Mindless habitual behavior is the enemy of innovation.
– Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Roger von Oech, author of Expect the Unexpected (or You Won’t Find it), offers the following advice on tapping into the unexpected to increase our creativity, something adults can lose if not nurtured.

“How can we prepare ourselves for the unexpected? I suggest that we: (1) loosen our preconceptions about what we expect to find in any given situation; (2) pay special attention to the anomalous rather than ignoring it; and (3) use what we discover as stepping stones to something very different.

“Why don’t we adopt this outlook more often? A major reason is that in order to get things done, we tend to filter out information that strikes us as ‘irrelevant.’ Indeed I find that I’m less likely to find the unexpected when I’m in a hurry or narrowly focused on a specific task. Conversely, when I’m relaxed or playful, there’s a greater probability that unexpected things will flow my way.”