Image Your Task From An Outside Perspective To Give Yourself New Ideas

When you’re experienced in something, the last thing you want is an outsider chiming in to tell you how to do your job. If you’re trying to come up with a new idea, though, thinking like that outsider might help.

Photo by Kenzie Saunders.

As tips blog Barking Up the Wrong Tree explains, experience is great, but it can colour your perception of your own art or projects. You get into the habit of dismissing ideas outright that a newcomer might have to mull over for a while. By assuming the perspective of an outsider, you can potentially come to new conclusions:

So what’s the takeaway here? You don’t need to have a mental disorder but thinking like an outsider, like someone new to your field, is often enough of a perspective shift to start the innovation gears in your head cranking.

The site goes on to suggest that a quick way to do this is to think like a child. Children are new to everything, so it’s easy to come up with outlandish or atypical ideas. They don’t know not to. However, any outsider perspective can help, if you can imagine your situation through the eyes of someone without your experience.

How To Be Creative: 6 Secrets Backed By Research [Barking Up the Wrong Tree]