Switch Things Up

“Your thoughts construct patterns like scaffolding in your mind. You are really etching chemical patterns. In most cases, people get stuck in those patterns, just like grooves in a record, and they never get out of them…”
—Steve Jobs

So much of creativity and innovation boils down to how effectively we can shake up our own perspectives. Associative barriers prevent us from making new connections and drawing fresh insights. But shaking things up isn’t as complicated as you might think.

For example, as numerous Nobel Laureates did, get out of the box.

But it’s even simpler than that. You can try something new, like an ice bath! There’s loads of research on how even a lightly distracting, mindless task can unlock creative breakthroughs on difficult problems.

One of the best ways to deconstruct the “scaffolding” that gets formed in our minds is by switching up routines. Just ask Betty Liu, the executive vice chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. “Liu told Business Insider (why) she almost never takes the same commute to work on consecutive days”:

“You go somewhere completely foreign and different and your mind is blown, and you grow so much. That's just something I try to preserve, but on a daily basis.”

If you want to get “out of the groove,” doing something like Betty Liu, every day, is a great first step.

Related: One Benefit of Failure
Related: Think Outside The Box
Related: Try Something New
Related: Redefine What’s Work

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