Greetings, friends. Imagine a dog. Introduced? Great, then everything is fine with your imagination! Just some of you presented the dog in general terms, while others presented something special, with a name and character. The fact is that everyone's imagination is developed differently. Its deficiency can become a stumbling block on the path of personal development or career growth. In this article we will talk about how to develop imagination and fantasy in order to learn to think creatively and generate new ideas.
Why do people need imagination and fantasy?
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein.
Some people mistakenly believe that fantasy and writing are empty activities that have no practical benefit. But a well-developed imagination is the foundation for creative thinking, which is so valued in modern society.
Just think about it: we do not obey instincts alone. Instead, we dream and have ambitions, set goals and enjoy the beauty of life. It is impossible to dream if you cannot imagine the object of your dreams. Therefore, the presence of imagination is what distinguishes humans from animals.
Here are some reasons why a developed imagination is a useful thing:
- Imagination allows you to develop. If you make plans based only on your experience, you will not be able to change or create anything. Imagination expands boundaries and allows you to set goals that you have not previously achieved.
- Imagination helps you solve problems faster. Instead of trying to do things the same way, imaginative people come up with new strategies and solve problems faster. This is called creative thinking.
- Imagination leads to discovery. For example, Albert Einstein imagined a place where people could stop time and capture the best moments of their lives forever. As a result, such thoughts led him to the creation of the General Theory of Relativity, which changed humanity's understanding of time. And without imagination, people to this day would consider time to be a constant.
- Imagination gives the world new inventions. Air travel, talking on the phone, hot water in the bathroom - all of this began with imagination. People wanted to fly like birds, talk to those who are far away, and not freeze in the bathroom. The list goes on for a long time. All the cool things that surround us exist thanks to imagination.
- Any creativity begins with imagination. Without imagination and fantasy, there would be no Beethoven's music, no Marvel cinematic universe, or all those stories that begin with "Once upon a time." Have you seen an unusual beautiful building? So, first the architect saw it in his imagination. Imagination and creativity are inseparable concepts.
- Imagination makes it possible to see beauty. Have you heard the phrase “It boggles the mind”? Music, painting, a beautiful view from the window, the starry sky, golden trees in early autumn... We perceive all this through our imagination, and that’s why we see beauty. Let's just say that a person without imagination will not be able to watch a fire burn or water flow for a long time. Although there are cats that can stare at one point for a long time. But I think there's something else going on here.
A great example of a person with a developed imagination is Stephen Hawking. In his imagination, he visited many corners of the Universe, studying and marveling at its greatness. Hawking's discoveries about cosmology and quantum gravity were made straight from the wheelchair to which he was confined almost his entire life. A person without fantasy and imagination cannot do this. By the way, I finally decided to get acquainted with Stephen Hawking’s books; now I’m reading “A Brief History of Time.” Written about complex things in simple language.
How is imagination different from fantasy?
Tomorrow is being built in the imagination of people today, today's science is a fantasy from the past.
Imagination is the means that makes an idea a reality. When we talk about imagination, we rely on logical reasoning. Fantasy is reflection on a free topic; it can be unsubstantiated and contradict common sense. However, fantasy and imagination are closely related, and any creation without them is simply impossible.
This is easy to explain using the example of science fiction. Many science fiction writers are ahead of their time, imagining technologies the world has never seen before. For example, Jules Verne's book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea describes a submarine ship before there were real submarines. But this is not fantasy. The author precisely imagined the existence of such a ship in the real world.
Today it is science fiction about spaceships and the conquest of the Universe. Space tourism is still in its infancy, and flights to Mars are only promised to us by Elon Musk. But the authors of books like The Martian are already imagining what it might be like from a scientific point of view. Such fiction is based on logic and common sense. That’s why science fiction is called scientific, and people familiar with physics trash those works in which the authors invented nonsense.
Fantasy, in turn, is not limited by laws and rules. That's all that can come to your mind. It's far from scientific, but it can lead to some really smart ideas. All creative people use imagination. Instead of logic, artists and musicians need a riot of colors and unexpected twists in melodies. Growing up, many people stop fantasizing. That's why they say that creative people are big children.
We can summarize: our ideas arise from fantasy, grow stronger in the imagination and then become reality .
Now let's finally move on to how to develop imagination and fantasy.
Eh, apple!
Sit in a chair or lie down on the bed. Close eyes. Imagine an apple. Start rotating it clockwise in space. Now let it “fly” out of your head. Place the apple opposite the bridge of your nose and look at it. Carefully mentally enter it, feel yourself inside the fruit (don’t forget about its shape and size!).
Then imagine that part of you remains in the apple, raise the fruit one meter above you. Try to see yourself from above. At the same time, inspect the walls of the room, the furniture, and the nearby ceiling.
PS YOUR BUTTON
People have long believed that creative inspiration comes from above. It was equated either with a gift or with punishment. And even now they often try to explain talent genetically or mystically. But thanks to scientific research, work on psychoanalysis and psychology, and training on the development of creativity, we can already say that a person’s creative potential does not always depend on a windy muse.
How to develop imagination and fantasy in adults
“Imagination is everything. This is a preview of life's upcoming attractions." Albert Einstein.
Imagination is an ability that is inherent in every person. Therefore, he does not need to learn, he just needs to be stirred up.
To develop imagination, it is enough to perform actions that stimulate it. Below is a list of recommendations that I found to be the simplest and most effective.
Turn off the TV and find a hobby
Watching TV is a common way to relieve stress after a hard day at work. I myself also like to watch a couple of episodes of the series on my day off or before going to bed. But this is a way of passive rest, in which the brain is inactive.
Instead of constantly observing other people's lives, find a hobby that allows you to create your own story.
