The term serendipity was first used by Horace Walpole to describe unexpected and accidental discoveries. He coined this word in January 1754 to name one of his fables.
Three princes from Serendipity (the old name of Sri Lanka) always discovered new phenomena and facts completely by chance and with the help of their intelligence. The term “serendipity” also refers to finding valuable things purely by chance and when not directly looking for them. However, the serendipity method cannot be completely random.
Someone discovers the facts by accident if he is creative and has the necessary tact to observe and understand new phenomena. For example, Edison got the idea of producing a polycopy machine when he was not looking for it. But the important thing is that he was fully aware of the importance of his discovery and found the right way to use it within a short period of time. The serendipity method does not work based on the rule of “focused and limited thinking” and says the opposite:
When you focus your mind on a specific object or goal, you exclude everything else from your mind and thoughts. In the serendipity method, you have to expand your attention and pay attention to what seems irrelevant and useless.
The three princes of this legend were world travelers who, by traveling to the unknown, usually discovered things they did not expect. As all students know, Christopher Columbus was searching for a new sea route to travel to Asia when he discovered the new continent of America. He thought that he had reached India and that is why he called the natives there Indians. When you think of a new phenomenon, you should act like the princes of serendipity; That is, expand your mental frame and wait for the unexpected. In this case, you will not discover America, but probably unexpected and interesting discoveries await you. Wise Canadian entrepreneur and business man Lord Roy Thomson says:
“You will be rewarded for your thinking, even if the reward is not what you expected.”
The role and importance of creative thinking in today’s world does not need to be emphasized. If you cultivate creative thinking and the ability to invent new ideas, you will be successful in your career and work environment and win in the competition. In today’s world, if you learn the basic soft skill of creative thinking, without a doubt, life will open new paths for you and you will succeed.
Creativity can be defined as a mental talent and ability that helps a person to create a regular, meaningful and useful concept from seemingly unrelated concepts. This talent and ability reaches its peak in explorers and inventors, in other words, in geniuses. Creativity itself is caused by creative thinking, and creative thinking means thinking like inventors and inventors! For this reason, creative thinking is also called “inventive thinking”.
One of the most important advantages of creative thinking in today’s world has been noticed by senior managers, especially human resource managers in recruitment. In all industries, companies are looking for experts who can think creatively about different issues and offer new perspectives to solve problems and conflicts.
Creative thinking simply means inventing new ways to perform tasks, solve problems and face different challenges. This means that you should welcome unconventional ideas in your work. This way of thinking can help departments and organizations to be more productive.
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How does creative thinking work?
The opportunity for creative thinking in professional environments is very different from artistic positions to technical positions. In general, anything that makes you reach “Aha” is considered a creative approach.
Types of creative thinking models
Creative thinking has different models and appears in different ways. In the following, I will introduce to you some of the most important models of creative thinking that are usually seen in professional environments.
Analysis
Before you can think creatively about a subject, you must be able to understand it. This requires that you see the hidden angles of a subject well and become aware of it. Therefore, before making a decision on an issue, try to quickly find the important and influential points of the issue and solve the problem using the available data.
Open mind
To think creatively, put aside any preconceived notions or biases you may have and look at things from a new perspective. By facing a problem like this, give yourself the opportunity to think creatively.
Solve the problem
Employers want creative employees to help them solve work-related problems. When faced with a problem, think of ways to solve it before asking for help. If you need a manager’s opinion, offer your own solutions instead of presenting problems.
Organization
Organizing information is an important part of the creative flourishing process. While you may need to be a little messy when trying out a new idea, you need to organize your ideas so that others can understand and implement your vision.
Connections
Your portfolio will only follow your creative solutions if you can communicate them effectively. You must have strong effective written and verbal communication skills. As said, you should be able to analyze the problem thoroughly before thinking about it. This means that you have to be a good listener and use your communication skills to increase your knowledge about the topic.
Everything has been thought of beforehand. It is important that we think about them again and in a new way. (Goethe)
The benefits of creative thinking
Employers want creative managers because they can use the end result of their problem solving to achieve organizational goals. On the other hand, companies that cultivate the creativity of their managers and employees will be more profitable in the long run.
When applying for jobs, think about how your creative nature has served you in the past. Try to include keywords in your resume that show your creativity. Maybe you came up with a creative way to save your department costs in a previous job, or maybe you increased your department’s efficiency with a new problem-solving system.
If you are looking for creative opportunities as a means to achieve personal success, you can find those opportunities in various situations. A job that allows you to manage your work will ultimately lead to creativity and flourishing of your mind.