14 Ways to get Breakthrough Ideas is an article written by Mitch Ditkoff, which starts off by discussing two differing thoughts on how to get creative ideas. The author then begins discussing the fourteen ways he believes a person could get ideas. The first is Follow Your Fascination; in this portion Ditkoff talks about a person's fascination with a new idea. He claims that an individual's fascination with a new idea is "nature's way of getting our attention." The author also tells readers that these fascinations should not be dismissed as trivial and should be given time to breathe and grow. Ditkoff's second insight on how to get breakthrough ideas is Immerse. This section of the article describes to readers how ideas often come at odd times and in order to develop an idea, an individual should immerse themselves in the development of an idea. The third section talks about tolerating ambiguity. In this section the author describes to readers how breakthrough ideas are often the result of evolution and trial and error. He encourages readers to accept ambiguity and discomfort at ideas not necessarily working out perfectly in the beginning. The fourth section, Make New Connections, discusses how in order to be really creative, a person should break out of what we already know in existence. The author then moves on to discuss his fifth section, Fantasize. In this section he encourages people to use their imaginations. Define the Right Challenge, the sixth section, discusses how an individual should create a question that shows what they are trying to make. The seventh section, Listen to Your Subconscious, discusses how when an idea that was in the conscious and then discarded to the subconscious, which then begins working on figuring it out. Ditkoff's eighth suggestion, Take a Break, which encourages people that if they are struggling with an idea, take a break from it and do something else. The ninth section of the article is entitled Notice and Challenge Existing Patterns and Trends and it tells readers to challenge existing trends and to change them. Section ten, Hang out with Diverse Groups of People, tells readers to spend time with new people they aren't familiar with to help develop ideas. Section eleven is entitled Brainstorm and it encourages people to think with others, not just alone. The twelfth section is called Look for Happy Accidents and it tells people to try and notice something new. Section thirteen is called Use Creative Thinking Techniques and it talks about different techniques and provides suggested links for readers. The final section is called Suspend Logic and it suggests to let go of the practical and to "feel" an idea.
Response to Ditkoff's Suggestions
Brainstorm: The section that discusses working with other people to develop an idea is a good section. Many times I find myself at a roadblock on an idea, whether it be for a paper or a song I am writing. Perhaps the solution is just to get some outside input. I could incorporate this suggestion into my creative life by working with other people on ideas. For example, when I want to try and develop an idea for a song, I could meet with other fellow musicians and "jam" on some riffs or something and see if pieces fall into place.
Take a Break: The section that tells readers to take a break when they get stuck on an idea is a good suggestion. Often I find that I get stuck at some point when I'm working on an idea and I get frustrated. I think that in my own creative process, when this happens, I could walk away from the project for awhile, put my mind elsewhere, and come back to it at a later time. I feel as though this method would greatly improve my development of ideas.
Tolerate Ambiguity: This suggestion is probably the best one from the article for me. I tend to become very frustrated when things don't turn out perfectly at first. I feel that if in my own creative life, if i were to tolerate the fact that not everything will fall into place at first, then developing ideas would become smoother. If I begin to get comfortable with this concept, then I won't be so hesitant to return to a project that I have been avoiding because of being stuck on a section.
Activity from Prompt: Prompt from Hang out with Diverse Group of People.
1. Dan Floyd
2. Matt Hatcher
3. Robert Bell
4. Casey Leigh
5. Nick Meidel
6. Corey Krauss
7. Kaitlin Keeton
8. Tim (can't recall his last name)
9. Jon Mikesell
10. Joannah Tindagen
Dan Floyd is first to spend time with. I will do this when I get back to Athens on Tuesday, after the 4th of July.
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