Stress Management 101: Tip for the day - Creative problem solving

One key source of stress is the lack of effective problem solving. When presented with a problem that looks or seems to be insurmountable many individuals shut down, practice avoidance, or go into overdrive. Each of these has its own negative implications and creates stress that can start out as short term but end up being long term due to the unsolved problem. One of my favorite presentations is on the topic of creative problem solving. The one thing that I enjoyed about preparing for this presentation was the information that I found while researching the topic. Brian Luke Seaward writes that there are four components to creative problem solving which are represented in four players: the Explorer, the Artist, the Judge and the Warrior. We'll take a look at each of these in the next couple posts. First is the Explorer. In creative problem solving this is where brainstorming takes place. Nothing is off limits. All ideas and suggestions are accepted regardless of merit. The refining process comes later. Many people get stalled in the brainstorming process because we miss the primary purpose of brainstorming which is to generate ideas. We automatically try to determine or figure out what will or won't work. So, here's your assignment for today. Whatever challenge or problem you're facing try brainstorming for solutions. Put every idea on paper and remember- nothing is to absurd, strange, out of bounds or unreasonable. It can be fun and refreshing to actually let that unrestricted thinking/flow of ideas just happen. It's like throwing a handful of feathers into the air and watching them fall without influencing where they land. I like brainstorming. It's a refreshing change of pace and process. When you have no limits you dramatically reduce your stress. That's the first stage of creative problem solving. We'll continue with this concept in the next post. Those are my thoughts. What do you think?