Sleep and Creativity
By Linda Dessau
In my life, sleep is the number one way that I can either enhance my self-care and nourish myself or defeat my self-care and deplete my energy, peace of mind & productivity all in one shot.
When I’m rested I’m more resilient to stress. My body is more flexible and willing to work, my head is more clear and focused, I feel happier and more at peace and I’m nicer to myself AND to everyone else.
When I’m overtired, on the other hand – my body and my emotions feel more brittle. Unexpected turns can send me into a hurricane of a tizzy, my mind is foggy and I’m much less likely to be kind to you OR me.
I know this. I’ve known this for some time now. So, you’d think I consistently get enough sleep to make sure that first scenario happens all the time, right? After all, I AM the “Self-Care Coach”, my self-care must be perfect, right?
Well…….not so much.
As well as writing about sleep, I must mention another self-care concept here – in order to explain why I’m a bit bleary-eyed today. The concept is SELF-SABOTAGE.
The dictionary definition of sabotage is "an act or process tending to hamper or hurt" or "deliberate subversion". Why on earth would we sabotage ourselves? That's a complicated answer. And a simple one. We choose to.
Sometimes it's so frightening to imagine changing, growing or making conscious choices that we deliberately hamper our own efforts. We make choices every minute of every day. Our life is up to us. These are intimidating thoughts. And doing things the way we've always done them feels safe and comforting.
I know I’ll feel so much better if I get a good night’s sleep. And sometimes, for whatever reasons, I don’t choose to “feel good”.
And when self-love and common sense win out and I AM able to do what I need to do in order to get a good night’s sleep, I am rewarded.
Aside from benefits I’ve already mentioned, a good night’s sleep can also have specific rewards for us creatively. A few months ago I came across an article titled “Does a good sleep make you smarter?” (www.msnbc.com, in the “Health” section). The article described a research project going on at the University of Luebeck in Germany, which has determined that a good sleep not only makes us smarter and better at problem-solving, but more creative as well!
The article points out that “history is dotted with incidents where artists and scientists have awakened to make their most notable contributions after long periods of frustration.”
In other words, when we’re struggling with a problem in the hours before sleep, our brains actually keep working on the problem while we’re sleeping, and the answer might just “pop out” in the morning!
So, the longer and more restful sleep that we have, the more time there is for our “sleeping brain” to work on the problem that our “awake brain” has been struggling with.
This relates to the common spiritual practice of praying, before bed, for the solution to a problem, or to the self-help practice of writing a question on a piece of paper and slipping that under your pillow before bed.
So what stops you from getting a good night’s sleep? How do you sabotage your efforts? Over-work? Television? Internet surfing or gaming? Food, drink or other substances that make it difficult to sleep? Irregular sleep habits?
Here are the five things that work best for ME for getting a good night’s sleep.
1. Turning off the computer and television one hour before I’d like to be asleep. This gives me time to wind down, quiet my thoughts and prepare myself for sleep.
2. Getting out of bed early on the weekends. This means I don’t stay up too late or sleep in too long on the weekends. I try and keep my bedtime and wake-up times within about an hour of what I do during the week. Otherwise I spend half the week getting re-adjusted and life’s too short!!
3. Giving up caffeine. Even before I gave it up completely, I really had to limit my caffeine and “just say no” anytime after about 5:00 p.m. or else the caffeine affected my sleep that night.
4. Breathing techniques and other relaxation exercises. Just a few minutes of deep breathing can calm me and send me right off to sleep.
The simplest tips are to focus on breathing from the belly (diaphragmatic breathing) and to focus on long exhalations (exhalation is associated with the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for relaxation).
5. Setting the scene with music. I use music both as I’m winding down and getting ready for bed, and as I’m going to sleep. I’ve experimented to find the music that best does the job for me; this is obviously a very individual choice.
I recommend either instrumental music or vocal music that is either without words or sung in a language you don’t understand (so you’re not mentally caught up in the words as you’re trying to fall asleep). Wind instruments (I like the shakuhachi flute) are nice since the natural breaths and pauses that the musician takes can mirror your own deep, slow breathing.
Have you ever woken up in the morning (or in the middle of the night!) with the solution to a problem, a new idea for a song, or another creative spark? That sounds like the work of a good night’s sleep!
This article was originally published on the Muses Muse Songwriter’s Resource website (January 2005) http://www.musesmuse.com.
(c) Copyright 2005, Genuine Coaching Services.
Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive her free monthly newsletter, “Everyday Artist”, subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/artist-newsletter.html
From India, Pune
101By Linda Dessau
In my life, sleep is the number one way that I can either enhance my self-care and nourish myself or defeat my self-care and deplete my energy, peace of mind & productivity all in one shot.
When I’m rested I’m more resilient to stress. My body is more flexible and willing to work, my head is more clear and focused, I feel happier and more at peace and I’m nicer to myself AND to everyone else.
When I’m overtired, on the other hand – my body and my emotions feel more brittle. Unexpected turns can send me into a hurricane of a tizzy, my mind is foggy and I’m much less likely to be kind to you OR me.
