How to Practice Thinking Differently

Creative solutions to problems. Divergent thinking is a form of creative thinking, because it considers issues beyond the framework of conventional thinking. Instead of compromising on an answer that doesn’t change anything or doesn’t answer at all, you could try solving the problem by asking the question “what if I try it this way?” ^[2] Differential thinking encourages the search for and consideration of new and different methods, new and different opportunities, new and different ideas, and/or new and different solutions. ^[3]

Use your right hemisphere. While the brain hemisphere is rational, analytical, and controlling, the right hemisphere is where we have creativity, intuition, and emotional expression. It plays an important role in divergent thinking and creative problem solving depends on it. Divergent thinking is often spontaneous, free, and out of bounds. It uses one-sided, non-traditional and unconventional thinking. ^[4]

Different from the standard problem-solving methods commonly used in schools. Creative thinking is needed to solve problems, however, this is not something we often use in the classroom. ^[5] Instead, a good example is that to solve a multiple-choice test we need convergent thinking. This is not a different way of thinking to solve problems because it is associated with four characteristics: ^[6]

• Fluency – the ability to generate many ideas or solutions quickly;
• Flexibility – the ability to think of multiple ways to solve a problem at once;
• Originality – the ability to generate ideas that most people don’t think of;
• Meticulousness – the ability to think not only of the good points of an idea but also to implement them.