Experience Breakthrough Thinking

Just like exercising to condition your muscles, your mind also works best if it is challenged frequently with creative thinking exercises.

In the early morning hours, our minds tend to be are largely uncluttered and free of our everyday problems and concerns. This makes our busy minds much more receptive to hunches, insights and creative ideas that rise up from our deeper subconscious mind.


So how can you develop a daily exercise program to strengthen your brain's creative faculties? Here's a simple method I fin very productive. All you will need are four simple things: (1) An hour alone with a cup of coffee or tea, (2) a pad of paper, (3) a pencil or pen, and (4) an open mind. Try this simple brainstorming technique, and see what results you get.

First, pick a specific problem or opportunity. Just before you go to bed tonight give your subconscious mind something to chew on while you sleep. Give yourself sat least half-hour or more to contemplate a current problem, challenge or opportunity you have identified. Then when you turn out the light to go to sleep, just forget about it.

What's happening now? Your subconscious mind operates 24/7, and it is the true source of almost everyone of your most creative "ah-ha" breakthrough ideas. Once you have gone to sleep it will automatically sort through all of the knowledge and insights you've collected over your lifetime looking for insights, clues and answers to the problem or opportunity that you focused on
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Second, carve out a creative time space. Our lives tend to be busy and intense in today's world. Here's a potential solution: Tomorrow morning get up at least one hour before anyone else in your household. Then forget the morning paper or checking your email, and instead take some creative time. Sit down in a comfortable chair with a cup of coffee or tea, a pad of paper, and your favorite pen or pencil.

Third, begin to do an "idea release." Just relax and let your ideas begin to flow. Write down everything down that occurs to you, no matter how "impossible," unusual or disconnected any of these ideas may seem. Your immediate job is to simply allow your brain do an idea search, and to capture it on paper on paper for later evaluation.

Why does this work so well? You have to remember that your subconscious mind is actually a giant storehouse of thoughts and ideas - all floating around just below your conscious awareness. Actually all of your unusual "hunches" or "intuitions" bubble up directly from the vast resource of your subconscious mind.

The secret is to just collect them and not judge as they present themselves. Typically an idea presents itself and then is gone in the matter of two to three seconds. So keep your pen or pencil flowing and just capture a few words that represent each idea. Mind mapping is also a great method for capturing the connection of your insights.

Fourth, set aside a later time that day to begin to analyze an develop your ideas. Look for unique combinations or unusual insights. And most of all -look for how your ideas and insights ties together. Nine times out of ten you're going to get a creative new insight.

If you didn't create a mind map earlier, now would be a good time to do so. And above all else, go for a clear undivided mental focus. The clearer your focus, the better your answer!