I know this. I’ve known this for some time now. So, you’d think I consistently get enough sleep to make sure that first scenario happens all the time, right? After all, I AM the “Self-Care Coach”, my self-care must be perfect, right?
Well…….not so much.
As well as writing about sleep, I must mention another self-care concept here – in order to explain why I’m a bit bleary-eyed today. The concept is SELF-SABOTAGE.
The dictionary definition of sabotage is "an act or process tending to hamper or hurt" or "deliberate subversion". Why on earth would we sabotage ourselves? That's a complicated answer. And a simple one. We choose to.
Sometimes it's so frightening to imagine changing, growing or making conscious choices that we deliberately hamper our own efforts. We make choices every minute of every day. Our life is up to us. These are intimidating thoughts. And doing things the way we've always done them feels safe and comforting.
I know I’ll feel so much better if I get a good night’s sleep. And sometimes, for whatever reasons, I don’t choose to “feel good”.
And when self-love and common sense win out and I AM able to do what I need to do in order to get a good night’s sleep, I am rewarded.
Aside from benefits I’ve already mentioned, a good night’s sleep can also have specific rewards for us creatively. A few months ago I came across an article titled “Does a good sleep make you smarter?” (www.msnbc.com, in the “Health” section). The article described a research project going on at the University of Luebeck in Germany, which has determined that a good sleep not only makes us smarter and better at problem-solving, but more creative as well!
The article points out that “history is dotted with incidents where artists and scientists have awakened to make their most notable contributions after long periods of frustration.”
In other words, when we’re struggling with a problem in the hours before sleep, our brains actually keep working on the problem while we’re sleeping, and the answer might just “pop out” in the morning!
So, the longer and more restful sleep that we have, the more time there is for our “sleeping brain” to work on the problem that our “awake brain” has been struggling with.
This relates to the common spiritual practice of praying, before bed, for the solution to a problem, or to the self-help practice of writing a question on a piece of paper and slipping that under your pillow before bed.
So what stops you from getting a good night’s sleep? How do you sabotage your efforts? Over-work? Television? Internet surfing or gaming? Food, drink or other substances that make it difficult to sleep? Irregular sleep habits?
Here are the five things that work best for ME for getting a good night’s sleep.
1. Turning off the computer and television one hour before I’d like to be asleep. This gives me time to wind down, quiet my thoughts and prepare myself for sleep.
2. Getting out of bed early on the weekends. This means I don’t stay up too late or sleep in too long on the weekends. I try and keep my bedtime and wake-up times within about an hour of what I do during the week. Otherwise I spend half the week getting re-adjusted and life’s too short!!
3. Giving up caffeine. Even before I gave it up completely, I really had to limit my caffeine and “just say no” anytime after about 5:00 p.m. or else the caffeine affected my sleep that night.
4. Breathing techniques and other relaxation exercises. Just a few minutes of deep breathing can calm me and send me right off to sleep.
The simplest tips are to focus on breathing from the belly (diaphragmatic breathing) and to focus on long exhalations (exhalation is associated with the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for relaxation).
5. Setting the scene with music. I use music both as I’m winding down and getting ready for bed, and as I’m going to sleep. I’ve experimented to find the music that best does the job for me; this is obviously a very individual choice.
I recommend either instrumental music or vocal music that is either without words or sung in a language you don’t understand (so you’re not mentally caught up in the words as you’re trying to fall asleep). Wind instruments (I like the shakuhachi flute) are nice since the natural breaths and pauses that the musician takes can mirror your own deep, slow breathing.
Have you ever woken up in the morning (or in the middle of the night!) with the solution to a problem, a new idea for a song, or another creative spark? That sounds like the work of a good night’s sleep!
This article was originally published on the Muses Muse Songwriter’s Resource website (January 2005) http://www.musesmuse.com.
(c) Copyright 2005, Genuine Coaching Services.
Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive her free monthly newsletter, “Everyday Artist”, subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/artist-newsletter.html
From India, Pune
Lateral Thinking
Lateral thinking is a term coined by Edward de Bono. He defines it as a technique of problem solving by approaching problems indirectly at diverse angles instead of concentrating on one approach at length.
Check out your lateral thinking prowess!
The first 4 images are the questions and the last four the answers.
Please do not look at the answers first, these are really good, try it out
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
Lateral thinking is a term coined by Edward de Bono. He defines it as a technique of problem solving by approaching problems indirectly at diverse angles instead of concentrating on one approach at length.
Check out your lateral thinking prowess!
The first 4 images are the questions and the last four the answers.
Please do not look at the answers first, these are really good, try it out
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
**** **** **** **** **** ****
Try one of these quick energizers just to awaken the creative brains
within your participants.
**** **** **** **** **** ****
Get the participants to throw an object from left hand to right - this engages the left and right brain functions.
OR
Get the participants to point both their index fingers, then imagine they're
stuck together, now, with tips of fingers on the desk, ask them to draw a
large figure 8 with each hand.
OR
Get the participants to stand up, raise their left knee and touch it with their
right hand, then raise the right knee and touch with their left hand, do
this a few times.
All these exercises will get the brain working and the participants feel
energized!
