If you were to ask 100 people what the top traits of successful people are…

…what would be the most common answers?

You’d likely hear that a successful person is…

-Smart
-Hardworking
-Effective
-Logical
-Patient
-Ambitious
-Determined
-Confident

But now researchers are finding that one crucial trait is often overlooked. And this one trait gives you a huge advantage when it comes to overcoming life’s inevitable challenges and curveballs.

What is it?

You might be surprised to find that it’s…

…creativity!

And while many people assume that you’re either creative or you’re not, now we’re learning that creativity is something that you can improve.

Can creativity really be taught?

Researchers at Ohio State University wanted to find out, and so they gathered a group of 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students and divided them up into two groups - one that received training on creative literary techniques (also known as narrative creativity) and one that did not.

Then the kids were told to come up with solutions to imaginary problems like:

“You’re not able to go to a friend's birthday party because you're going to be out of town with your parents.”

As well as personal problems taken from the students’ own submissions like:

“My brother has a communication disorder," "My dad has to be away for two months" and "My sister bullies me."

The results of the study showed that the kids who received the creativity training were twice as creative with their problem solving and much more likely to come up with at least one possible solution to either type of question.

In fact, most of the kids with the creativity training were even able to come up with a second possible solution when told that their first solution wouldn’t work. What’s more - the second solution they came up with was ranked higher in creativity and utility.

On the other hand, less than half of the kids in the group that did not get the creativity training were able to come up with an answer to the imaginary problems and almost none could come up with a potential solution to their personal problems.

This shows that these creative literary techniques were able to improve the kids’ ability to solve problems and respond to life’s curveballs…

…showing that creativity improves resilience!

Creativity has a huge impact on your ability to problem solve and become more successful. In fact, the techniques used in this study were also used on US Army Soldiers to improve their efficiency during unexpected circumstances.

So, what were the techniques that were used?

Let’s explore each one and I’ll give you some tips on how you can start to learn them, too.

Shifting perspectives can open up new ways of thinking and possible solutions. It’s also a great way to grow your creative muscles and enhance your ability to empathize.

Here’s how it was used in the study:

When they were presented with a problem, they thought, “What would my creative friend do?”

By essentially taking their own egos out of the equation, they were then able to come up with more potential solutions to the problems they faced.

You can implement this technique into your own life, too.

Whether you want to imagine a “creative friend,” a “successful entrepreneur,” or even a “superstar athlete” - you can create these imaginary entities and ask for their advice in order to expand your ability to see your problems from different angles.

Counterfactual thinking (also called “what if” thinking) is another technique that can boost creativity.

“What-if” thinking allows you to escape from the confines of assumed situations or events that may be more imaginary, self-imposed restrictions than factual limitations.

For example, you might think:

I don’t have enough free time to write a book.

(This is one thought that I’ve personally struggled with for years.)

But by using counterfactual thinking, you could ask…

…but what if I DID have enough time to write the book? What would that look like?

This opens the door to imagining accomplishing the thing you think might be out of reach. By solidifying that vision, your brain becomes primed to automatically start to figure out how to make it a reality.

In fact, to really get the most out of “what if” thinking, you need to add one more question:

“How can I?”

By adding this question in, your brain will start to connect the dots, figuring out how to take you from where you are to where you thought was impossible.

Here’s the example again:

What if I DID have enough time to write a book? What would that look like? How can I do this? Well, maybe if I woke up an hour earlier…

Suddenly, you have less and less excuses to achieve these goals.

The last technique is causal thinking.

This is a creative technique that helps you come up with other solutions when you run into a problem that you can’t really solve, but still allows you to progress towards a bigger goal.

For example, let’s say that it’s lunch time and you’re craving a ham and cheese sandwich.

But when you open the fridge, you realize that you’re out of ham and cheese.

So, what do you do? You don’t have enough time to run to the store before you need to clock in again.

You could ask yourself…

…“Why did I want a ham and cheese sandwich in the first place?”

Odds are, the real reason you wanted a ham and cheese sandwich was because you were hungry.

But now you notice that you have bacon, tomato, and avocado in the fridge.

You may not be able to solve your immediate ham and cheese problem, but you can still achieve your overall goal of satisfying your hunger. So you make a bacon, tomato, avocado sandwich instead.

This is a simplified version of how causal thinking can help you overcome life’s challenges. By finding the true underlying reason behind your goals, you can still achieve some form of success even if it’s not what you originally had intended that success to look like.

Use these three techniques, your resilience and success will skyrocket!

So, now that we’ve covered how creativity helps you be more resilient in the face of life’s many problems, I know what you’re wondering.

Can meditation help improve your creativity?

Absolutely!

In fact, there’s a special bonus soundtrack in the Super Learning and Memory Holosync Suite that’s designed to help you come up with creative solutions to life’s many problems.

It’s called “Eureka Moment” and it’s one of my favorite tracks when I get writers’ block or need to change my perspective.

You can check it out right here.

Super Memory Stabilizer helps move what you’ve learned to long-term memory, so you’ll remember it – forever.

Laser Memory Recall primes your brain for easy recall of what you’ve learned, whenever you need it.

Plus you’ll also get access to a fourth “bonus soundtrack”...

...Eureka Moment.

Eureka Moment uses Holosync to put you in the precise brain wave state of “ah ha” insights, creative ideas, and…

...sudden solutions to seemingly “insoluble” problems.

Give a high school or college student you love the edge as they tackle the school year!

Learn more about the Super Learning and Memory Suite by clicking on the “Learn More Here” button below.