To fantasize and invent something incredible is characteristic of the vast majority of children. Toddlers refuse to sleep in a dark room, fearing monsters, and schoolchildren talk about dogs eating exercise books with homework. Such fruits of violent imagination of some parents only amuse, and others infuriate. This is not surprising, because many adults have long forgotten how to imagine and fantasize. We’ll try to find out how useful fantasy is and how to develop imagination.
What it is?
Child psychologists say that imagining and fantasizing a baby is simply necessary for normal mental development. In the first years of life, the child calls for a fantasy to help in all situations that he cannot explain on his own. With the accumulation of life experience, dreams and fantasies become more connected with reality. Adults devote very little time and attention to dreams. And really, why does a
serious person need a world of illusions, if in reality there are enough worries? In fact, a good fantasy not only does not hurt anyone, but can also help in many areas of life. Imagination is an abstract concept that expresses the ability to fantasize and imagine something that does not exist in reality. The word “imagine” can be considered synonymous with such popular definitions today as “creativity” and “creative thinking”.
The use of fantasy
Before talking about how to develop imagination, we will try to understand why it is needed. It would seem that thinking creatively and constantly inventing something new is useful only to musicians, artists and writers. This is a big mistake, in fact, imagination is useful to every person. People with good imagination are never bored. They come up with interesting options for spending time for the whole company and instantly find something to do in solitude. People with developed creative thinking are not afraid to learn new activities. They prepare food without looking at recipes, easily come up with their own design projects for repairs and very quickly choose clothes for any occasion. Typically, such employees are also valued at work, because they are the first to put forward interesting ideas and happily work on non-standard projects. And if you give your imagination complete freedom, you can even try to open your own business.
We determine the creativity and level of development of the imagination
It is a mistake to consider fantasy a congenital skill. Rather, it is one of the psychological techniques that anyone can master if desired and regular training. Nevertheless, one can really notice that for some people the imagination is developed more, and for someone less. Try to make a sound assessment of how easily and quickly you come up with an action plan in an unusual situation? Thinking about the development of their own imagination follows those who think for a long time about gifts for their loved ones. If you do not like to read and only a few books impress, the problem may also be in an underdeveloped fantasy. It is believed that the greatest degree of imagination is useful for children. And this is true, because the sooner a person begins to engage in some kind of creativity and think creatively, the greater success he will achieve.
Simple tricks that train fantasy
You can develop imagination and fantasy at any age. The easiest way is to suggest fantasizing for children. Excellent stimulates the imagination of any kind of creativity. During classes with the child, invite him to do something unusual, to invent as much as possible independently. Any role-playing games are a quality figment of the imagination. When a child transforms into a fairytale hero, he truly believes in his new role.
A similar game will be useful for an adult. Play with your child, introducing yourself as some kind of animal or fictional hero. You can try this exercise alone. Imagine yourself elsewhere or a person of the opposite sex. The main thing is to reject constraint and prejudice. Play your chosen role as if you were a professional actor.
How to develop imagination in adults and children? Simple enough - to fantasize whenever possible. You can think over your tomorrow morning in the evening, presenting it in all colors. Use meditation techniques - close your eyes and imagine whole new worlds. How to develop the imagination of a child of 8-9 years old with simple exercises? Introduce your son or daughter to new forms of art for him. When discussing a specific work, ask what could be changed in it. From time to time, ask your child to try to write a story, do not be lazy to look for constellations together and discuss what the clouds look like. The right toys stimulate imagination: all kinds of designers and some puzzles.
Learn to think and act outside the box
Very often in the adult world, daydreaming is considered a negative trait of character. About people who like to plunge into the world of dreams, they say: "It is like he is in the clouds." But if you turn to fantasies from time to time, you will get only useful skills. How to develop your imagination without losing touch with reality? Use imagination to solve everyday problems. Imagine how you are doing something. It is especially useful to consider several options at once when the situation is completely independent of you. Try daily to break the usual course of events. Learn to act impulsively. Of course, this is not an appeal to quit work or household chores. Try to walk along an unusual route, go to a new store for yourself or walk the extra half an hour.
How to develop imagination for drawing for an adult or a child?
It's hard to believe, but sometimes
creative people suffer from a lack of imagination
. A simple example: a person knows how to draw or sculpt well, but does not know what to portray. It is important to understand that any kind of visual art is born in the thoughts of the creator. This means that there is no separate technique for developing imagination for drawing, you should just fantasize more. In order to create a drawing, you can take as a basis the character or landscape that you have already seen or thought up earlier. Then you just have to think over the details, and remember: there are no bans. And you can draw directly in the world of dreams.
How to develop imagination with this technique? Close your eyes and imagine a white sheet of paper, then mentally draw a picture on it. Try to really see the whole process and make out all the details and proportions. Performing this exercise regularly, you will learn how to draw real masterpieces. Then you just have to transfer them to paper as high quality as your imagination creates them.
We train fantasy daily
Still not sure how to develop imagination in adults? Exercises that you can do between things will help you with this. Remember any story - let it be the plot of a movie or book. Imagine an alternative ending, or better yet a few. If you love reality shows or watch with interest the vibrant personal life of your neighbors, you can fantasize about what will happen to the characters in the future. Turn on the TV without sound, looking at the picture, invent dialogues and monologues of heroes. When talking on the phone, put a few dots on paper. Try to connect them with a continuous line to get some kind of complete drawing.