Mind Fitness: Improving creative thinking and problem solving
Author: Tom Monahan, Creative Thinking Coach

Nimble. Flexible. Strong. Agile. Quick. Words that could be describing virtually any muscle in your body, right? How about the muscle between your ears?

Did you know there¡¯s a way to keep your brain fit the same way you keep the rest of your body fit? As a creative thinking coach I have sensed for years that mental capacity can be increased. My instincts have been supported by recent discoveries in the scientific and medical communities.

It¡¯s presently understood that anyone can attain greater mind fitness, for improved idea generation and problem solving.

You see, for years it was accepted that we built our mental capacity almost exclusively as children and young adults, filling our brains with facts and programming in school and during other "cramming periods." Then, if we were lucky, we plateaued through middle age, or more likely immediately began the long, slow slide toward senility. The accepted thinking was that the constant burning off of brain cells and wearing out of nerve endings inevitably and irreversibly eroded our mental facility.

But many recent studies are showing that this long-held belief isn't entirely true. Yes, to some people who don't keep their minds active during adulthood the downward slide definitely happens. But for those who keep exercising their minds, consciously or unconsciously, they can hold back erosion of mental ability and, in many ways, can actually build superior thinking skills throughout the better part of their lives. The secret is the same given by most financial advisors - diversity. Diversity of mental activity, that is.

It's kind of like crop rotation (if you have the diversity of mind to accept a slightly off-center analogy). In farming, they say if we keep planting the same crops year in and year out, we greatly diminish the land's productive capacity, essentially stripping the soil of its nutrients. Whereas, when we do the same mental activity year in and year out, we hinder our mental productive capacity. Mental muscle atrophy, if you will.

Hurry up and hand me that crossword puzzle.

My experience training in the areas of creative thinking and problem solving prove time and again that to get a different solution you need to think differently. In my workshops and facilitated brainstorming sessions, we use many thinking tools such as 100 MPH Thinking¢â, Intergalactic Thinking¢â and 180¡Æ Thinking¢â to prompt the active mind and to lead us to new, potentially better solutions.

So whether it's immediate short-term conceptual strength that gives you the nimble mind necessary to solve the specific problem at hand, or whether it's a life-long regimen of diverse mental activity that builds long-term mental wellness, it's a win-win situation. All in the name of mind fitness.

And isn't it nice to know it's not necessarily all downhill after adolescence?








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Tom Monahan is founder and head creative coach at Before & After, Inc. a creative thinking company (www.before-after.com). Before & After works with companies, professional organizations and individuals. He has conducted Creative Camp for adults since 1991. (see www.creative-camp.com/camp/camp2.html). His corporate client list includes Virgin Atlantic Airways, Hewlett-Packard, Target among other companies large and small worldwide. Tom has written about creativity for over a decade, he won an Emmy for TV editorial writing and was featured in the Wall Street Journal¡¯s long running creative leaders series.

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