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Contents
We Live In Mind Boxes
Playful Mind turns up the "creative waters" and cultivates more creativity in our lives. By participating in learning processes, we expand our creativity. Gradually, it becomes a central part of our identity and how we choose to live, which adds more fun and adventure to our lives.
1: You Become Who You Say You Are
Nothing affects the capacity to be creative more dramatically than personal identity. Designing an identity that supports a creative life calls for a change. When this is achieved, we will automatically ask: "What is the creative thing to do there?"
2: Let Your Mind Play
We monitor our thoughts, holding back ideas for fear they will be rejected or ridiculed. Judging our thoughts for suitability, we restrict the natural spontaneity of the mind. By practicing the "fun-da-mentals of creativity," we free our minds to play. Then, our creativity grows.
3: Clear Intentions Increase Success
Many of us wait for things to happen. Intention is the conscious choice to create what we want. By living from clear intentions and with quiet determination, we learn to produce creative results with just the right amount of effort.
4: Follow Your Creative Passions
We may hold back from pursuing our creative passions. Sometimes inhibiting thoughts convince us not to try. By honoring our creative passions and learning to stay in momentum, we dramatically increase our chances of realizing our dreams.
5: You Are Gifted
Many of us are keenly aware of other peoples' creative gifts, but not our own. Acknowledging our gifts and adding new ones, we become more resourceful so our creativity is cultivated with greater freedom and enthusiasm.
6: Take Risks
As children, coloring inside the lines was applauded. We were, and still are, pressured to conform. The "guardians" of convention may hold us back. Sometimes we restrict ourselves. By discovering what limits our creativity, we take risks and try out new ideas.
7: Small Changes Can Produce Big Results
Creative plans can become so grandiose, our efforts collapse under their weight. In contrast, by adding and subtracting one little thing, we can produce significant results. One thing we add is our "life purposes," which gives our creativity new direction and meaning.
8: Managing Your Fears
Creativity can be frightening because of its risks. Many fears arise from our desire to impress others so we can feel good about ourselves. When we express ourselves rather than trying to impress others, our fears diminish so we feel freer to take risks and create.
9: You Can Create Inspiration
Creativity can stall because we lose inspiration. We wait for a Muse to bring us the gift of creative fire. The waiting can stop. In an instant, we can create our own inspiration. Using "inspiration points," new ideas come quickly, which makes us and the Muse happy.
10: Use Imagination To Free The Mind
Nothing frees the mind faster than imagination. "Let's pretend," "What if?", and "Future stretch" are ways of awakening imagination. When our imaginations are active, so is playful mind. Together, they help us dream novel ideas in abundance.
11: Shift Perspectives To Create New Ideas
The mind becomes dull when it grows comfortable with its normal way of thinking. When a new issue arises, it falls into its old perspective. By using the techniques of "Mind Switching" and "Roleing Around," we learn to shift perspectives and create innovations in our thinking.
12: Question Your Assumptions
Assumptions are the invisible bars of our thinking prisons. Being invisible, we no longer question them. By becoming aware of our assumptions and how they restrict our thinking, we break out of our mental confinement to develop fresh ideas.
13: Think Playfully Together Without Greed
Creativity can become a competitive sport. We may try to make creativity points or take credit for ideas and results. There is a cooperative alternative to this approach which emphasizes co-creation. We learn to co-create with others without competing for recognition.
14: Plan In A Novel Way
To insure effectiveness, Walt Disney invented three rooms. The dream room inspired imagination, the planning room stressed careful design, and the critic's room was where plans were evaluated and refined. By visiting those rooms, we find it easier to create plans to produce good results.
15: Becoming Unstoppable
Creativity is sometimes stopped by negative thoughts we think are true. Once this is understood, we develop the capacity to stop those thoughts from stopping us. By cultivating this ability, we are able to maintain our creative momentum in the face of many obstacles.
16: Be Receptive To Coaching
Many of us cannot take criticism. We become defensive, fight back, and miss the feedback. The information that would allow us to learn and change is missed. By enhancing our ability to be coached, we quickly increase our capacity and effectiveness.
17: Become A More Effective Coach
There is a way to coach so others are more attentive and receptive. It is the "Sandwich Technique." It balances positive feedback with suggestions for change. By using this approach, the people we coach become more receptive to listening and learning, so they can change.
18: Ask Strategic Questions
Many of us are unaware of the impact of our questions. We ask "why" questions that blame and "yes" and "no" questions that force people into binds. In contrast, we learn to ask strategic questions that cause forward motion, create options, and empower us and others to change.
19: Quit Whining
Nothing undermines creativity and effectiveness faster than complaint, yet many of us fall into whining automatically. Complaint wastes creative energy and stops forward momentum. We learn to turn complaints into requests for change. This gives us more energy for creative work.
20: How To Stop Procrastinating
There are times when there is an unpleasant job to do and we have little or no motivation to do it. We put if off for another day, procrastination sets in, then guilt. At those moments, we can "Listen to the General," move into commitment, and get the job done without resistance.
21: Random Connections Surprise The Mind
"How is your life like a block of wood?" Caught off guard by this random connection, the mind is surprised, so it spontaneously creates new ideas. By using chance connections, we discover how much easier it is to invent new ideas for solving problems or developing novel projects.
22: A More Balanced Life Is Possible
For many of us, it is easier to say "Yes" than "No" to requests for our time and energy. This tendency to say "Yes" when we want to say "No" makes us overcommitted and overwhelmed. We learn to say "'No' without a crack in it" in order to create more balanced lives.
23: Living A Creative Life
How do we know when our minds have achieved playfulness? By answering the question, "What's in the box?" With a more playful mind, we are able to cultivate more abundance in our lives which includes more adventure, fun, and fulfillment.
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To buy the book, go to Green Dragon Books.
