The Idea Gym

Enjoying and Using Fantasy: Imagining a future greater than ourselves

What would it be like to time travel into the future? To peek into a world not yet known and see all that has changed and grown?
Enjoying and using fantasy calls on us to use our imagination and visionary thinking skills to see and create a future that is greater than ourselves. When we think about the innovations we have today, they all started as a fantasy in someone’s mind. In this week’s episode, we discuss how enjoying and using fantasy can help us to resolve a problem instead of just managing it and puts us in the driver seat of our creative thinking. We invite you to not just to consume, but to create with us as we explore the valuable thinking skill of enjoying and using fantasy. 
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to tag us @the.idea.gym on Instagram. 
Resources from the show:
Thinking Skills: Weaving Creativity: Into Every Strand of your Curriculum by Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Julia Figliotti
George Land Study on Creative Genius: Land, George & Jarman Beth (1992), Breakpoint and Beyond: Mastering the Future Today. Harpercollins Publishers
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym:  Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn | Blog
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
Musical credits: Scott Schultz, 30 Second Concerts

Playfulness and Humor: The bridge to novelty

Scented markers! Bubbles! Laughter! Oh my!
In this week’s conversation, we talk about how playfulness and humor helps us get in touch with a part of ourselves that we perhaps may not have accessed since childhood. This skill gives us a fresh perspective, connection and the ability to not only think more creatively, but to receive the novelty that creativity requires. Playfulness and humor is a critical skill that gives us the permission to truly defer judgment and find creativity in the little things. 
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to tag us @the.idea.gym on Instagram. 
Resources from the show:
Brene Brown quote: https://tanagerplace.org/the-importance-of-playfulness-in-adulthood/#:~:text=Play%20has%20been%20shown%20to,are%20playful%20in%20our%20relationships. 
Thinking Skills: Weaving Creativity: Into Every Strand of your Curriculum by Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Julia Figliotti
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym:  Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn | Blog
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn

Mindfulness: A practice of deliberate awareness with Leslie Rowans

Mindfulness and creativity go together like oil and vinegar in making a salad dressing. They might not be obvious friends at first, but with some additions and steady mixing, they blend beautifully. 
This week we were delighted to have our guest, Leslie Rowans join us who is a holistic health practitioner and trauma-informed mindfulness teacher, professor, and facilitator. She is also a certified hypnotherapist, reiki master teacher and yoga nidra practitioner. Leslie specializes in helping her clients to not only heal physical ailments of the body, she also supports her their mental and spiritual well-being while on their journey to change their lives through her holistic health practice, Your Soul Healing Journey. 
In this week’s conversation, we explore how mindfulness is a crucial skill for the stressful world we live in that leads us to being in a constant state of freeze. The capacity to regulate our nervous system is critical in being able to create and live a full life. We discuss the difference between meditation and mindfulness and how multitasking may not be the best way to be productive. In addition, we share how the power of noticing our breath and giving a name to how we are feeling in the moment can get us to who we truly are beyond our physical body and help us to clarify how best to move forward.  As always, we also share some simple yet powerful tools and language to help us become more intentional with our mindfulness in our everyday life and work. 
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to tag us @the.idea.gym on Instagram. 
Resources from the show:
Leslie Rowans - website
Your Soul Healing Journey - LinkedIn
Thinking Skills: Weaving Creativity: Into Every Strand of your Curriculum by Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Julia Figliotti
Mindfulness and creativity study: Henriksen D., Richardson, C. & Shack, K. (2020). Mindfulness and creativity: Implications for thinking and learning. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 37, 100689. Doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100689
Mindfulness Brain Networks: https://www.mindful.org/apply-mindfulness-creative-process/ 
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym:  Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn | Blog
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn

Visualizing It Richly and Colorfully: Engaging with our Truest Selves with Nicole Jones

What does visioning mean to you? Is it an idea, a goal, a wish? Is it externally, out there? What if visioning relates to what is happening on the inside? 
We were delighted to have our brilliant guest (and fellow SUNY Buffalo State University Masters alumni!) Nicole Jones on the show this week. Nicole is the owner of Artisan Journey Wellness where she uses biofield therapy and breathwork to help her clients address underlying causes of imbalances and disharmony in the mindbody. She is also the owner/operator of Lula Days, an online wellness boutique which offers products useful for those who wish to relax, reflect, refresh, and recover in care of the whole self.
In this week’s conversation, we explore how visualizing (and even revisualizing!) can both positively and negatively help us to take in what we see, powerfully build empathy, help us to heal and become clear on what is occurring internally for ourselves. We discuss the importance of bringing intention to this skill as a first step in dreaming up a better future and to bring awareness to how our subconscious may hijack our anxiety when visualizing the unknown. We also share some tools and language to help us become more intentional with our visualizing in our everyday life and work. 
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to tag us @the.idea.gym and @artisanjourneynj on Instagram. 
Resources from the show:
Nicole Jones- website
Lula Days
Thinking Skills: Weaving Creativity: Into Every Strand of your Curriculum by Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Julia Figliotti
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym:  Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn | Blog
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn

A deep dive on creative questions with Dr. Roger Firestien

What's your problem? Tune in for some solid gold expert tips by Dr. Roger Firestien to help you use creative questions to help you speak the language of possibilities, uplevel your creativity and provide greater quality to your solutions. 
Dr. Firestien discusses two common types of questions we ask that can often block your creativity and how creative questions can invite curiosity, open ourselves to creativity and help us lead a “choose your own adventure” life. Since most all of us solve for for the wrong problem, how could just five minutes on creative questions set us onto a more informed path?
We also dive into the universal creative problem-solving process and how it can apply to any industry and subject from the medical field to the arts. 
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to tag us @the.idea.gym on Instagram. 
Resources from the show:
Dr. Roger Firestien- website and resources
Problem finding study: Runco, Mark & Nemiro, Jill. (1994). Problem finding and problem solving: Problem finding, creativity, and giftedness. Roeper Review. 16. 235-241. 10.1080/02783199409553588. 
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym:  Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn | Blog
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn

