19 Ways to Avoid Inbred Thinking and See Things in a New Light

Photo: .sandhu

Inbred thinking is when your ideas become restricted and struggle to evolve beyond a set boundary.

This phenomena could be likened to the idea of writer’s block, but it’s not so much of an obvious block as a hidden force lurking in the shadows preventing you from breaking through creative limits set by external forces.

The best example of inbred thinking are “make money online” bloggers. After seeing the likes of Darren Rowse and John Chow making money blogging about making money and blogging hordes of me-too blogs launched talking about the exact same topics. Problem is, they had no experience with those topics and therefore could not offer any insight.

A few have slipped through the cracks and managed to get some lasting fame, but 99.99% of them utterly failed because their content:

• Regurgitates what others have said.
• Offers no personal experience or opinion and therefore has little relevance or authenticity; lacks strong foundations.
• Repeats itself. Repeats itself. Repeats itself.

But bloggers, or even writers don’t just need to break through these inbred thinking barriers. It’s a skill that anyone who does remotely creative work should develop. Doing so will give you more ideas, better ideas, and the mindset to challenge assumptions.

1. Be inspired. Inspiration can’t be forced but it can be helped along. Reading a fantastic book often inspires me, whether its fiction or non-fiction. Everyone has their own inspirational inputs. Find out what yours are.
2. Disconnect. Being logged in all day is not conductive to creativity. Disconnect yourself from the internet and inspiration from the “real world” will flood your mind. If you haven’t got the will power to disconnect for long periods of time consider traveling to some destination with less advanced infrastructure.
3. Brood. Sit and focus on a problem intently until you know the answer. It’s surprising how much we all inherently know. I’m not some higher being that knows how to combat inbred thinking. I just sat here and thought about it. And thought about it some more. Think about it.
4. Avoid influence. There is no single individual that knows how to do everything the best. Be wary of idolising anyone and regurgitating their ideas because no one wants to listen to a parrot. Just sit and think about what you really believe. If it goes against someone you respect then so be it. I don’t think there is any good teacher that wants their students to ignore their own intuition.
5. Live. Living through a computer screen is something I’m guilty of at times, so I can tell you from experience that it’s a sure way to join a cycle of regurgitation. Get outside. Live. See the world. Live. You don’t need to work as much as you do. Have a fantastic life and then use your work as a platform to share what you’ve learned. Live.
6. Be mindful. Being aware of inbred thinking is half the battle. Simply having the desire to share thoughts that are truly your own is far more than most others will do.
7. Recognise assumptions (and kick the crap out of them). Make a note of anytime where you think or say to yourself “but that’s how it’s always been so it must be true”, or something in a similar vein. You don’t have to challenge everything for the sake of a fight but if you want to do something and other research contradicts your wishes don’t let it go. Assumptions are inbred thinking. Don’t let them win.
8. Break your routine. Go to bed really late. Or maybe wake up really early. Just do something different. You may discover you’re both productive and creative at an unexpected time. Exploit that.
9. Do something rebellious. No, you don’t need to set that paper bag full of dog poo on fire. But in every industry there are plenty of ways to be rebellious. Maybe there’s an individual who’s been undeservedly idolised and you can call them out on it. Spark some controversy.
10. Learn something new. New things are exciting and can take you down unexpected roads. Chose some obscure topic like lock picking or playing the harmonica and just enjoy it. You’ll gain confidence from your ability to learn and there’s a good chance lessons from this new topic will carry over into your creative work.
11. Read about an unrelated topic. Ideas can pop up from the strangest of places. Read a book that has no particular relevance to your life but sounds kind of cool. It may just change your life.
12. Record ideas. All ideas have value. Pick up something to write on – scrap paper, a Moleskine journal, it doesn’t matter – and just write whatever comes to mind. They may suck now, but give them time and they may just form into brilliance.
13. Love. Someone. Something. Spread the love. Care about something strongly other than yourself.
14. Stop. Take a break. A glass of water would be good too.
15. Don’t stop. Power towards the tipping point. Build momentum.
16. Set an ambitious goal and reach it. Set your sights on a goal and push as hard as you can for as long as you can until you’ve reached it. Everything else will seem simple in comparison.
17. Clear your head. Just sit down and do absolutely nothing. Settle your mind and let all the noise just be drained from your mind.
18. Get lost in something. Books. Movies. Moments. Art. Music. Lose yourself in these. Focus so intently on them that they become your life, even if for just a few minutes. Block out every external distraction and just enjoy bliss.
19. Accept your down days. Down days are apart of life. You can’t always be a brilliant thinker. When you’re feeling blue stop working, play some loud music and go for a walk. Just remind yourself that your worries will pass, and soon enough you’ll be spouting creativity once again.

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