THE ESSENCE OF UNSTUCK

Have you ever hung out with a bunch of five year olds?

They are bursting with creativity and ideas, alive with what's possible.  And somehow between then and now, most of us feel we've lost the capacity to have new ideas. I think it's a combination of things. We're often so busy that we don't have time to have new ideas - the first thought that comes along will do just fine (because hey, it's an idea, right? Any any idea is better than none!)  We live in a society that loves the fast and the first over the slow and the second... so there's not a lot of encouragement there.  And finally, we just get out of practice. Let's face it, many of us are 90lb wimps in the Creativity Gym.  So, why is it important to re-remember how to have new ideas and create new possibilities?

Because if the essence of 'stuck' is only having one option (and not liking what it is)...

then the essence of 'unstuck' is having the choice of powerful possibilities. In other words, the capacity to have ideas and imagine what's possible IS the capacity to get unstuck.

So what can you do about it?

Here's a 6 step fandango for creating possibilities and new ideas. Test it out by taking on a real challenge your faced with right now.

#1. Give yourself some time. You don't need much. 5 minutes is great. 10 minutes, luxurious!

#2. Get away from your usual place of work. That doesn't mean leaving the building - it can just be turning your chair around. But shift out of that 'be efficient and focused place' we all have.

#3. Set yourself a target of new ideas. Five is the minimum... after that, you can go crazy.

#4. Press the 'pause' button on that little voice inside your head that just went 'I can't have five ideas ... I'm not that creative ... I'm no good at this.' (Did you know the biggest influence on your ability to be creative is your belief that YOU CAN be creative? So just for the next five minutes, pretend that you're creative and that you're up for this. Go on - it'll be fine)

#5. Ask yourself some powerful creative questions to open things up. Here are some of my favorites:

• If you could not fail, what would you do?
• What's the easiest thing to do?
• What's the boldest thing to do?
• What would be the most fun thing to do?
• What's the counter-intuitive thing to do?
• What's the safest thing to do?

#6. Start shaping a solution - take the best idea or ideas and start planning on how you're going to do what you want to do.

So... What's possible?