The Power of Creative Tools & Products to Create Breakthroughs, Attract Clients & Transform Your Business
Part 1 of 4 Creativity Requires Stimulus
In this series, I’m going to introduce you to the power of creative tools for transformation and how products can make a difference in your business.
When you work with clients and they get stuck, the tendency is to try to “think harder.” This might send them circling over the same territory. A territory that rarely yields anything new. This is when you want to get them thinking more creatively.
I really believe that creativity requires a stimulus.
The impact of introducing some sort of creative stimulus is that it will create new associations that can lead to new solutions or perceptions.
We already do that in the form of powerful open-ended questions and we can also do it with metaphor, images, play, movement, meditation, body awareness, etc.
That’s one of the gifts of using a creative tool, process or product. Let’s call them creative tools for now. A creative tool is an easy way to introduce something new to the conversation without having to work hard to come up with just the right stimulus on your own.
Creative tools work because they are generally non-linear and tap into parts of the brain that process information differently – typically referred to as “right-brain”. What you need to know when using creative tools that are body-centered, intuitive, non-verbal and visual, is that right-brain types of processes bypass the left-brain censor.
Most of us are so very fluent in cognitive language and we have very skilled censors. We are just not as adept at censoring visual data and body wisdom. Right-brain processes access our knowing differently. In a way, it’s a different language. And it leverages the mind’s ability to make associations. We are able to create new meanings and generate new ideas by putting things together that were previously unrelated. The result is that more information gets surfaced than using verbal, left-brain processes alone.
I’ve rarely experienced a deep internal shift or transformation without the experience engaging in some way the body, creativity, non-verbal knowing or emotion. Cognitive approaches, verbal language, and linear thinking play a part but are not sufficient.
When you begin to introduce right-brain processes to increase awareness and tap into intuition you will be amazed at the internal shifts in perspective, energy or mood that can happen. It will make your coaching a lot more powerful.
Try this….
- Take a moment now to reflect on those moments in your life when a profound shift or transformation happened. How do you experience the memory of it? Notice if there are visual, emotional or physical components.
- The next time you feel conflicted or stuck, hold the question…”What do I need?” and look around your room for a visual symbol. Don’t force it, let it call to you. Then spend some time exploring the meaning the symbol holds for you in relation to the question.
Watch for our next part in 2 weeks when I talk about The Power of Imagery.
About the Author:
Marcy Nelson-Garrison is a product mentor and founder of www.coachingtoysstore.com. If you like this series you will love Marcy’s free ebook: Creating Aha Moments, Creative Right-Brain Coaching Exercises for Individual, Group & Team Breakthroughs. Available www.marcysfreegift.com
The Expert Series is brought to you by choice Magazine as part of our ongoing efforts to bring opportunities for learning and growth to the coaching community. Delivered in four parts every two weeks, each series covers useful topics for business development and coaching insights, serving the needs of leaders in all areas and walks of life. Archived copies of the previous series can be found here.
