Our imagination is something that many of us feel the need to ‘grow out of’ as we get older. The insinuation is that imagining is something that only children should be doing, and that as we acquire responsibilities, we need to come back to the ‘real world’.
In fact though, imagination has a lot of crucial uses that go far beyond simply coming up with
stories. Imagination is crucial because it allows us to imagine ‘what if’ scenarios and come up with new ideas. It even helps us to have more fun, as we can come up with more unique ways to spend our time.
So how do you cultivate that imagination and regain the childhood excitement you once felt for the ‘not yet possible’? Here are some activities that can help bring your imagination back to life.
Play Minecraft
If you find it difficult to let go and forget yourself while you toy around in the sandbox of your mind, then you may find that the framework provided by a game like Minecraft can really help. Minecraft is a game that allows you to build anything you can dream of out of blocks, and the things that people share online are truly incredible. This is a great way to tap into your primal sense of invention and creativity, as you build houses, at first to survive and later, to thrive.
Write a Story
They say that everyone has a book in them, but this isn’t really true. In reality, we all have hundreds of books in us. This isn’t to say that you need to write an entire novel, but a fun exercise can be to sit down and write a short story, which is a lot of fun and a great way to forget the rules and let your mind run away from you.
Imagine the Future
If you’re still struggling, then sometimes, it can help to get a bit more narcissistic. Instead of imagining a random world with made up people and events, instead, think about your own future and how things might go. Take the situation you’re in now, and then extrapolate. Where does it lead? Where will your family and friends be in their lives? What will technology be like?
Imagining future technology is not only fun, but, sometimes, it can even lead to breakthrough ideas that you otherwise wouldn’t have had!
