Break Your Patterned Thoughts and Open up to Creativity

I read an article recently this week about bilingual people, and how on average Alzheimer's impacts them 4-5 years later than people who are monolingual .  The researchers in the article discussed the fact that a greater amount of their brain is being used on a regular basis than than that of monolingual people.   It also made me wonder about whether or not creativity and using multiple parts of the brain might have the same impact--whether or not that is true, increased creativity is something that we could all benefit from, so here are a few tips for breaking patterned ways of thinking:

How To Break Patterned Ways of Thinking — and Open Your Creativity

1. Do things with your left hand if you are naturally right-handed (and vice versa); brushing your teeth, combing your hair, shaving, showering, bathing, etc.
2. Drive to work by an alternative route.
3. Eat only when your body tells you it is hungry. Forget about the three meals a day at prescribed times. Learn to know the difference between “patterned behavior” and “body talk.”
4. Pretend you are a tourist in your own city and visit all the sites you would recommend to visitors.
5. Experiment eating foods you think you don’t like, but have never tried—therefore, there is no proof of an adverse reaction. You might extend this to anything you think you don’t like that does
not injure the well-being of yourself and others.
6. Ask your kid(s) (or young relatives) what they would like to do for a Saturday or Sunday outing. You may be surprised. Just Do It!
7. Drive under the speed limit for one week. If you exceed the speed limit (“even by accident”), pay your kid(s) or a friend $10 for each infraction.
8. Create one day each week that is unplanned and unscheduled— then “create” that day “moment-by-moment” as it evolves.
9. Compose a piece of music; write a poem; paint a picture; create a story—you never know what you are capable of until you try.
10. Sleep on the opposite side of the bed.
These are steps for breaking patterned ways of thinking.  I will have some tips to in my next post once you have taken these first steps!

Danny