No memory is ever alone; it's at the end of a trail of memories, a dozen trails that each have their own associations. (Louis L'Amour)

Innovation often starts with associative thinking. Such thinking allows us to discover patterns or networks that exist in our minds, uncover information stored in our memory, and wander into imaginative thinking. It helps us to understand ourselves better, but also helps us to make unusual connections and thus produce a novel thought.

Here is an association exercise that uses pictures. Look at the image for a few seconds, then write down every thought that comes to your mind, even though your rational mind may tell you that the thought has nothing to do with the picture. Keep looking back at the picture and practise paying attention to and recording every thought that you have. Push yourself to do this for ten minutes and set yourself a goal of writing a list of at least 50 ideas in that time.

Picture 1