To be Innovative you must use your Childlike IMAGINATION!

We all seem to have an instinctive sense that kids are more creative than adults. We don’t question it; we all intuitively just know it’s true and we view it as a natural state for children. And it is. According to Dr. Stephanie Carlson, an expert on childhood brain development at the University of Minnesota, kids spend as much as 2/3 of their time in non-reality—in imaginative play. Other experts have also noted children’s aptitude for creativity. Albert Einstein famously said, “To stimulate creativity, one must develop the childlike inclination for play.” And even Pablo Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

So, it’s clear that keeping our imagination sharp would be a highly useful tool in creative thinking and problem solving. Unfortunately, we do lose some of our playful curiosity and imagination as we mature. Studies have shown it, and I think most of us would agree our observations confirm it. One study involving 350 children showed that kids’ natural tendency to daydream and wonder declines sharply around 4th grade. 

Why does our natural creativity wane as we mature? There are a few possible reasons. Dr. Carlson says simple lack of practice is one reason. As we are forced to turn our attention to logic, reason, and facts in school, we spend more of our time and brain power in reality—and less in imagination.

I believe another reason is the fear of being wrong. Kids don’t worry about whether they’re wrong. They bravely forge into new territory, willing to, and assuming they will, often be wrong. However, as we mature, we quickly learn that being wrong often has negative consequences. At school, we’re penalized for being wrong. At work, we’re penalized for being wrong. According to Sir Ken Robinson, an expert in creativity, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”

Since creativity inherently requires a willingness to possibly be wrong, we begin to avoid it. For many of us, we become so good at avoiding it that we convince ourselves we’re “not creative.” In addition, many factors that seem related to the self-controlled aspect of ourselves—like research, facts, or being grounded in reality—feel like they’re helping us mitigate the risk of being wrong. So we rely more and more on our executive function skills and behaviors, and less and less on our imaginative behaviors. 

Executive function involves a few mental processes:

1. Working memory—the ability to hold things in mind.
2. Inhibitory control—the ability to stop or suppress an action that might be the first choice.
3. Flexibility—the ability to nimbly shift your focus of attention to adapt to a new, or difficult situation.

Dr. Carlson’s conclusion is that practice in pretending helps you come up with alternative ways of being—and of seeing an issue—and results in more creativity and better problem-solving. 

So, next time you’re facing a challenge or an issue that you need to solve, let go of some of your self-control, and re-ignite your child-like imagination. Pretend a spoon is a car, or pretend that you are Mickey Mouse or Ronald Reagan. Now look at your problem again, and you’ll find more creative possibilities.

In other words, keep in mind that...

“People would be more creative if...they prepare like an adult, and also act like a kid.” 

Fuente: Ideas To Go is an innovation agency that works with Fortune 500 companies in ideation and concept development to incorporate the voice of the consumer. https://www.ideastogo.com/articles-on-innovation/why-you-should-have-a-child-like-imagination-and-the-research-that-proves-it