************************************************** ****
10 ways you and your company can start becoming more creative today:
1. Expect Improvement Every Day
Ask all employees to improve one aspect of their work every day, focusing on areas within their control. They could meet at the end of the day, and ask each other what they did differently.
2. Ask for 3 Solutions
Whenever an employee comes to you with a problem ask them to think of three solutions BEFORE they share it with you. Allow them to come up with their own ideas. Three will allow more choice and encourage creativity.
3. Hold an ‘Idea Draw’
Hold a monthly idea draw using a roll of numbered raffle tickets. Each time someone comes up with a creative idea, give them a ticket. At the end of each month, share all the ideas with the staff. Hold a drawing and give a prize to the person whose number come up.
4. Look Outside for Fresh Perspectives
Invite people from other departments, or industries to your brainstorming sessions ask them how they would solve your problem.
5. Provide a ‘Creative Corner’
People can go to think creatively in a specially provided area. Stock the area with books, videos and learning games on creativity. You might want to decorate the area colourfully and perhaps add pictures of employees as infants to suggesting that we’re all born spontaneous and creative.
6. Lunch with Purpose
Encourage weekly lunchtime brainstorming meeting of three to five employees. Each person could read an article or book chapter each on creativity. They can then share ways of applying creative thinking to the business. Invite local creative business people or speakers on creativity to speak to the group.
7. Mix Left and Right Brains
When groups are brainstorming, try dividing the group into left brained (rational and logical thinkers) and right brain (intuitive and artistic) individuals. Ask the rationalists to come up with practical and conventional ideas. Ask the ‘intuitives’ to come up with far out, unconventional and illogical ideas. Combine the groups and share the ideas.
8. Set Idea Quotas
Guarantee creativity by giving each employee a weekly idea quota. Thomas Edison used this method. His personal quota was one minor invention every 10 days and a major invention every six months.
9. Change "Yes, but"...to "Yes, and"
When people come up with a new idea people will dismiss it with ‘yes but …’, this mindset shuts done the creativity process. Ask them to build on ideas instead of dismissing them by continuing where the last person left off by saying ‘yes and …’.
10. Thinking Hats
Ask people to imagine they are someone else for a fresh pair of eyes to the problem. They could imagine that they were a child, what might they say, what questions might a child ask? They could put themselves in the shoes of a mentor, a parent or someone they admire, how may they look at this situation? The idea here is that ‘You cannot solve a problem with the thinking that created it.’ (Einstein). Looking at a different viewpoint should provide you with new information.
Creative problem solving is deeply entrenched in what it is to be human. It’s in our DNA. Any group can be counted on to be creative, and following a few simple guidelines can enhance its efforts – for example:
- Stimulating and maintaining a creative culture also means people should feel able to take calculated risks when trying out new things, so remember to encourage a positive culture to help this be successful in the long term
- State a problem in a way that stimulates creative thinking
- Don’t interfere with a creativity session when it is full swing, and
- Have a plan for evaluating ideas so that a solution can be implemented.
- Do remember to thank people for their ideas however wacky they may appear
************************************************** **
NEGATIVE MINDSET EXERCISES
When ur mind is moving toward pessimistic thinking or a negative mindset
Answer these questions the next time you find you are blaming yourself for an event :
• Is it really my fault ?
• Do I assume blame too often or too easily ?
• Could this have happened to somebody else ?
• What am I focusing on that results in this negative feeling ?
• Is this a pattern that I recognize as having occurred in the past ?
• How would ( insert someone whom you perceive as optimistic )see this event ?
• What new possibilities or better life event could this event now make possible ?
Answer these questions the next time you find you are personalizing the behaviou of another person :
• what, other than my actions, could cause him to act that way ?
• how could I help him ?
• I think her style is not conducive to healthy relationships with my style. Does she have this problem with others ?
• He is way too abrasive toward me. Is he this way with others ?
• They are mistaken about this issue, and I am confident I can find some evidence and present it in such a way that I can cause them to see things differently. Whom can I choose to help me with this issue ?
Consider the following questions when you find yourself stuck in an emotional situation :
• Having this conversation ( when we are gettingready for work ) is probably not a good idea. When could we have a more constructive meeting on this issue ?
• I think I need to get out of the office for a few (hours, days) to get some perspective here. Where could I go to clear my head ?
• The pressure at work right now is not allowing me to think clearly. What could I do to relieve some of this mental pressure ?
From India, Pune
Try one of these quick energizers just to awaken the creative brains
within your participants.
**** **** **** **** **** ****
Get the participants to throw an object from left hand to right - this engages the left and right brain functions.
OR
Get the participants to point both their index fingers, then imagine they're
stuck together, now, with tips of fingers on the desk, ask them to draw a
large figure 8 with each hand.
OR
Get the participants to stand up, raise their left knee and touch it with their
right hand, then raise the right knee and touch with their left hand, do
this a few times.
All these exercises will get the brain working and the participants feel
energized!
************************************************** ****
10 ways you and your company can start becoming more creative today:
1. Expect Improvement Every Day
Ask all employees to improve one aspect of their work every day, focusing on areas within their control. They could meet at the end of the day, and ask each other what they did differently.
