[dsmmcken]

Exposure. Try a lot of software, like everything you can possibly get your hands on to play with. Start with your area of interest, or focus of work, but don't limit yourself to your space. Try as many applications from as broad of fields as you can. Try to find something you like about everything you try. Try to articulate exactly what you like about it. Try to find something you hate about it. How would you improve that thing you hate? Practice thinking critically.

You'll start to collect ideas and make connections of interesting interaction patterns. Maybe the way they handle a mini-map in a random GIS software you tried would be perfect for an unrelated music composing app you are trying to build. Maybe you see a great settings config in an a 3d texturing program, or a video game, but it has exactly the range of features you need.