Monday, February 3, 2014

Let Your Imagination out of its Chains


Since themes worked so well for me over the course of the 31-day blogging challenge last month, I'm sticking with it until the wheels fall off.
Imagination

That's this week's theme because I'm often asked where I come up with my ideas. Most people ask with this weird look on their face as if I've lost my mind, and they are wondering if they should call someone in authority. Even my daughters say, "Who does things like that?" Not everyone appreciates that I think outside the box!

I've learned to let my mind run free and to appreciate the connections it makes. I've stopped judging the weirdness in my head. I embrace it. It's what makes me a bit different, and yes, a little strange. I can't imagine locking the silliness in a closet and never letting it come out to play. What a boring inner world that would be for me.

Embrace Your Inner Crazy

If you've ever talked to a small child, their minds leap to unknown places and make connections that are delightful. We lose that as we grow older. I can remember vividly the conversations I had with my girls when they were little.

Child: "Stay on the bed because sharks are in the water!"

Me: "Are we in a boat?"

Child: "Yes. Don't put your toes in. The sharks will eat your toes, but I have bananas. Baby sharks love bananas."

Me: "Fantastic. So we're safe as long as you have bananas for the baby sharks."

Child: "Baby sharks love them."

Me: "Right. I got that part. What happens if we run out?"

Child: *shrugs* "Then they eat us."

Someone tells us that we need to grow up, stop daydreaming and get serious. We lose the ability to let our imaginations breathe. It's like a muscle that needs stretching, or it atrophies. Our imagination makes intuitive leaps and connections for us. It's also how successful people are innovative in the business world.

3 Baby Steps to Stretching Your Imagination

You might not want to let the inner crazy have full reign, but let it out of the chains for a little bit. You might be surprised by the ideas and leaps in creativity your imagination will treat you to.

1. Instead of shutting down a wacky idea, write it down. At the end of a week, connect the wacky ideas into a mental image or story. Write down the story if it strikes you as interesting or humorous.

2. Ask yourself what would happen if...? It could be as simple as a question that makes you turn a picture on its side. What would happen if I colored my hair blue? What kind of conversations would I have with people? Think of three fake reasons why you HAD to dye it blue and imagine telling people.

3. Write down your dreams. I do this and love coming up with ways to incorporate my dreams into a story. Some dreams are incredibly bizarre, and I'd have to write science fiction for them to make sense while others are only slightly weird. Keep pen and paper by your nightstand or a laptop if you have one. (That middle of the night scrawl can be indecipherable in the light of day.)

Let your imagination out of its chains. Join me in the crazy.





12 comments:

  1. If we let the "inner crazy" out, then it by definition ceases to be inner crazy, right? I love how easy #2 is. I had bum length purple hair in high school. I got loads of compliments from the office staff every time I was sent to the Principal. The teachers liked it too.
    I have troubles keeping track of my ideas. I never remember to carry around a notebook to jot them down and my memory is shot. I can put that on my list of goals.

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    1. That's true! When you let it out, it becomes the outer crazy and everyone can see it. But maybe let it ooze a little around the edges.

      I had purple hair too! More like reddish-purple highlights. I miss that color.

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  2. I used to let my imagination run free much more than I do now. Perhaps I need to take more time to do so again...

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    1. You should! And you have notebooks to jot things down. I've seen them!

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  3. I often think about things that no one else would. I let my imagination run wild. I would have to say that I have a child like imagination. While Im in the car or house, I pretend I am being interviewed. I do these things with no one else around of course. It does keep me youthful in my thinking and I don't call it crazy! LOL

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    1. I'm impressed! Even I don't interview myself...but guess what I'll be doing tomorrow!

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  4. A good reminder that it's ok to let our imaginations run free. I have a 3 1/2 year old and almost 2 year old and LOVE seeing their imagination and constantly encourage them to use it. I love the stories they come up with and the things they think. It's so refreshing.

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    1. Kids do come up with the most off-the-wall stories. I'm always highly entertained listening to them.

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  5. I try to write down the memorable stories my son tells me. He is a little obsessed with The Chronicles of Narnia right now, so he is always Peter and has something for a sword and shield. :)
    I think technology has really gotten in the way of children's imagination. Everywhere you look people are on a phone, laptop or some kind of gaming device.

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    1. Writing down the stories is fantastic! At the very least, you can pull them out later along with his baby pictures to embarrass him in front of a future girlfriend!

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  6. umm, is it imagination when I call my husband in the morning and relay to him what the dogs 'said' with their body language.. I have had vivid conversations with people explaining to them how I rescued my dog from the woods filled with scary creatures and when they arrived home I was their super hero ! I am always translating their thoughts into my words. I never thought it was my imagination, I thought it was my 'real' gift for translating doggie speak.. LOL! or is it really in my imagination .. oops, a little imagination slipped out of my brain.. every day! I do imagine what people would think if I was 25 and skinny.. umm, that's fantasy.. different post. Note to self: work on imagination more often.. sounds like oh so much fun!!

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    1. Sounds like you're flexing your imagination every day! Good for you. Maybe jot down some of those stories to share with the rest of us. I'd love to read them!

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