Imagination plays a crucial role in various mental activities, including problem-solving, planning, and creative thinking.
Think back to bedtime as a child. Or story-time. Or just a time sitting with with Granny or Grampa and them telling you a story about "the good old days", or about an adventure they'd had when they were younger.
When my daughters were young they used to love "Simon stories", which I made up based on a show from the 70's "Simon in the land of chalk drawings". Simon could draw anything with his chalk and it would come to life - a character and story I loved myself when I was a child. If you recognize this, you may remember the song "well you know my name is Simon, and the things I draw come true, all the pictures take me, take me over, climb the ladder with you..." I found that Simon still lives on YouTube https://youtu.be/s0gaSD-fCXg?si=YXrTqSJX7YPWYWAJ
The reason my daughters loved Simon stories so much is because we went on wild imaginary stories - I remember one where Simon had shrunk to the size of an ant and was making his way through the living room - the carpet, the furniture, the fireplace and dealing with giant cats and enormous bugs. Of course, he used his magic chalk to help him navigate, drawing what he needed as he went along.
More recently, the popular movie "IF" written by John Krasinski, starring Ryan Reynolds explores the theme of lost "Imaginary Friends" (as a means of coping with loss and disappointment), which speaks about lost adult imagination.
Someone (an older adult) asked me the other day if there are people who don't have an imagination. I don't believe there is anyone who was born without the ability to imagine.
I asked ChatGPT "Is it possible for a human being to have no imagination at all?"
The response: "It's highly unlikely for a human being to have no imagination at all. Imagination is a fundamental cognitive process that is deeply embedded in the human brain. It plays a crucial role in various mental activities, including problem-solving, planning, and creative thinking. However, the extent and vividness of one's imagination can vary widely among individuals"
So, if imagination "plays a crucial role in various mental activities, including problem-solving, planning, and creative thinking" its obviously an important "muscle" for professionals to exercise, right?
What have you done to exercise and stretch your imagination recently?
What I've observed is that, as adults, we've mostly forgotten how to imagine. Every night, TV and movies feed us images. During the day, we plow through spreadsheets, emails, word documents, zoom and teams meetings and, when we have free time, videos and pictures on social media and YouTube. Where does imagination fit in all of this?
I think imagination is pretty much absent in all of this, and that a vast majority of us have forgotten how to use or exercise our imagination.
Here are some great tips to "learn to imagine" that will improve your creativity, problem solving and creative thinking skills.
Firstly, get away from a screen. Sit or lie quietly and allow your brain to calm down. Put your phone on do-not-disturb. Relax. Quieten your over-stimulated brain.
Read books, particularly fiction stories. That's a great way to expand and exercise your imagination. I recommend paper books instead of digital books, but if digital is more convenient for you, go for it. For those who love reading, how would you compare your experience in reading a good book, compared to watching a good movie? (please share your comments). Some well-written business books offer exceptional imaginative narrative. For example, in "Five Dysfunctions of a Team", Patrick Lencioni did an excellent job telling the story of the team at DecisionTech. I believe this is one of the reasons his book was so popular.
Listen to audio-books, meditations or podcasts, particularly those with lots of stories to engage and expand your creativity and imagination.
Get together with friends and family and listen and share stories in as much detail as possible. Throughout human history, stories have been the thread that builds community, connection and a sense of belonging.
Try audio learning. If you're interested in how you can complete professional development learning while engaging and developing your imagination, try out this free audio module from my course "Leading through Influence" https://prodiolearning.com/course-content.php?course_id=NDQ=&module_id=MzI5&chapter_id=OTY=
As always, I would appreciate your thoughts, comments and feedback.
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