What is Creative Thinking and Does it Have Value?
Dennis AuBuchon
November 07, 2009
The term creative thinking is a relative one. What may be considered to be creative to one person is not necessarily considered creative to another. To begin with creative thinking is thinking outside the box. It is developing new approaches to either old processes or problems that have not been considered. When we have problems we think in standard approaches to solve them. Creative thinking is getting away from the standard approach and taking an innovative way to address the situation. This can involve looking at a different perspective by taking other individuals viewpoint and using your experience or knowledge to develop a new approach to solve it.
Before beginning this article it is appropriate to explain the term creative thinking. Creative thinking has been around for years and evidence of it can be seen everywhere. Creative thinking is a process that is not limited by standard processes or procedures. It is thinking outside the box and developing new and innovative approaches to issues which in some cases may not even be realized. The world has had many individuals who have utilized creative thinking it is what has made this world what it is today with the technology and products we now have.
The value of creative thinking cannot be underestimated but it is sometimes not recognized when it takes place. Creative thinking is sometimes restricted in certain circles or organizations as people like the way things are and do not want to take new approaches. There is an old saying if it is not broke don´t fix it. This kind of atmosphere hampers the desire to take new approaches to old problems or even to develop new products to improve the quality of life. One example is medicines that are developed to treat diseases which in the past may have been fatal. Medicines were developed and are being developed by not thinking inside the box but developing new approaches to address medical problems of society.
Creative thinking is great and individuals must be free to allow their innovative ideas to flourish or at least have a chance to succeed. We are a country of various nationalities and the nationalities of our citizens are what make this country great. There are various reasons why people come to the United States but I feel it is mostly to make a better life for themselves and their families. Each individual is unique and has unique talents which can flourish in an environment where if you work hard you can be successful. Part of this involves creative thinking.
Creative thinking is not always easy to achieve. There are sometimes restrictions placed on us by our workplace and other times there are restrictions we place on ourselves. Sometimes management of companies like the way things are and do not want to change them. Society as a whole throughout the world would not be where it is without the influence of creative thinking. Technology has advanced in all aspects because of the actions of individuals to think creatively. New products or services are generated through the efforts of innovative or creative thinking of others. Other restrictions can be policies, laws or regulations in place at various levels in both government and industry. Policies of companies as somewhat previously implied with set processes in place can restrict the talents of those who work for them to think creatively. This prevents individuals from addressing issues within the company with a different approach. Laws or regulations within countries can also be a deterrent to think creatively to improve the quality of life. There are times when in the past efforts to think creatively were suppressed as the thinking was not looked upon favorably. Society sometimes looks upon individuals as being radical in their thinking but in actuality they are thinking creatively to either improve or develop new approaches to improve the quality of life.
Creative thinking is something that should be embraced throughout the world as it is this type of thinking that will change society for the better in many instances. Policies, laws or regulations should be written or changed to encourage this type of action. Other restrictions that are involved in creative thinking are those we place on ourselves in deciding we cannot do that. Sometimes we feel that we cannot change products or approaches to issues because they would not work. What must take place is thinking outside the box to take a new approach to sometimes old issues or problems. Examples of what I feel are creative thinking is the development of electricity, vaccines for diseases and computers and computer problems. One big example of creative thinking is the creation of the Internet and the many ways available to use it which is always changing.
Before beginning this article it is appropriate to explain the term creative thinking. Creative thinking has been around for years and evidence of it can be seen everywhere. Creative thinking is a process that is not limited by standard processes or procedures. It is thinking outside the box and developing new and innovative approaches to issues which in some cases may not even be realized. The world has had many individuals who have utilized creative thinking it is what has made this world what it is today with the technology and products we now have.
The value of creative thinking cannot be underestimated but it is sometimes not recognized when it takes place. Creative thinking is sometimes restricted in certain circles or organizations as people like the way things are and do not want to take new approaches. There is an old saying if it is not broke don´t fix it. This kind of atmosphere hampers the desire to take new approaches to old problems or even to develop new products to improve the quality of life. One example is medicines that are developed to treat diseases which in the past may have been fatal. Medicines were developed and are being developed by not thinking inside the box but developing new approaches to address medical problems of society.
Creative thinking is great and individuals must be free to allow their innovative ideas to flourish or at least have a chance to succeed. We are a country of various nationalities and the nationalities of our citizens are what make this country great. There are various reasons why people come to the United States but I feel it is mostly to make a better life for themselves and their families. Each individual is unique and has unique talents which can flourish in an environment where if you work hard you can be successful. Part of this involves creative thinking.
Creative thinking is not always easy to achieve. There are sometimes restrictions placed on us by our workplace and other times there are restrictions we place on ourselves. Sometimes management of companies like the way things are and do not want to change them. Society as a whole throughout the world would not be where it is without the influence of creative thinking. Technology has advanced in all aspects because of the actions of individuals to think creatively. New products or services are generated through the efforts of innovative or creative thinking of others. Other restrictions can be policies, laws or regulations in place at various levels in both government and industry. Policies of companies as somewhat previously implied with set processes in place can restrict the talents of those who work for them to think creatively. This prevents individuals from addressing issues within the company with a different approach. Laws or regulations within countries can also be a deterrent to think creatively to improve the quality of life. There are times when in the past efforts to think creatively were suppressed as the thinking was not looked upon favorably. Society sometimes looks upon individuals as being radical in their thinking but in actuality they are thinking creatively to either improve or develop new approaches to improve the quality of life.
Creative thinking is something that should be embraced throughout the world as it is this type of thinking that will change society for the better in many instances. Policies, laws or regulations should be written or changed to encourage this type of action. Other restrictions that are involved in creative thinking are those we place on ourselves in deciding we cannot do that. Sometimes we feel that we cannot change products or approaches to issues because they would not work. What must take place is thinking outside the box to take a new approach to sometimes old issues or problems. Examples of what I feel are creative thinking is the development of electricity, vaccines for diseases and computers and computer problems. One big example of creative thinking is the creation of the Internet and the many ways available to use it which is always changing.
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