Boost Your Creativity and Think Outside the Box Using NLP

There comes a time for everyone, to sit at the desk, blink at the computer screen in front of them, and pace around the room, waiting for a spark to come and give you something to write. Creativity can be an elusive insect, like a firefly that just won’t stay caught in the jar. For instance, imagine you having the ability to train your brain so that creativity could switch from ON to OFF. These techniques of Neuro-Linguistic Programming help to repair the mental blocks so you could reach new ideas.

As Albert Einstein put it, “Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought.” NLP lets us tap into this “thinking differently” state by changing how we think about challenges, ideas, and even ourselves. In this article, we take a look at some NLP methods to help you get you out of the box or box you in.

Step into Your Creative Self

Sometimes, it is lack of confidence in yourself that keeps you from creating. You can use an NLP technique called the “As-If” frame to literally get into someone else’s mindset who has already moved beyond doubt into confidence and creativity and into action for a challenge. Acting as if you’re a genius creative can be a stepping stone to getting to that needed energy and confidence to live your ideas.

• Imagine you are the creative version of yourself. How might that version of you think, behave, and solve problems?
• For now, assume you already are. Think about a creative icon such as Steve Jobs or Frida Kahlo to help inspire how you could approach this task.

This method allows you to avoid self-doubt and lets you literally embody your creative potential. In fact, most successful creators have used the same psychological tricks to try to overcome their fear and produce quality work.

Power of Visualization

Visualization is an old technique used by all the high performers in any walk of life. As neuroscientist Stephen Kosslyn states, “The brain responds the same way whether we are imagining an activity or doing it.” In other words, visualization can be used as a mental rehearsal for success and to unlock new ideas.

How to Use Visualization for Creativity:

• Picture your fully realized project or idea. Create the colors, shapes, sounds, or feelings to go along with it. Let your imagination run crazy.
• Picture yourself in your “flow” state whereby ideas flow freely and all things seem to come into place.
• Use all the senses for a vivid and as real picture as possible.

When designing a product, try to imagine it from various angles, see how people would use it, and even think about the feeling that comes with its presence. Mental practice, as this might be, could bring up creative elements that otherwise may not occur during a typical brainstorming session.

Visualization can break through the barriers of your mind while keeping the creative process running forward by linking you with the possibilities of your thoughts.

The Swish Technique

Creative people have a common problem: “Am I good enough?” The NLP Swish Technique can help you silence such doubts by diverting your mind away from negative self-talk and towards empowering thoughts.

How to Use the Swish Technique:

• Identify a thought or feeling that holds you back. It could be “I don’t have good ideas” or “This will never work.”
• Visualize yourself in a flow state, full of creativity and not shy or fearful, as if it were so.
• Imagine that the thought of negativity fades away little by little while the thought of its opposite shines brighter and stronger. Repeat this exercise until you naturally turn toward the bright image.

Pattern Interrupts

Sometimes, creativity is stifled because it’s constrained by repetitive thought patterns. NLPs’ pattern interrupt can help you jolt your brain out of a rut, to make room for new thoughts and ideas.

To Apply Pattern Interrupts:

• Do something you least expect. Change the environment, take a brisk walk or attempt to do something different.
• Think differently by idea generation with the help of a timer, while flipping through pages of books to gather inspirational ideas, or even having a discourse with someone out of your field.

Inventions and artistic ideas strike many minds after some sort of a break or switching routine. The famous author J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter when she got an idea for the novel during a delayed train ride-a sudden turn of events which freed her mind for thoughts to come.

Walk the Path to Your Creative Success

Future pacing is one of the NLP techniques that enable you to imagine walking through the steps you need to take in order to get to your goal. You will, in this process, visualize your path to success and be able to see creative solutions, the challenges that might arise, and ideas you would not have otherwise come up with.

How to Use Future Pacing: 

• Imagine your project as a finished success. See yourself celebrating it, being proud of it, and sharing it with others.
• Trace the place you have gone mentally; trace in the mind how you came that way; look at points of creative breakthrough on this route.
• Let all those decisions informed by this rehearsing be your guiding influence in choices made concerning this vision.

If you’re developing an app, future pacing might look like visualizing people using and enjoying your app. You can trace it all the way back through design elements, user experiences, and features that make it successful. This can create a spark of new ideas and insights about how to bring your vision to life.

As author Julia Cameron said, “Creativity is a spiritual practice.” It’s a journey of exploration, courage, and constant learning. NLP provides tools to help you navigate this journey with confidence, whether you are visualizing success, or acting “as if” you are already a creative powerhouse.

The truth is, creativity isn’t a rare gift reserved for a few lucky people. It’s a skill anyone can develop with the right mindset and techniques. By integrating NLP into your creative process, you’ll find that thinking outside the box becomes second nature, and your best ideas are closer than you think.