivation to do. But what if I told you, that was the wrong way to go about it? The writer or artist waiting for the muse to strike is the perfect example […]
How to set yourself up for success?
Last week I wrote about the definitions of success (see here). In short, the definition of success depends on yourself, your goals, and your values. But how do you set up this definition for yourself? Especially, given the difficulties we face as an anxious creative (anticipating the worst, and self-doubt making us see our failures more than our successes)? I’m trying to find this answer for myself and at the same time by sharing what […]
What is success?
When you start a new project, ideally, you set a goal and break it into mini steps to get there. Reaching that goal usually equals success, failing to reach that goal usually means failure. But what is success? Is it really that all or nothing, pass or fail, or is there more to it? The definitions of success you find online are very short. The google definition is “The accomplishment of an aim or purpose […]