2. Ask for 3 Solutions
Whenever an employee comes to you with a problem ask them to think of three solutions BEFORE they share it with you. Allow them to come up with their own ideas. Three will allow more choice and encourage creativity.
3. Hold an ‘Idea Draw’
Hold a monthly idea draw using a roll of numbered raffle tickets. Each time someone comes up with a creative idea, give them a ticket. At the end of each month, share all the ideas with the staff. Hold a drawing and give a prize to the person whose number come up.
4. Look Outside for Fresh Perspectives
Invite people from other departments, or industries to your brainstorming sessions ask them how they would solve your problem.
5. Provide a ‘Creative Corner’
People can go to think creatively in a specially provided area. Stock the area with books, videos and learning games on creativity. You might want to decorate the area colourfully and perhaps add pictures of employees as infants to suggesting that we’re all born spontaneous and creative.
6. Lunch with Purpose
Encourage weekly lunchtime brainstorming meeting of three to five employees. Each person could read an article or book chapter each on creativity. They can then share ways of applying creative thinking to the business. Invite local creative business people or speakers on creativity to speak to the group.
7. Mix Left and Right Brains
When groups are brainstorming, try dividing the group into left brained (rational and logical thinkers) and right brain (intuitive and artistic) individuals. Ask the rationalists to come up with practical and conventional ideas. Ask the ‘intuitives’ to come up with far out, unconventional and illogical ideas. Combine the groups and share the ideas.
8. Set Idea Quotas
Guarantee creativity by giving each employee a weekly idea quota. Thomas Edison used this method. His personal quota was one minor invention every 10 days and a major invention every six months.
9. Change "Yes, but"...to "Yes, and"
When people come up with a new idea people will dismiss it with ‘yes but …’, this mindset shuts done the creativity process. Ask them to build on ideas instead of dismissing them by continuing where the last person left off by saying ‘yes and …’.
10. Thinking Hats
Ask people to imagine they are someone else for a fresh pair of eyes to the problem. They could imagine that they were a child, what might they say, what questions might a child ask? They could put themselves in the shoes of a mentor, a parent or someone they admire, how may they look at this situation? The idea here is that ‘You cannot solve a problem with the thinking that created it.’ (Einstein). Looking at a different viewpoint should provide you with new information.
Creative problem solving is deeply entrenched in what it is to be human. It’s in our DNA. Any group can be counted on to be creative, and following a few simple guidelines can enhance its efforts – for example:
- Stimulating and maintaining a creative culture also means people should feel able to take calculated risks when trying out new things, so remember to encourage a positive culture to help this be successful in the long term
- State a problem in a way that stimulates creative thinking
- Don’t interfere with a creativity session when it is full swing, and
- Have a plan for evaluating ideas so that a solution can be implemented.
- Do remember to thank people for their ideas however wacky they may appear
************************************************** **
NEGATIVE MINDSET EXERCISES
When ur mind is moving toward pessimistic thinking or a negative mindset
Answer these questions the next time you find you are blaming yourself for an event :
• Is it really my fault ?
• Do I assume blame too often or too easily ?
• Could this have happened to somebody else ?
• What am I focusing on that results in this negative feeling ?
• Is this a pattern that I recognize as having occurred in the past ?
• How would ( insert someone whom you perceive as optimistic )see this event ?
• What new possibilities or better life event could this event now make possible ?
Answer these questions the next time you find you are personalizing the behaviou of another person :
• what, other than my actions, could cause him to act that way ?
• how could I help him ?
• I think her style is not conducive to healthy relationships with my style. Does she have this problem with others ?
• He is way too abrasive toward me. Is he this way with others ?
• They are mistaken about this issue, and I am confident I can find some evidence and present it in such a way that I can cause them to see things differently. Whom can I choose to help me with this issue ?
Consider the following questions when you find yourself stuck in an emotional situation :
• Having this conversation ( when we are gettingready for work ) is probably not a good idea. When could we have a more constructive meeting on this issue ?
• I think I need to get out of the office for a few (hours, days) to get some perspective here. Where could I go to clear my head ?
• The pressure at work right now is not allowing me to think clearly. What could I do to relieve some of this mental pressure ?
From India, Pune
Dear all,
Recently Procter & Gamble India had participated in
IIM-Bangalore' s Placement Sessions. They asked some interesting
questions to students during recruitment. Here are some of them: -
************ ********* ********* ***
1. There is one word in the English language that is always
pronounced incorrectly. What is it?
2. A man gave one son 10 cents and another son was given 15 cents.
What time is it?
3. A boat has a ladder that has six rungs; each rung is one foot
apart. The bottom rung is one foot from the water. The tide rises at
12 inches every 15 minutes. High tide peaks in one hour. When the tide
is at it's highest, how many rungs are under water?
4. There is a house with four walls. Each wall faces south. There is
a window in each wall. A bear walks by one of the windows. What color
is the bear?
5. Is half of two plus two equal to two or three?
6. There is a room. The shutters are blowing in. There is broken
glass on the floor. There is water on the floor. You find Sloppy dead
on the floor. Who is Sloppy? How did Sloppy die?
