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Imagination First: The Practices

These 28 practices are designed to help anyone become more imaginative. They're a set of universal practices for opening minds at work, home, and play. But be advised: this is by no means an exhaustive list. Soon you'll be able to contribute your own practices, and share your experiences with the practices via Twitter and Facebook, and post photos—all the while learning from a community of imaginative thinkers from around the world.

The Practices

Practice 1: Make Mist
Ready, get still, go

Practice 2: Leave the Campfire (excerpt)
Know your enemy: it is you, scared

Practice 3: Flip What’s Foolish
Make it wise to be foolish, and every fool will generate wisdom

Practice 4: Make Way for Awe (excerpt)
Nurture humility and the wonder that comes with it

Practice 5: Reinvent the Wheel (excerpt)
Be willing to give back the givens

Practice 6: Think Inside the Box
Make greedy, grateful use of limits

Practice 7: Hoard Bits
Collect obsessively; sift; trust that the right bits will emerge

Practice 8: Mix Your Metaphors
Change the metaphors that frame your reality

Practice 9: Renew Your Narrative
>Ask whether your story still serves you

Practice 10: Untie Your Tongue (excerpt)
Talk about your work with someone who doesn’t understand it

Practice 11: Swap Bodies (excerpt)
Lose yourself in a role

Practice 12: Make a Gap
Obscure part of the picture

Practice 12.5: Finish the Story
Make the ending open-ended

Practice 13: Chunk It
Show how small it all starts

Practice 14: Don’t Blink
Snap in slow motion; see how you get primed for decision

Practice 15: Cloud Appreciation (excerpt)
Search out ambiguity and sit with it

Practice 16: Spotlight Off, Lantern On
Trade sharp focus for full-field awareness

Practice 17: Play Telephone
Engage in meaning-laundering

Practice 18: Help Out a Boobonian
Make every task a quest

Practice 19: Teach Nonzero Math
Expand the pie before dividing it

Practice 20: Microexperiment
Test your hunches playfully

Practice 21: Rewrite History
Turn ‘‘what would’ve been’’ into ‘‘what could be’’

Practice 22: Design for the Hallway
Let informal spaces thrive

Practice 23: Routinize Randomness
Regularly rinse out expectations

Practice 24: Ride the z-axis
Find elemental forms, then play with scale

Practice 25: Challenge Your Challenges
Find better problems

Practice 26: Break the Hand (excerpt)
Unschool yourself periodically

Practice 27: Yes and...
Never say no to an idea

Practice 28: Fail Well
Treat failure like a skill

 
We Have a Winner!

Randy Compton, a teacher from Colorado, has won our first Imagination Practice Contest! Read his winning entry and submit your practice to the second round of the competition.

Submit your practice by October 1 for a chance to win an iPod and other gifts.

Enter now!

Imagination Now
Imagination Now
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