Innovation is not innate; it is a skill cultivated through continuous practice and conscious thinking habits. The following eight thinking exercises are simple yet practical. You can start using them immediately to open your mind and spark creativity.
1. Challenge Yourself: Break Habits and Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Choose a day to deliberately do things completely opposite to your usual habits. For example, if you tend to get up late, force yourself to wake up 30 minutes or even an hour earlier that day. If you usually start your morning with a coffee, try replacing it with orange juice or green tea instead. Ask yourself, “Why do I do this habit? What happens if I do the opposite?”
If you typically work on a computer, try working with pen and paper for the day, writing your plans or ideas by hand. Spend the entire day opposing your “default mode”: reverse your daily routines and try tasks you usually avoid.
The purpose of this exercise is to “rewire” your neural pathways, forcing your brain out of fixed patterns, thus discovering new possibilities. You’ll be surprised by the depth of self-awareness you gain and will unlock hidden sources of innovation.
2. Reflect Deeply on How You Think: Map Your Mental “Engine”
Innovation largely comes from observing and understanding your own thinking patterns. Try recalling your best ideas: how did they come about? What was happening around you at that moment? Conversely, what is your most foolish or failed idea? How did it form differently from your best ones?
Also, consider who inspires you most—your “catalysts.” What have you learned from them?
Create a visual diagram of your entire idea-generation process, like an engine schematic showing different parts and steps. This visualization helps you discover your thinking paths, identify which parts are efficient and which get stuck, enabling you to optimize your creative process.
3. Learn to Be Alone with Your “Friends”: Create Dedicated Thinking Space
Many top creatives share one trait: a strong desire for solitude. Being alone is not loneliness, but a precious time for thoughts to flow freely.
Start with just one minute, then gradually extend your alone time. Sit quietly in a room and don’t try to empty your mind—instead, let ideas come naturally.
At this moment, you are no longer a solitary individual but surrounded by many “friends”—those inspirations, concepts, and thoughts. Try to note these “friends” down, nurture them, and even have an internal “dialogue” with them. Cultivating solitude greatly enhances your ability to capture new creative ideas.
4. Spot What Others Overlook: Train Your Eyes to See the “Invisible”
Many great innovations arise from keen observation of details. Walt Disney noticed many bored parents sitting around playgrounds and wondered, “Why aren’t there entertainments for parents?” This insight led to the creation of Disneyland.
Go to a public space such as a park, mall, or subway station, and write down 20 observations about the people and environment around you, like a detective. Pay attention to small details others miss—expressions, postures, or layouts.
Learn from these observations, understand people’s needs and feelings, and spark your own innovation ideas.
5. Rename Yourself 10 Times: Identity Reinvention and Self-Exploration
Many historical figures habitually renamed themselves. Mozart changed his name multiple times, each representing a different self-identity and life phase.
Try giving yourself 10 completely different new names. These names can reflect your personality, dreams, values, or the person you aspire to be.
What are these names? What do they reveal about your inner world? When you call yourself by these names, do they inspire new thoughts and behaviors?
Renaming yourself is a powerful innovation exercise—it lets you experience different life roles and perspectives.
6. Experiment with Object Combinations: Create New Possibilities with Hands and Eyes
Pick a few ordinary objects—maybe scissors, tape, or a stapler. Randomly combine, separate, and rearrange them, observing how their shapes and functions interact.
Try to arrange them into a form you find visually pleasing or interesting. You might invent a new tool or create a unique piece of art.
This exercise breaks the fixed-function mindset of objects and encourages you to see and use things from different perspectives, broadening your innovative thinking.
7. Eavesdrop on Nearby Conversations: Hidden Treasures of Inspiration
Creative inspiration often comes from everyday life snippets. Director Christopher Guest gained the idea for the movie This Is Spinal Tap by overhearing meaningless conversations among rock band members in a hotel lobby.
You can quietly note down bits of conversation you hear in cafes, bars, or buses. Don’t worry if the words seem trivial; often, remarkable creative sparks hide in these random “sound fragments.”
These snippets might become the seed of your next project or open new directions in your thinking.
8. Start with a Single Stroke: Ignite the Spark of Creativity
Many people get stuck waiting for a “great” idea and thus freeze creatively. My advice: pick up a pen and start with any random stroke, whether rough, messy, or bold.
Then add another stroke in response, and keep going. Gradually, lines come alive, and your canvas begins to tell a story.
Similarly, in writing or other creative fields, write one word, then another as a response. Slowly, your story, idea, or work will naturally take shape.
Don’t wait for inspiration—create it actively.
and Reminder
Time flies—already one-sixth of 2019 has passed. How is your yearly plan progressing? Are there obstacles?
Take some time to review and reflect, seize the moment, reignite your motivation, and keep your innovation momentum alive.
These eight innovation thinking exercises can be tried immediately. With consistent practice, you will find yourself becoming more perceptive, flexible, and your creativity easier to ignite. Innovation begins by changing how you think!