7. How much dirt would be in a hole 6 feet deep and 6 feet wide that
has been dug with a square edged shovel?
8. If I were in Hawaii and dropped a bowling ball in a bucket of water
which is 45 degrees F, and dropped another ball of the same weight,
mass, and size in a bucket at 30 degrees F, both of them at the same
time, which ball would hit the bottom of the bucket first? Same
question, but the location is in Canada?
9. What is the significance of the following? . The year is 1978,
thirty-four minutes past noon on May 6th.
10. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the
other field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all
in the center field?
11. What is it that goes up and goes down but does not move?
Scroll down for answers..... ......
.
.
.
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.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1.. The word "incorrectly. "
2.. 1:45. The man gave away a total of 25 cents. He divided it
between two people. Therefore, he gave a quarter to two.
3. None, the boat rises with the tide. Googly ;-)
4. White. If all the walls face south, the house is at the North
pole, and the bear, therefore, is a polar bear.
5. Three. Well, it seems that it could almost be either, but if you
follow the mathematical orders of operation, division is performed
before addition. So... half of two is one. Then add two, and the
answer is three.
6. Sloppy is a (gold) fish. The wind blew the shutters in, which
knocked his goldfish-bowl off the table, and it broke, killing him.
7. None. No matter how big a hole is, it's still a hole: the absence
of dirt.
8. Both questions, same answer: the ball in the bucket of 45 degree
F water hits the bottom of the bucket last. Did you think that the
water in the 30-degree F bucket is frozen? Think again. The question
said nothing about that bucket having anything in it. Therefore, there
is no water (or ice) to slow the ball down...
9. The time and month/date/year American style calendar are 12:34,
5/6/78.
10. One. If he combines all of his haystacks, they all become one
big stack.
11. The temperature.
From India, Pune
Recently Procter & Gamble India had participated in
IIM-Bangalore' s Placement Sessions. They asked some interesting
questions to students during recruitment. Here are some of them: -
************ ********* ********* ***
1. There is one word in the English language that is always
pronounced incorrectly. What is it?
2. A man gave one son 10 cents and another son was given 15 cents.
What time is it?
3. A boat has a ladder that has six rungs; each rung is one foot
apart. The bottom rung is one foot from the water. The tide rises at
12 inches every 15 minutes. High tide peaks in one hour. When the tide
is at it's highest, how many rungs are under water?
4. There is a house with four walls. Each wall faces south. There is
a window in each wall. A bear walks by one of the windows. What color
is the bear?
5. Is half of two plus two equal to two or three?
6. There is a room. The shutters are blowing in. There is broken
glass on the floor. There is water on the floor. You find Sloppy dead
on the floor. Who is Sloppy? How did Sloppy die?
7. How much dirt would be in a hole 6 feet deep and 6 feet wide that
has been dug with a square edged shovel?
8. If I were in Hawaii and dropped a bowling ball in a bucket of water
which is 45 degrees F, and dropped another ball of the same weight,
mass, and size in a bucket at 30 degrees F, both of them at the same
time, which ball would hit the bottom of the bucket first? Same
question, but the location is in Canada?
9. What is the significance of the following? . The year is 1978,
thirty-four minutes past noon on May 6th.
10. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the
other field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all
in the center field?
11. What is it that goes up and goes down but does not move?
Scroll down for answers..... ......
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1.. The word "incorrectly. "
2.. 1:45. The man gave away a total of 25 cents. He divided it
between two people. Therefore, he gave a quarter to two.
3. None, the boat rises with the tide. Googly ;-)
4. White. If all the walls face south, the house is at the North
pole, and the bear, therefore, is a polar bear.
5. Three. Well, it seems that it could almost be either, but if you
follow the mathematical orders of operation, division is performed
before addition. So... half of two is one. Then add two, and the
answer is three.
6. Sloppy is a (gold) fish. The wind blew the shutters in, which
knocked his goldfish-bowl off the table, and it broke, killing him.
7. None. No matter how big a hole is, it's still a hole: the absence
of dirt.
8. Both questions, same answer: the ball in the bucket of 45 degree
F water hits the bottom of the bucket last. Did you think that the
water in the 30-degree F bucket is frozen? Think again. The question
said nothing about that bucket having anything in it. Therefore, there
is no water (or ice) to slow the ball down...
9. The time and month/date/year American style calendar are 12:34,
5/6/78.
10. One. If he combines all of his haystacks, they all become one
big stack.
11. The temperature.
From India, Pune
Dear all,
Came across this Lateral Thinking Technique..
Greetings Cards
Prior to introducing a group to a problem the Greeting card method invites the group to create their own stimulating problem solving environment. A sense of comradeship is thus introduced and a feeling of ownership and involvement in the problem solving is experienced.
Developing the environment
The supervisor encourages the participants to produce some motivational objects that will be of use in problem solving.
Split the main group into sub-groups of 4-5 individuals equipped with paste, scissors, magazines, illustrated catalogues, thick A3 or A4 paper, and felt-tipped pens.
Members of the sub-group browse their catalogues and magazines, cutting out at least 10 pictures of interest and relevance.