Being Flexible: Building capacity for change

What does a local's table in a bar and touching your toes have in common? Nothing, if you're not flexible. In this episode, we discuss how Being Flexible helps us to think differently, entertain different thoughts, embrace change and try something different. When we stretch our mental capacity for change, we lean into the discomfort and can discover new and innovative ideas, concepts, and roundabout ways to reach our goals. 
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to tag us @the.idea.gym on Instagram. 
Resources from the show:
Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory
 
Kaizen at Toyota
 
The Next Hour: Make Space, Fill w/ Intention, Create Change! (creativityandeducation.com)
 
Creativity scars - Dr. Brene Brown, (Daring Greatly, 2015, p. 189-190)
Thinking Skills: Weaving Creativity: Into Every Strand of your Curriculum by Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Julia Figliotti
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym:  Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn | Blog
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn

Producing and considering many alternatives: Finding freedom in the options

Want a good idea? A great idea? It's by generating multiple ideas that you create the freedom of choice and have the best chance of finding that golden gem. While ideas are not solutions, generating lots of ideas invites us to dance with possibility before we move toward decision making. 
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to tag us @the.idea.gym on Instagram. 
Resources from the show:
Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. McGraw Hill.
Osborn, A.F. (1953). Applied imagination: Principles and procedures of Creative Problem Solving (3rd ed.) New York: Scribner’s. 
Parnes, S.J. (Ed.). Source book for creative problem solving. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation Press. 
Thinking Skills: Weaving Creativity: Into Every Strand of your Curriculum by Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Julia Figliotti
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym:  Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn | Blog
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn

Highlighting the Essence: Clarifying with intention and simplicity with Amanda Olivia

Complexity is real. It's easy to get lost in the mess of it all and yet, when we boil it all down to the core issues or values, the actual problem is often simple.  To Highlight the Essence is to get clear on what matters, what's important as an intention that is visionary. Working backwards from this point with activities to support what you value. Just like flowers emit their essential energies, we too can flow toward goals by affirming what matters most. 
We were delighted to have Amanda Olivia (@iamamandaolivia & @centerforwholepeace) who is the founder of The Center for Whole Peace & Simple Harmony Flower Essences. She believes that every problem has a solution and is an expert at bringing optimism, love, & kindness through all of life's challenges. Amanda brilliantly shared how she highlights the essence, whether creating custom flower blends or utilizing her background in instructional design to help her clients to simplify their lives and lead lives they most desire. She generously offered 40% off of her flower essence blends to our listeners using the code ESSENCE. 
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to tag us @the.idea.gym on Instagram. 
Resources from the show:
The Center for Whole Peace 
Simple Harmony Flower Essences (40% off using code ESSENCE)
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
In and Out Thinking (Miller, Vehar and Firestein from Creativity…Unbound, 2001)
Thinking Skills: Weaving Creativity: Into Every Strand of your Curriculum by Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Julia Figliotti
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym:  Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn | Blog
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn

Embracing the Challenge: Building capacity for complexity

Life is challenging. Full stop. This week’s episode we embrace the challenge! We talk about how looking at a problem as a challenge helps to enable a mindset and capacity for better problem solving. Giving ourselves a pause, using language that opens ourselves up to solution-finding and accepting that change is inevitable allows us to leverage our creativity and build our confidence to help solve complex challenges, whether personal or professional.
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to tag us @the.idea.gym on Instagram. 
Resources from the show:
Dr. Ruth Noller (SUNY Buffalo State) equation for creativity: C = ƒa(K,I,E)
Creativity(C) is a function (ƒ) of your attitude (a) multiplied by knowledge (K), imagination (I) and evaluation (E)
Milkman, K. L., Minson, J. A., & Volpp, K. G. (2014). Holding the Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym: An Evaluation of Temptation Bundling. Management science, 60(2), 283–299. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2013.1784
Thinking Skills: Weaving Creativity: Into Every Strand of your Curriculum by Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Julia Figliotti
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym:  Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn

Looking At It Another Way: Reframing your process with Scott Schultz

This week we were joined by the incredibly talented Scott Schultz, creator of 30 Second Concerts, a YouTube channel dedicated to arrangement, created by himself, of all types of music from multiple eras played on children's instruments. 
Scott is a former professional French Horn player who gave up music for the business world over 20 years ago. As a way to reconnect to a creative outlet and pass the time during a pandemic (and see the time in another way), he bought a cheap wooden recorder to make some simple duets. Those "simple duets" most unintentionally grew into 30 Second Concerts (with more than 60,000 views on YouTube!). 
As we hear in this week’s episode, Scott combines his business knowledge and creativity to transform the way people do business through creative problem-solving and ideation. We talk about the benefits of reframing challenges as opportunities, how new perspectives help us build empathy and tips to help us see things in a new light. 
We would love to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening and we invite you to take a screenshot of your drawing challenge and tag us @the.idea.gym and Scott @30secondconcerts on Instagram. 
Resources from the show:
30 Second Concerts
Thinking Skills: Weaving Creativity: Into Every Strand of your Curriculum by Dr. Cyndi Burnett and Julia Figliotti
Connect with The Idea Gym
The Idea Gym:  Website | Email | Instagram
Tanya Knudsen: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann: Email | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn