Conceptual alchemy toward creative solutions

Have you ever been so consumed by a dilemma that all you can think about is all the things you’ve already tried that didn’t work? Maybe you’ve been stuck with a revolving door of solutions that are incessantly followed by a reason why they could and probably will fall through.  Eventually it seems like the more effort and dedication you put toward working on the problem, the more it seems to wrestle you right between a rock and a hard place.  How do we get out of this unproductive rut, much less, find the path of least resistance toward a solution that is actually workable? 

6 steps of conceptual alchemy to creative solutions

Step away from the issue: It may sound counter intuitive, but the more distance we create between ourselves and the issue, the more we’re able to see it in relation to a broader view, and the smaller it becomes in light of the grand scheme of things.  Also, the more we allow ourselves a break, change our setting, and ground into our own senses, the more we’re able to calm our nervous system and enter back into logistical thinking.  Ex: Go outside and feel the fresh air on your skin, take a walk while you listen to an uplifting audiobook, take a lunch break, exchange jokes with a friend, have a glass of cool water.

Objectify the current situation:  If your current view of the current situation had a color, shape, texture, temperature, and or vicinity in relation to your physical body, what would the answers be?  Draw or imagine all those answers in the form of one single picture.  

Define your goal: If the current situation was magically and completely fixed, what would be different about the picture you just drew?  What would be different about the situation in reality?  How would you know the situation had been resolved?  

Melt the goal down to its simplest form: The simpler and less attached to specifics the criteria is, the more possibility and creativity for potential choices, there will be.  For you visual peeps, the smaller the center point of a circle is, the more area, or possible plot points, the rays pointing out from that circle will cover.  

So, once the answers from the last tip come to you, make sure they’re stated in the simplest form possible. It often helps to see if there’s any unnecessary part of it that could be stripped away while still leaving a statement that would define success for you.  It's also important to make sure it concerns elements that are more or less within your realm of control.  For example: a solution of “my coworkers would invite me to lunch three out of five days a week”  could be paired down to “I would feel capable of finding quality connection each day of the week, independently of others actions.”

Also, if the statement is originally stated negatively, such as “it wouldn’t or “there would be no…”  be sure to identify what would take up that space instead For example, “There would be no more arguing in the household” could be flipped into “I would choose to walk away to calm before returning to the conversation with respectful and assertive communication in response to three out of five conflicts I experience.   

Explore the plethora of possibilities:  Let your creativity climb as high as the sky with all the ways this goal could be achieved: Ask yourself “How many ways could the goal be met with the resources I have?”  Challenge yourself to list at least twenty different ideas that come to your mind.  No censoring or judgment.  Whatever comes to your mind here is for a reason, so count it.  When the list is complete, pause and notice any shift on the inside when considering the wide array of options you have to work with.

Prioritize the possibilities and dive in!  Once you have your twenty or more ideas, rate each one from 0 (not so much) to 5 (totally!!) on how much it calls out to you.  Take your number fives and pick the one you like the best.  Try it out and see what happens! If it doesn’t work out, know that you have a lot of other ideas already to try and feel free to start over from any of the above tips too if you need to.  Whatever happens, you’re getting closer to the right fit  by weeding out the misfits and seeing what’s left.

To wrap up, being stuck in a rut with a problem that only seems to become more difficult with effort and time can be stressful and discouraging! Perhaps these tips have helped you with a game plan for allowing yourself and the situation a little slack and room for the hope, creativity, and light to shine back in.  All you have to do then is keep your eyes peeled for the moment of illumination on the very solution that will click the problem into the upright and solved position.