Together or individually the sub-group member create several greetings cards (or ‘stimulus cards’) sticking pictures, collage-style on A3 or A4 sheets that are folded thus that they function as greetings cards. They then add their own ‘greetings-card’ style message.
Each sub-group displays their greeting cards to other sub-groups.
Using it in problem-solving
A problem is put on view and deliberated by the sub-group members.
Participants use the images on their cards to generate ideas to decipher the problem
Time permitting, each sub-group passes its cards to the next sub-group and repeats step 2. This can be done several times if necessary.
All the ideas are gathered and appraised in any appropriate way.
It is essential participants are not aware the nature of the problem prior to the problem solving session. If participants feel uneasy about the ‘childish’ activity of making greetings cards, portray it as ‘assembling stimulus objects’.
************************************************** *
How to Generate Great Ideas At Work...
Success at work is often a result of combining knowledge, skills and the ability to inject your work environment with fresh and breakthrough ideas.
While conventional wisdom teaches us to learn skills, and enhance our knowledge for the job, we often forget that we need to keep coming up with new ideas that will help the organisation succeed and also keep our jobs secure in today's competitive landscape.
We offer a few tips towards helping you break out of a routine thought process and generate breakthrough ideas.
Exercise your mind
Your mind, like your body, needs exercise and can get it through challenges and problem-solving. A good way to feed your mind is to read a lot and study the success stories of other businesses and entrepreneurs.
Read case studies related to your industry or biographies of successful people.
This will not only stimulate your grey cells but also provide you a dose of inspiration. Learn how other successful people generate breakthrough ideas.
Capture your thoughts
When the brilliant spells do come, make sure you capture them. Don't rely on mental notes, you'll surely forget them. Have a notepad, PDA or voice recorder ready at all times, even next to your bed at night (who knows, you may suddenly strike gold at 2 am). Once you've recorded your idea, use it as soon as you can. I read an advertisement for IT company Accenture, which said: "An idea is like a cup of coffee, it's not going to stay hot forever." So remember that ideas are best when they're fresh.
"I always carry a voice recorder with me and tape my thoughts. Listening to them later in the day ensures that I don't deprive myself of the brilliant phases that we all have during the day," says G Rajaraman, a senior sports correspondent with Outlook magazine.
Change your setting
Your mind reacts to its surroundings and has an uncanny ability to generate new ideas when the physical setting changes. You may be thinking in a very linear and academic way while you are at your workstation, so take your laptop/PDA and sit by in your office garden/park or cafeteria and you may see some fresh perspectives. Take a walk or hit the gym. The mind is agile when the body is indulging in a disciplined and rhythmic physical activity like a jog or workout. For all you know, a change of setting may bring you the inspiration you need.
"I am at my best when I am out in the open with my laptop and listening to my favourite music during a lunch break," says Shelly Jain, a Delhi based consultant with NIIT.
You could even take a notepad and jot down your ideas and thoughts and later organise them when you get to your workstation. The time spent thinking would be worthwhile as you will be away from the usual workplace distractions.
Go out of your way to help others
Step out of your job description once in a while and help others with their tasks. Do this without having to be asked. Saying, "Need a hand there?" has a two-fold effect. First, you encourage others to give of themselves, creating a more positive workplace.
Second, you buy yourself a future favour, since kindness always comes back. The people you have helped will become soundboards for your ideas and will be able to give you new ideas and suggestions that may get you thinking on a new track.
"A response such as 'This is not my area of work. Find out from the person concerned', shows that the individual is responding from his own frame of reference, an attitude detrimental for both employee and organisation," says Anil Bhatnagar, a management consultant.
Help people whenever they need your expertise. Offer your support to new emloyees as they usually have the ability to come out with bright ideas. Their minds are fresh and have not been conditioned to think in a linear fashion like most tenured employees, so they may springboard some fresh perspectives.
Know your organisation's and customers' needs
You must know if what you have to offer is in high demand at work. Find out the direction in which your company is headed and the areas in which it needs maximum improvement. This will ensure that you ideas have a business impact and act as a catalyst in your growth within the organisation. There's much strength to be derived from knowing how a company operates as a whole. Tailor your ideas to meet the organisational objectives and you will be in a position to add maximum benefit to your organisation.
Did you ever think that companies would be selling fairness cream for men? Emami, a Kolkata-based company with interests in personal and healthcare business realised the need and launched 'Fair and Handsome', a fairness cream for men in April 2006. The executives at Emami realised that in the age of metrosexual men, who go for manicures and pedicures, a fairness cream, if positioned well, could be a winner in the personal care market for men.
Understand your work environment
In today's teamwork-oriented work environments, no man is an island. You are always a part of the bigger picture that the organisation has in mind. Expose yourself to different realities. If you are a marketing person, go and spend some time with the finance team or the product management team and ask them questions about their nature of work. Learn to see things from their perspective. The best ideas sometimes come from looking outside the familiar and that is what "thinking out of the box" means.
Google.com founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were batchmates at Stanford when the thought of empowering people by creating an easy search mechanism hit them. The Naukri.com advertisement depicting Hari Sadu as the monster boss is a good example of out-of-the-box thinking, because it mixes humour with a message.
