A Checklist for Making Ideas Happen
To help take a look back at 2012, we rounded up our most popular features, essays, 99U Conference talks, and tweets. We hope it gives you a chance to discover (and rediscover) content from throughout the year while providing the spark needed to start 2013 off right.
1. The Power of Negative Thinking
Pop psychology tells us we can’t go wrong with positive thinking. But new studies show that taking account of our obstacles is essential to success.
The gurus claimed these positive images would galvanize your determination. They said you could use the power of positive thinking to will success to happen. But then some important research came along that muddied the rosy picture.
2. Test Your Creativity: 5 Classic Creative Challenges
How creative are you? Find out by taking a few quick tests that psychologists have been using to study creativity for decades.
While creativity “testing” is far from an exact science, trying your mettle at these challenges could yield insight into when, where, and how you’re most creative. Or maybe it’ll just be fun.
3. The 5 Types of Work That Fill Your Day
What type of work are you doing right now? Reactionary work? Problem-solving work? Insecurity work? A look at how to manage your work energy smartly.
All work is not created equal. Try working with an awareness of the type of work you’re doing, and how it’s helping (or limiting) your progress.
4. Why Boredom Is Good for Your Creativity
Why does boredom always emerge just as you’re about to get in gear on a creative project?
On the other side of boredom is the most exciting experience you can have as a creator – the state of being fired up and discovering new possibilities beyond anything you could have imagined before you sat down to work.
5. How Rejection Breeds Creativity
With a few small changes in your mindset, you can turn rejection into a dramatic boost for your motivation and focus.
While it is never a comfortable experience, the feelings of rejection can actually help us access our more creative selves. Free from the expectations of group norms, we can push the limits of novelty.
Read the rest of the list here.
Read more from Scott here.
Tags: Creativity, Innovation, Leadership Development, Scott Belsky
