Tools · · Updated
3 Ways to Expand Your Imagination
Imagination is the ground creativity grows from. Three exercises to widen it, daily.
Greg Murray, Founder, Human Creative Coaching
In short
Imagination is the ability to form ideas of things that do not exist yet, and it is the ground creativity grows from. Memory tasks let the brain run on familiar paths; imagining forces it to build new ones. Three daily exercises widen it: challenge your perception by drawing what you remember, find adventure in unfamiliar environments, and give yourself thirty minutes of unstructured play.
In this piece
Imagination is the ground from which creativity and innovation grow. An elusive state that fills the world with wonder and opportunity, and where many of us wish we could dwell. It is the almost magic-like ability to form ideas, and it is the ignition for the flow state the world's top athletes and entrepreneurs access.2 Your imagination lets you think of things that don't exist yet: technology, smells, planets, games, songs.
Most daily tasks, and a lifetime of schooling, require excellent memory and recall. Those tasks demand relatively little new neural work because the brain is processing familiar information. When the mind is engaged in imagination, the brain's default network generates possibilities while its control network shapes them, and the two build connections that past experience never laid down.1 Your internal territory gets new highways.
We could go on about the benefits, but we value your time. Three exercises you can do daily:
Challenge your perception
Much of what you "see" is filled in by memory and expectation rather than delivered fresh by the eyes. Noticing the gap is where imagination starts.
Activity. Grab a pencil and paper. Look at something specific near you, a tree, a dog, a skyline, for five to fifteen seconds. Now, looking only at the paper, write down every detail you can remember. Then check your work. What did you miss? What did you misremember? What was actually different? (Sketching works just as well.)
Find adventure
Experiencing environments you have zero history with is one of the surest ways to provoke the imagination, because the brain cannot rely on connections shaped by past experience.1
Activity. Learn a new skill, plan a trip to a city or country you've never seen, cook a meal you've never made, or simply drive to a part of town you never go to.
Your brain's internal territory gets new highways.
Play
Is it any coincidence that children are both imaginative powerhouses and fanatical players? George Land, who designed a creativity test for NASA, reported that 98 percent of five-year-olds scored at the "genius" level and only 12 percent of the same children did by high school.3 The figures come from Land's own account rather than a peer-reviewed study, so hold them loosely. The direction, though, matches what every parent has watched happen.
Activity. Thirty minutes to an hour of imaginative play. Go on a hike, sit by a lake, or lie in your backyard and let yourself imagine whatever comes. Connecting with your inner child through early memories, meditation, or journaling can help. Afterward, jot down how it felt. Was it hard? Did ideas flood out? Did it feel silly and unproductive? Be curious about why, and how that relates to your current imaginative life.
Closing
These tools are simple and, practiced, powerful. For more on the subject, read the pieces on what creativity is and on creativity and mental health.
Questions I hear
What is the difference between imagination and creativity?
Imagination is forming ideas of things that do not exist yet. Creativity is doing something with them. Imagination is the ground; creativity is what grows from it.
Can adults expand their imagination?
Yes. Novel environments, perception exercises, and unstructured play all force the brain off familiar paths and onto new ones, at any age.
How much time does it take?
A few minutes for the perception exercise; thirty minutes for play. Frequency matters more than duration.
References
- Beaty, R. E., Benedek, M., Silvia, P. J., & Schacter, D. L. (2016). Creative cognition and brain network dynamics. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 20(2), 87–95. DOI
- Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper & Row.
- Land, G., & Jarman, B. (1992). Breakpoint and Beyond: Mastering the Future Today. HarperBusiness.
This article is written from a coaching perspective and is for general information. It is not psychotherapy, counseling, or medical advice, and it is not a substitute for care from a licensed professional.
Greg Murray · TPRAT certified, TLP Director, TPRAT co-facilitator. Coach to founders, executives, and artists. Writes here about what actually changes a person.
