Creative thinking is an extremely crucial aspect of problem-solving, starting a business, and writing various types of content. One of the best ways to think creatively is by changing your perspective and seeing things a bit differently than you normally would. Some call this “thinking outside the box.” Having a tough time creating? Follow the exercises below to strip away any imaginary mental blocks that you’ve picked up along the way.

Contrast Yourself Mentally – Destroying mental roadblocks begins with a focus on strategic tasks that will support your long-term objectives. This can be done by balancing positive thinking with negative. Think about what might get in the way of you achieving your goals and address those issues head-on rather than being blindsided by them later. Mental contrasting is a technique that’s all about holding both a positive outlook for the future while also realistically looking at the different challenges and potential obstacles you might face along the way.

Prime Your Actions – Being creative is all about putting your mind and body into the right state. For example, think about a song that puts you in a good mood when you listen to it. That song makes you happy, more energetic, and productive, therefore preparing you to let go of inhibitions that could be holding you back. Priming your actions with creative thoughts and external stimuli such as music is an excellent way to tackle mental roadblocks.

Conduct An Imaginary Rehearsal – As humans, we like to prepare for important activities by psyching ourselves up for something like a big race or presentation. Research has proven that our brains work in a very similar way when we visualize something happening before we actually do it. That means if we visualize an important meeting going completely wrong, there is a good chance we won’t be performing at our highest level when that time comes. Visualize an activity the way you would like it to happen by conducting an imaginary rehearsal beforehand.

Whether you’ve hit mental roadblocks while trying to write a business plan, create your own product, or take care of any other task, following the different exercises above can help put them to rest and become more productive.