Stimulation

Stimulation junkies | Stimulating methods | See also

Stimulation junkies

We are all stimulation junkies. As humans, nature has programmed us with the ability to feel curious and also the punishment of boredom, should we be stimulated too little. This has been an effective stimulus to push us into the further corners of the globe.

The need for stimulation also encourages us into seeking stimulation short-cuts. Many of us limit this to coffee and moderate alcohol, whilst others of us succumb to less legal temptations. It is interesting to note how often the rich and famous seem to self-destruct on sex, drugs and rock-and-roll.

And yet convention and culture pushes us in the opposite direction as we are taught to conform and be happy with a relatively boring existence. No wonder that, once you take the lid off the kettle, it is surprising how creative people can be, and how much they enjoy this (and perhaps surprising how surprised they are at this fact).

Stimulating methods

Much of creativity, then, is about stimulation. The PSI principle and tool says it all: Problem + Stimulus = Idea. When you combine a stimulus (which can be almost anything) with the problem, the dissonance that this creates in your mind prods your subconscious out of its safe and comfortable box and into thinking something different.

Virtually all tools for creating ideas use stimulation in one way or another, from the deliberate prodding of Random Words and SCAMPER to more subtle variations such as Modeling and Doodling.