So keep your eyes and ears open and indulge in some idea generation activities.
Source: Harvard
From India, Pune
Came across this Lateral Thinking Technique..
Greetings Cards
Prior to introducing a group to a problem the Greeting card method invites the group to create their own stimulating problem solving environment. A sense of comradeship is thus introduced and a feeling of ownership and involvement in the problem solving is experienced.
Developing the environment
The supervisor encourages the participants to produce some motivational objects that will be of use in problem solving.
Split the main group into sub-groups of 4-5 individuals equipped with paste, scissors, magazines, illustrated catalogues, thick A3 or A4 paper, and felt-tipped pens.
Members of the sub-group browse their catalogues and magazines, cutting out at least 10 pictures of interest and relevance.
Together or individually the sub-group member create several greetings cards (or ‘stimulus cards’) sticking pictures, collage-style on A3 or A4 sheets that are folded thus that they function as greetings cards. They then add their own ‘greetings-card’ style message.
Each sub-group displays their greeting cards to other sub-groups.
Using it in problem-solving
A problem is put on view and deliberated by the sub-group members.
Participants use the images on their cards to generate ideas to decipher the problem
Time permitting, each sub-group passes its cards to the next sub-group and repeats step 2. This can be done several times if necessary.
All the ideas are gathered and appraised in any appropriate way.
It is essential participants are not aware the nature of the problem prior to the problem solving session. If participants feel uneasy about the ‘childish’ activity of making greetings cards, portray it as ‘assembling stimulus objects’.
************************************************** *
How to Generate Great Ideas At Work...
Success at work is often a result of combining knowledge, skills and the ability to inject your work environment with fresh and breakthrough ideas.
While conventional wisdom teaches us to learn skills, and enhance our knowledge for the job, we often forget that we need to keep coming up with new ideas that will help the organisation succeed and also keep our jobs secure in today's competitive landscape.
We offer a few tips towards helping you break out of a routine thought process and generate breakthrough ideas.
Exercise your mind
Your mind, like your body, needs exercise and can get it through challenges and problem-solving. A good way to feed your mind is to read a lot and study the success stories of other businesses and entrepreneurs.
Read case studies related to your industry or biographies of successful people.
This will not only stimulate your grey cells but also provide you a dose of inspiration. Learn how other successful people generate breakthrough ideas.
Capture your thoughts
When the brilliant spells do come, make sure you capture them. Don't rely on mental notes, you'll surely forget them. Have a notepad, PDA or voice recorder ready at all times, even next to your bed at night (who knows, you may suddenly strike gold at 2 am). Once you've recorded your idea, use it as soon as you can. I read an advertisement for IT company Accenture, which said: "An idea is like a cup of coffee, it's not going to stay hot forever." So remember that ideas are best when they're fresh.
"I always carry a voice recorder with me and tape my thoughts. Listening to them later in the day ensures that I don't deprive myself of the brilliant phases that we all have during the day," says G Rajaraman, a senior sports correspondent with Outlook magazine.
Change your setting
Your mind reacts to its surroundings and has an uncanny ability to generate new ideas when the physical setting changes. You may be thinking in a very linear and academic way while you are at your workstation, so take your laptop/PDA and sit by in your office garden/park or cafeteria and you may see some fresh perspectives. Take a walk or hit the gym. The mind is agile when the body is indulging in a disciplined and rhythmic physical activity like a jog or workout. For all you know, a change of setting may bring you the inspiration you need.
"I am at my best when I am out in the open with my laptop and listening to my favourite music during a lunch break," says Shelly Jain, a Delhi based consultant with NIIT.
You could even take a notepad and jot down your ideas and thoughts and later organise them when you get to your workstation. The time spent thinking would be worthwhile as you will be away from the usual workplace distractions.
Go out of your way to help others
Step out of your job description once in a while and help others with their tasks. Do this without having to be asked. Saying, "Need a hand there?" has a two-fold effect. First, you encourage others to give of themselves, creating a more positive workplace.
Second, you buy yourself a future favour, since kindness always comes back. The people you have helped will become soundboards for your ideas and will be able to give you new ideas and suggestions that may get you thinking on a new track.
"A response such as 'This is not my area of work. Find out from the person concerned', shows that the individual is responding from his own frame of reference, an attitude detrimental for both employee and organisation," says Anil Bhatnagar, a management consultant.
Help people whenever they need your expertise. Offer your support to new emloyees as they usually have the ability to come out with bright ideas. Their minds are fresh and have not been conditioned to think in a linear fashion like most tenured employees, so they may springboard some fresh perspectives.
Know your organisation's and customers' needs
You must know if what you have to offer is in high demand at work. Find out the direction in which your company is headed and the areas in which it needs maximum improvement. This will ensure that you ideas have a business impact and act as a catalyst in your growth within the organisation. There's much strength to be derived from knowing how a company operates as a whole. Tailor your ideas to meet the organisational objectives and you will be in a position to add maximum benefit to your organisation.
