We lovable, quirky, perfectly imperfect human beings are also creatures of habit. Even for people who love change, change is the habit we must be intentional about not missing opportunities to improve our lives.
It takes deliberate, focused, positive action to engage creativity and think out of the box. Journaling is a fantastic way to jumpstart your creativity and think out of 
the box.
“Artist types” have no problem using their favorite media to create. The medium they choose helps to express their creativity. A painter paints, a writer writes, and a sculptor uses clay to create an outward expression of an inner idea or inspiration.
So, whether you’re an artist or not, what do you do when you want to stretch and grow outside your current limits – when you want to jumpstart your creativity?
Try Journaling for Personal Creativity
Journaling is an excellent way to get your left (analytical) and right (artistic) sides of the brain talking to one another. Here are two splendid examples of using journaling to promote out of the box thinking and increased creativity:
Mind Mapping:
Mind mapping is the activity of taking ideas and creating little bubbles
that represent each idea. They are their own island set aside from any other ideas. From there, an idea attached to the topic is listed below the main topic – inside another bubble.
This happens repeatedly until the isolated topic is developed in minute detail. This out of the box way of tackling and journaling a goal is great for visual people who prefer to think big rather than in a linear fashion.
Prompting Journals:
One will not have to look far – on Amazon or in their local bookstore – to find journals that are designed to get you thinking out of the box 
through prompting.
Are you regimented and need to cut loose? Try the book titled Wreck This Journal (the color version, or the expanded Black Edition). Either one will force you to draw outside the lines, smear things, or otherwise create chaos and get things messy.
Love to write but freeze up when it’s time to get started? Find a journal that has writing cues and see where your imagination flows.
Journaling for Business:
Businesses can use a form of journaling with their staff to get the team thinking out of the box. Sometimes employees can become complacent or underwhelmed. Getting together as a team to create solutions can be an effective way to raise morale.
Guided Journaling:
A trainer or facilitator can guide you, your staff team, or a group of 
like-minded entrepreneurs through a unique exercise that stretches them out of their comfort zone. The goal is to drill down to the best solution to the biggest problems for each person.
Alternatively, the session can encourage free-flowing thoughts and suggestions for several strategic plans within the group. Once you’ve found your preferred approach to the project, continue with journaling to track progress, create learning tools, or express yourselves.
The next time you feel stuck and want to challenge yourself, your staff, or a group of like-minded people to think bigger and higher, consider journaling. It’s a wonderful opportunity to expand minds and produce out of the box ideas.