Pay attention to funny little things
Try to find strange and funny things where there are none. An absurd combination of inscriptions on nearby billboards, a bizarre shape of clouds, a funny gait of a pigeon. It all requires a little imagination and can make your life a little more fun (a nice bonus).
For example, my sister’s cat Aliska froze in the pose of a cowboy shooting back from the Indians. And yes, I know that cowboys are just cowherds.
Try doing nothing
Our mind is constantly in a noisy environment due to external impulses. This could be the same TV, music, constant communication on social networks and the notification pipeline. Try sitting in silence and listening to your own thoughts. Sometimes you can be amazed at what ideas and conclusions come to mind when there is nothing to distract you.
Listen to music without words
Listening to music has been proven to improve productivity while working. But if these are songs with lyrics, we subconsciously listen to their ideas, leaving our own behind. I notice for myself that even songs in a language I don’t know can confuse my thoughts. On the other hand, music without lyrics stimulates your imagination and gives the green light to new ideas.
While working on articles, I listen to music in the style of Trance, Deep or Ambient. I love Drum'n'Bass, but you can only dig trenches for it. Scientists recommend listening to jazz, blues and classical music, but to each their own.
Read different books
Even if you regularly read fiction, this can also become a kind of comfort zone. The brain requires different content. If you usually read science fiction, read a detective story, it will give you a new experience and expand your imagination.
Watch movies with twisted plots
Now as for the films. I said that it is better to limit TV viewing. But there are films that challenge the conventional method of storytelling. Films with a non-linear plot, in which it is very difficult to predict the events or ending, are suitable. For example, the film “Shutter Island” with DiCaprio. This way you won't let your imagination rest.
Write to your heart's content
First, make it a habit to write down interesting thoughts . This way, you can return to them after reviewing your notes and develop new ideas.
Secondly, writing on a free topic is recommended as a therapeutic relaxation and can greatly stimulate your imagination. Try to simply describe your typical day, even if it was the most boring one. Write how events might have unfolded if you had made different choices in different situations. If you know how to rhyme, write a short poem about something ordinary, showing familiar things from a different, beautiful or funny side. For example:
I'm sitting at the table and he's older than me. Someone used to sit behind you, but not me. Maybe someone had lunch and played cards, and now an article is being created on you.
The poem turned out so-so, but now I’m already imagining a noisy group sitting at my old table and playing poker. Maybe someone even won this table. It doesn’t matter, the main thing is to spur the imagination.
Learn to do something yourself
You don't have to change jobs to start doing something creative. You can simply sign up for courses that teach you how to create. Anything you haven’t done before will do: cross-stitching, wood burning, creating postcard designs, cooking. As a last resort, there are many instructional videos on the Internet. I came across interesting channels on YouTube, where authors show how to do certain things. For example, how to make a ring from a coin.
Do-it-yourself work requires creative imagination. Because you need to first imagine what you will do, and then imagine the end result.
Talk to your friends
You can get together with friends to watch a new movie or a football game, but such pastime will not teach you anything new. Try talking about abstract topics, it will activate your imagination and get your brain working. If you are interested in politics, you can fantasize about how the situation in the country will change with certain changes in laws. Or discuss scientific discoveries and imagine where they might lead humanity. Live communication is what many people miss today.
I have a friend with whom we could talk for hours on various topics, fantasizing and imagining. Now I have moved, and I really miss our communication. Therefore, I advise you to value people with whom you can talk at length, even if your views do not coincide in many ways.
10. Come up with a tenth point about how to develop imagination and fantasy
There were 9 points, but the number 10 inspires a more serious impression. Therefore, you have a unique opportunity to use your imagination and present a final point on how to develop imagination and fantasy.
You see, being creative helped me complete my 10-item list faster, which once again proves the power of imagination.
Bottom line
If you enter “How to develop imagination and fantasy” into the search engine, you can find all sorts of games that develop imagination and various exercises. But I believe that the imagination should work constantly, and not just 5 minutes a day. Therefore, the tips I have chosen are suitable for everyday use and will allow you to use your imagination as often as possible.
There is also an interesting topic - how to develop fantasy and imagination in a child. I will write about this in another article. Subscribe so you don't miss a publication.
Friends, write in the comments your ways to develop imagination and fantasy. Perhaps I will supplement the article with new options.
And write which dog you presented :)
Until we meet again, yours, Alexander Gorokhov.
Games for preschoolers
These exercises will require more time and effort from you than the previous ones. But the result is worth it. All of them contribute to the development of concentration, expansion of the scope of perception, improvement of memory and, of course, stimulate the imagination!
In games to develop imagination in preschool children, a methodology of educational processes is used that implements a number of principles of playful, active learning:
- Reviving objects. For example, imagine yourself as a “sleigh that was left standing on the street”, a blouse - wrinkled or ironed and neatly folded.
- Visualization of impressions from music. We listen to music and draw shapes and lines with paints and pencils on paper.
- Drawings together. One child puts a dot on the sheet, the other continues the drawing.
- "Riddle." One child makes a wish for some thing and shows it with facial expressions and pantomime to the other players.
Books for developing imagination
- "Steal Like an Artist" by Austin Kleon
- "Six Thinking Hats" by Edward De Bono
- "Genius to Order" by Mark Levy
- "Rice Storm and 21 More Ways to Think Outside the Box" by Michael Micalko
- “Hacking Creativity: How to See What Others Can’t See,” Michael Mikalko
- “Learn to see. Lessons from creative upswings”, Marina Moskvina
- "The Flexible Mind" by Estanislao Bachrach
- “How people think”, Dmitry Chernyshev
- "Skits on Sundays", Christoph Niemann
- “Brain 100%. Intelligence. Memory. Creative. Intuition.”, O. Kinyakina, O. Ovchinnikova, P. Lem, T. I. Zakharova, Y. Asoskova
