Ideas may pop up anytime. It could be when you’re walking down the street or sipping your favorite coffee. Every innovation we see today is a result of someone’s idea. All innovations aim at solving a problem. For instance, the invention of penicillin, lightbulb, robots, etc., are ideas born out of innovative thinking.
What is an innovative mindset?
An innovative mindset is that mindset that seeks new ideas, ways, and techniques to solve problems. These problems may be private or public benefitting. In this article, we curated five ways to help you develop an innovative mindset.
- Develop curiosity
Curiosity is all about seeking new ideas other than the usual beliefs. It sparks questions like “What ifs” and “Whys.” We exist in a world where new ideas emerge every day. Curiosity sparks critical thinking. And as I stated in my previous article, critical thinking is important to making breakthrough decisions.
Furthermore, curiosity advances discoveries and paves the way for improvements. It empowers us to uncover innovations that will improve our daily lives. Simply put, curiosity fuels innovation.
Curiosity propels you out of your comfort zone. Having a curious mindset keeps you on the active quest for knowledge. An innovative person loves to explore new information and systems of learning. To develop an innovative mindset, you need to master the skill of curiosity.
- Be Courageous
Courage is essential if you want to develop an innovative mindset. Great innovators like Michael Faraday and Steve Jobs had contenders for their ideas. Their ideas looked impossible. Probably, at a time, they might also have doubted themselves. But they courageously stood up to their ideas and executed them.
Henri Matisse said, “Innovation takes courage.” Being innovative means seeing things from a different angle. Your ideas might be entirely different from facts. Courage is, therefore, vital to challenge the status quo and present new ideas. It would help if you dared to express your ideas.
- Expect failures
Is failure a prerequisite to achieving an innovative mindset? People wonder if any good comes out of failures. But most prominent organizations today recorded defeat a couple of times. Henry Ford, Ford’s founder, said, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time, more intelligently.” Failure is not the end of innovation. Instead, failure propels innovations. It provides you with a new set of ideas.
For instance, Thomas Edison, the famous inventor of the lightbulb, had his share of failures. He had to try his idea 1000 ways before it became successful. To develop an innovative mindset, therefore, expect failures. Give room for mistakes. And learn from the mistakes by applying new strategies.
- Be creative
Another key to developing an innovative mindset is to embrace creativity. Creativity is not reserved for art and artists. Creativity is the ability to generate new ideas, to solve a problem, or to communicate with others.
Creativity is vital in the innovation process because it incites problem-solving. It allows humans to think outside the box. For instance, Apple’s introduction of IOS watches is an example of creativity. In comparison, creativity is the creation of ideas, and innovation centers on executing those ideas. Which means, creativity is the core of innovation.
- Embrace Risk-taking
Anyone can have innovative ideas. But implementing these new ideas despite criticisms is a risk. This implies that innovation is impossible without embracing risks. Neil Armstrong, the first man to land on the moon, said, “There can be no great accomplishment without risk-taking.” Not every risk ends up futile. A step towards executing your idea might be the next world-changing idea. It is, therefore, imperative to embrace risks.
Conclusion
Developing an innovative mindset is rewarding. You need resilience, persistence, and diligence to apply all the strategies. With these methods listed above, you will swiftly develop an innovative mindset.
