Amazing things can happen when we think creatively. Many of the world's best inventions came from inspired creative thinking. However, while creativity is something that may seem to pour effortlessly out of some, most of us have to work at it.

Developing creativity is like building a muscle or learning to play the piano, practice and repetition make perfect, but there are a few tips, tricks and hacks that we can use to jump start the process..

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Creativity Challenge #5:

Invert it

Today's challenge addresses one of the greatest tools that critical thinkers have at their disposal, but also one that very few people have learned to harness effectively. One of the most surefire ways to get stuck in a rut, whether it be finance productivity, relationship, work or art, is to fall into the trap of only seeing the issue from one perspective.

Attacking a problem head on, over and over again, will usually just produce more of the same.. if you're stuck, that's not going to help. Often times we need to get out of a linear thinking pattern and see things from a different angle.

Today's challenge is all about using the power of Inverse Thinking. In logic, inversion holds that if a conditional statement exists, the opposite can also be created; the contrapositive of the converse. If A --> B, has an inverse of if -A --> -B. Natural language employs the use of inverse statements all the time. If it snows, I will go skiing. has an inverse If it doesn't snow, I won't go skiing.

We can use this line of thinking to help us come up with some value insight into a project or an issue that has gone stale. Whatever your approach or focus is, wording it as the opposite can help flesh it out and allow you to tap into elusive solutions. For example, if you are part of a team tasked with ways of increasing road safety in your town.. You might gather your colleagues and conduct an exercise of inverse thinking. Kill The Company.. What is the best way to increase road accidents in the area? Have everyone write up ideas and brainstorm, and boom, you have a list of things that you want to avoid at all costs.

Want to make more money.. start thinking about ways you can end up with less money than you started with.. spending more than you make.. then you'll pay more attention to your budget rather than trying to woe bosses for a raise.

Looking to keep a healthy relationship with a significant other.. write out all the potential ways you can sabotage the relationship.. maybe you'll realize that you are currently guilty of some of those behaviors (like doting on the children at the expense of meaningful one on one time), and you can correct course.

I encourage you to think inversely about this challenge as well.. it doesn't have to be limited to brainstorming.. it could be actually physically doing the opposite. Changing the route you take to work, mixing up your morning routine, placing two non-congruent items in juxtaposition together for inspiration (Think Salvadore Dali's Lobster Telephone)

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Bill Gates had a policy at Microsoft. He would take an employee from one department and put them in a completely different department for a while. He wanted ideas from one area to transfer to another. He just wanted to see what happened.. often times, nothing came from it.. but occasionally, it produced amazing results!

I challenge you to try it for yourself for a week.. come at every issue with the opposite approach.. maybe nothing will come from it.. but maybe something great will arise!