Andy Green offers top tips on how you can use the World Cup as a great opportunity to inspire your creativity.

The forthcoming World Cup is an outstanding opportunity to boost your creativity and come up with great new ideas according to a leading creative thinktank.

The feast of football can be harnessed as a carnival for personal creativity claims the Flexible Thinking Forum, and provides a gameplan to help armchair fans be more creative during the tournament.

Tips to exercise your brain while watching the World Cup include:

• Use the different countries of the world to inspire ideas. In what different ways would a Brazilian, or a German tackle your problems?

• Create a World Cup dream team to inspire you and your performance. What qualities does your superstar team have? How can you apply these qualities for new ways to solve your issues or challenges?

• Have a World Cup nightmare team to identify negative aspects of your current performance. Creating negative role models can motivate you to change, take action and finally do something about your problem. In what ways are you similar to the worst teams or players in the tournament?

• Use watching a match as an opportunity to switch off and distract you from any stressful or worrying problems.

By framing a constructive question ahead of the game, for example 'How can you do specific things better?' Your unconscious brain gets to grips with the problem while your conscious brain watches the game. At the final whistle these new ideas will come to you.

• Use the format of the different rounds of the tournament to visualise the solution to your problem to help you think backwards from your solution, rather than being stuck on what first step to take.

Imagine you are at your equivalent of the final and have solved your problem. Then think what is the equivalent of the semi-finals - and what are the preliminary steps to your solution? Repeat this process for each round of the tournament. You will then arrive at potential new solutions and any first steps you need to take.

• Use the letter of each goal scorer’s name as a prompt to spark new ideas. If for example Wayne Rooney, puts the ball in the back of the net what solutions can you think of beginning with the letter 'R'?

• Who is your favourite goalkeeper? What ways can they inspire you to make savings, or better use of resources in your life?

• Who is your favourite defender in the World Cup? In what ways do you need to be stronger or defend yourself better against new threats in your life?

• What ways do you think the different managers motivate their teams to improve their performance? What new ways can you find to motivate yourself?

• The pundits say 'you make your own luck in football'. What ways can you make yourself luckier? What is the equivalent of creating lots of scoring opportunities for yourself or getting more penalty decisions in your favour?

• What goal celebrations do you enjoy? What can you do different to celebrate success in your life?

• What is the equivalent of winning the World Cup in your life or work? What are your goals for this year, or the rest of your life? By giving yourself tangible goals they help motivate, directing your energies, focus and your thoughts to make a difference.

The World Cup is a great opportunity to take your mind off immediate worries and pressures, as well as being exposed to a world of different new stimuli. By following these tips you can make the most of this precious opportunity.

Andy Green is a leading author, international conference speaker, trainer, facilitator and expert on creativity and communications. His work improves creative and flexible thinking skills – to help people achieve more with less, spot more opportunities and create great new ideas. Find out more at www.creativityatwork.co.uk