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If the word divergent makes you think of a dystopian sci-fi film series, you’re not alone. But there’s another meaning, and it refers to a thought process that can free up your creative impulses and help you build confidence to return to school and succeed in college and life. 

Understanding divergent thinking starts with recognizing its opposite.

Most of us are taught to focus on finding a single solution — too often, the most obvious one — when we’re wrestling with a knotty problem or question. That’s known as convergent thinking, which means evaluating logical, known solutions for a problem and choosing one to move forward with.

Divergent thinking, by contrast, is meant to open up the process of finding a solution to a world of unlimited possibilities. In this creative approach to problem-solving and decision-making, there are, quite literally, no bad ideas (at least to start). Divergent thinkers are encouraged to consider a wide range of approaches that are out-of-the-box, unconventional — even wacky. The goal is to shift one’s perspective to come up with many possible answers, not just one. 

The American psychologist J.P. Guilford came up with the idea of divergent thinking in the 1950s when he noticed key differences in how creative people thought. He observed they were more likely to:

• Generate many ideas or solutions quickly
• Have ideas that are original and include multiple ways to solve a problem
• Have a knack for organizing the specifics of a solution to turn it into reality

Importantly, this is not an either/or situation. The best of all possible worlds is one in which convergent and divergent thinking are both used. Together, they help you find different ways to connect things. You make better decisions by getting as much information as possible. Harnessing your creative thinking through thinking divergently can open other doors.   

What does it actually look like when you’re thinking divergently, either on your own or as part of a group? It starts with coming up with as many ideas, answers and possible solutions as you can for an issue or question. This means freeing yourself (and others) from judgment; the wilder, nuttier, even seemingly impossible, the better. The point is to see possibilities you might have otherwise overlooked, surprise yourself or others with ideas that seem to come out of nowhere, and make connections between things that may not typically go together. 

Let’s say, for example, that your business is having trouble recruiting employees. You might start by listing every characteristic you can come up with that applies to your best and happiest workers, focusing more on, say, their general background (instead of their academic or professional background alone), personality traits and the very specific things they like most about their job.

Your next recruitment campaign and interview process might then emphasize those factors, like benefits employees will appreciate most, personality types who tend to thrive in your business’s environment and incentives that would be meaningful.

Quantity, as we’ve said, is the name of the game. In a divergent-thinking session, don’t edit yourself. Get everything down on a whiteboard, device or paper, and if you’re working in a group, be sure to capture everyone’s ideas.

You might ask yourself questions like:

• How would a 5-year-old approach this challenge?
• If we had all the money in the world, how could we solve this problem?
• If you had a magic wand, what would you do first? Second?

Games like Pictionary, Boggle or charades can be helpful to get creative juices flowing. Other techniques include all kinds of brainstorming and free association. You might consider doing a SWOT analysis, where you list the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for a given solution or idea, or asking questions as a way to cultivate curiosity. As much as possible, free yourself from time constraints when coming up with ideas as a group.

Divergent thinking can be viewed as the cognitive engine behind creativity. But it can also be easy to go down a rabbit hole of ideating without coming to a solution. You have to put the ideas you generate into an action plan and commit to something.

An example is a parent who’s working full time but wants to go to college. It might seem impossible to balance school with child care and other responsibilities. They could start by asking themselves what they would do if they did have reliable, affordable child care. If you can remove some obstacles so instead of 10 barriers you have only two, that helps with decision-making because it opens up different options. It’s taking little steps toward your goal that gets you closer to the main goal.

You may be someone who thinks you simply aren’t creative, that thinking divergently isn’t for you. But you’re probably already cultivating curiosity, openness and problem-solving in various parts of your life. If you’re figuring out how to get the kids to school when the car breaks down, that’s divergent thinking.

Applying this thought process — and combining it with convergent thinking, which still has its place — is easier than you might think and can serve you well when going back to school. Instead of approaching a research paper in one specific way, brainstorm 10 different angles. It’s like that old adage: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.’

This approach can be especially helpful when an instructor gives you an open-ended assignment, which is a situation that can sometimes frustrate students. In such a case, consider tapping into your own life to visualize your take on the project. There’s a lot you can use that you can translate at school and approach your classes with your own original thinking.

Many ������Ƶ classes have discussion boards where you interact with your peers, commenting on their work or sharing information, and they do the same for you. The conversations are often very rich, not least because ������Ƶ draws students from a wide variety of backgrounds. This is a great opportunity to add new ideas and to feed off others’ perspectives.  You can also connect ideas across your courses and connect ideas to your own experience. It can even lead to new business ideas.

If you’re ready to tap your divergent thinking and earn that degree, ������Ƶ offers more than 100 degree and certificate options in fields like business, information technology and healthcare. Request more information to understand all your options.