Creative Thinking 101

Creative Thinking 101 How to make your stories stand out :)

What is creative thinking? ●

Creative thinking is the generation of new ideas ○

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it is fundamental to human intellectual progress

Creative thinking starts with YOU! ○

understanding and knowing what you are doing is apart of creative thinking ■

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Example: finding an angle for your story, getting the right picture, finding where quotes fit, etc.

Common misunderstanding: imaginative thinking is NOT creative thinking ○

imagination can lead to innovation ■ imagination sparks creativity ■ innovation is the result of creative thinking

Conformity ●

Our brains hate feeling awkward ○

OUR BRAIN WILL ALWAYS NATURALLY PLAY IT SAFE!!

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Breaking rules and pushing our comfort zone makes us feel incompetent

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It is important to get outside of our comfort zone ○ ○ ○

boosts confidence introduces new ideas into the world it promotes creativity and innovation

Why Do We Conform?

3. Experience

1. Explorers

3 Stages of Conformity

2. High School

Stage 1: Explorers â—?

Young children are open-minded and willing to learn

â—?

Children take what they learn and try to apply it in new ideas, like a game

REWARD: joy and self expression In stage 1 there is a

98% high in creative thinking

Stage 2: High School ● ● ● ●

Peers Family Religion School

REWARD: Praise instead of joy In stage 2 there is a

2% high in creative thinking.

Stage 3: Experience ●

Go with what you know ○

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Why? TO STAY SAFE

Uniqueness can be lost and your beliefs limited ○

Leads to mediocrity which isn’t very good

REWARD: Being accepted by society In stage 3 this is

<1% high in creative thinking

How do we become creative thinkers? ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Practice and train your brain to think differently than everyone else Start saying “Yes!” and stop saying “I can’t because....”

Pay attention to things around you and WONDER about them Embrace chaos and benefit from it Be open-minded about different perspectives Everyday challenge your own assumptions Embrace failure and seek criticism Think “I can!” instead of “I can’t!”

Team Building!! YAAAY!! :) ●

Activity 1: Back to Back ○

Pick a partner that’s about the same height as you, and standing back to back, link your arms.

Sit with your legs straight out and try to stand up without using your hands. Remember: Think outside the box!

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Activity 2: Zoom! ○

Sit in a circle around the room and hold the picture you have out in front of you. Your task is to create a story. You begin the story by incorporating whatever is pictured in the photo. Each person will have approximately 10 seconds to create the next part of the story using whatever is in their photo until the last person is reached. It is the last person’s job to end the story.