Guest post by Cass Mullane, Creative Innovator, Right-Brain Business Plan® Licensed Facilitator, Prosper Creatively, LLC

When you think of a playground you may envision a small place with a swing set, a teeter totter and maybe a merry-go-round. Or, perhaps you live in a community that has created a larger space that may be the size of a city block with lots of equipment and areas to play. While the joy experienced in a small playground can be delightful, imagine the possibilities in a larger, more diverse playground.

The same holds true in your mental playground. If you have a small pleasant place to play, that’s fine. You are comfortable with the equipment and are very familiar with what’s possible there. But what if you pushed the boundaries out a little… or a lot? Imagine what your mental playground could be like if you removed the boundaries altogether. That would be an exceptional space that could provide you with endless ideas and possibilities to explore.

Today I’m going to challenge you to expand your mental playground and to develop new ways of thinking.

Creatives have many ways to stimulate new thinking. One simple way is to take two different materials that they are not used to using together and figure out how to combine them into one piece.

You can translate that into a good exercise for anyone wanting to expand their thinking by taking two seemingly unrelated things and figuring out a way to connect them. For example, how might you connect the need to water your garden with a commercial building?

While you’re pondering that, pay close attention to how your mind is working. At first you might be thinking, “What the heck is she talking about?” Then, as you accept that anything is possible, you’ll relax and feel your mind expand to start considering the possibilities and the various ways you could connect those ideas. Ultimately you may have a free for all in the ideas department, coming up with the laugh-out-loud hilarious ideas along with the ‘oooh, that might actually work’ ideas, regarding each with equal consideration. It is a playground after all!

Several years ago someone told me that I had to have a traditional office for my business coaching practice and a separate studio for my art because the clientele was totally different and I could not combine business and art. Had I kept my mental playground small, I might not have come up with the way to connect my two worlds because I would have accepted someone else’s limitations. Instead, I thought, “There has to be a way to do this,” and I went to work expanding my mental playground until I came up with a way to connect my business and my art.

Today I work in a studio that I call “The Playground” which is located in Cottonwood Center for the Arts, a building that houses 70+ artists working in many mediums. A simple walk around the hallways serves as great stimulus for expanding my mental playground.

While in my studio I focus on helping clients navigate their businesses AND I feed my creative side simply by looking up from my computer screen. I am surrounded by art and art supplies which stimulate me and tweak my brain, continually reminding me that possibilities abound, workarounds abound, solutions abound, innovations abound. All I need to do is expand my mental playground to find them.

What are you doing to expand your mental playground?

Like many great innovators, Cass Mullane has the unique combination of being a strong creative as well as a strategic thinking MBA. After departing the corporate world in 2004, Cass built a thriving business and personal coaching practice that focuses on accountability and specializes in solid business skills for right brainers and creatives. Tapping into this whole brain approach has helped to make Cass a highly valued coach with an international clientele.

Cass’ International bestseller, ­The Cool Stuff Jar: Three Simple Ways to Live a Happier Life, is now out on Kindle! Keep tabs on the book launch and all the fun following the launch by visiting www.CoolStuffJar.com and entering your email. You can also follow Cass on Facebook!