How to Flex your Thinking in a Constantly Changing World

American theoretical physicist and Star Trek's screenwriter Leonard Mlodinow is the author of Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Constantly Changing World, a book that explains how elasticity can influence our thoughts and boost creativity.

To understand the so-called Elastic Thinking we must get rid of some of the main ideas behind the analytical or logical thinking, which tends to be algorithm-based and lacks emotion, and tune into a kind of creative thinking that is mostly driven by emotion and motivation.

Requirements to be good "elastic thinkers":

-- Have more non-linear thoughts.

-- Allow ideas to emerge bottom-up from the unconscious.

-- Be more playful with our reasoning and try new ways to tackle old challenges.

-- Challenge our most fundamental assumptions.

-- Relax our analytical mind when working on a problem by practicing mindfulness or meditation.

Talent is sometimes hidden in the most unlikely places

You never know who can present a groundbreaking idea that can make your business thrive, so why not ask everyone about what they think?

Mlodinow also argues that Elastic Thinking is usually dependant on the concepts of neophilia: the love for novelty things and schizotypy: a strong tendency toward original thinking and the will to explore new solutions with a nonconformist behavior.

For the leaders and entrepreneurs: when applying this methodology in large organizations or companies, we should encourage more involvement from all the members of the team or the staff, instead of rely on command and control.