Inhibiting old ideas may have an “essential role” in developing new ones.
One of the best ways to get the creative juices flowing is to take a break from trying to get the creative juices flowing. By stepping away from a task, you prevent your mind from fixating on a single idea or solution, becoming more receptive to fresh thoughts in the process. Researchers call this incubation, but in everyday terms it’s more like forgetting the stuff that doesn’t work in the hopes of accessing something that does.