Did you ever think that companies would be selling fairness cream for men? Emami, a Kolkata-based company with interests in personal and healthcare business realised the need and launched 'Fair and Handsome', a fairness cream for men in April 2006. The executives at Emami realised that in the age of metrosexual men, who go for manicures and pedicures, a fairness cream, if positioned well, could be a winner in the personal care market for men.
Understand your work environment
In today's teamwork-oriented work environments, no man is an island. You are always a part of the bigger picture that the organisation has in mind. Expose yourself to different realities. If you are a marketing person, go and spend some time with the finance team or the product management team and ask them questions about their nature of work. Learn to see things from their perspective. The best ideas sometimes come from looking outside the familiar and that is what "thinking out of the box" means.
Google.com founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were batchmates at Stanford when the thought of empowering people by creating an easy search mechanism hit them. The Naukri.com advertisement depicting Hari Sadu as the monster boss is a good example of out-of-the-box thinking, because it mixes humour with a message.
So keep your eyes and ears open and indulge in some idea generation activities.
Source: Harvard
From India, Pune
First please read the beneath cross posting at the end of this note.
.. Cannot resist to share as one is able to relate with more of the first day of public speaking of how my knees went jelly and the blood rushed .. Or the first time took flight in Fokker Friendship all alone to pierce through the cloud.. Then began another journey.. Creativity and Success has been such twined up together that we refuse to appreciate.. Read , discuss and share .. feel proud of yourself
For some who paid Rs 75,000 per month of STD Telephone charges working on X.400 Internet of WIPRO BT access in 1996 , today is such a creative world indeed and I am with so many more out here .. than those crowded streets and sweats cursing when stuck in traffic jam
It is indeed a creative world now to reach out to people whom I would never meet or know even
More exciting days are ahead..
With best wishes always ,
Rajat Joshi
Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
Genius hits a target no one else can see.
- Arthur Schopenhauer
Cherish Your Everyday Creativity
Posted by: "Arun Verma" arun@creativegarh. com
Cherish Your Everyday Creativity - Article Series
All 3 sections of the article are included on this page for your
convenience.
Cherish Your Everyday Creativity
Part 1 of 3
Introduction
*****
What Is "Everyday Creativity"?
I like to think of creativity as being an extraordinary thing that
happens every minute to every person.
The way I think of it, creativity is all about the everyday, because
it's always happening.
But that's not exactly how most people think of creativity. They
view "creativity" as the kind of action and reaction and thought
process that builds buildings, writes novels, creates amazing works
of art.
And those things are products of creativity. But that's not the kind
of creativity I'm talking about here.
Let me give you an example of the two kinds of creativity in my own
life. I've recently completed a book, The Leonardo Trait. It's a book
on creativity, interestingly enough. I consider finishing it to be a
massive feat of creativity. It's my tenth completed book (first
published). But I am still constantly amazed every time I sit down
and words pour out. It's just astonishing to me.
A few weeks ago I was making chicken fajitas. I hate cutting up
onions. Of course I do, who doesn't? So I got the idea of using the
apple corer/slicer to cut my onions. It worked great. Saved me a lot
of time and tears.
Both those things are creative ?writing a book and thinking of an
easier, less teary way to slice onions.
But most people don't think of culinary necessity when they hear the
word "creative."
I think we don't value our everyday creativity, our workaday
imagination, enough. I may be wrong, but this is what I believe.
*****
Do We Value It?
I want to spend some time with this idea of whether we value our
everyday creativity, or whether we value it enough.
I know that I don't.
And here's how I know that.
I recently put together a brochure for a contest I want to run. It's
a great brochure. It was the first piece I put together after getting
the capability of printing all the way to the edge of the paper.
Believe me, that makes a big difference. This is the best brochure
I've ever designed, and I realized that.
But I didn't really *appreciate* what a work of art this brochure
was. I design brochures on a fairly regular basis. This one was good.
It was even my best work yet. But because I'd been looking at art
books and design magazines, I didn't feel it was *that* great.
It took my husband's enthusiasm about how great it looked to get me
to look back at the first brochure I ever designed, black ink on
colored paper, and back at this, full-color on brochure-quality paper.
And what I had to absorb was not just that it was great. That was
part of it.
What I really had to come to terms with was that this is the caliber
of work I do.
It's not just a matter of realizing that I can be creative.
It's not even just a matter of realizing that I am good at being
creative.
It's a matter of realizing that creativity is an inherent part of who
and what I am.
And I don't think that's true just for "creative people." I think, in
fact I firmly believe, that creativity is the birthright of every
person born on this earth. Even people born off this earth, when that
happens.
Being human means being creative.
<End of Part 1>
Cherish Your Everyday Creativity
Part 2 of 3
Why Don't We Value Our Creativity?
I'm convinced we don't value our innate creativity.
The question that comes to mind then is, "why not?"
I think the very first, simplest explanation for that is that we're
trained not to.
Think about it. We're taught, from the very earliest age, not to
brag, not to be prideful, not to be "conceited."
We're not supposed to be too proud of ourselves, or think too highly
of our accomplishments.
Okay, I can see that, to a point. Those are good behavioral
guidelines for getting along in the world.
But when they're taken to an extreme, I think they're bad behavioral
guidelines for getting along *with ourselves.*
I don't know who said, "It ain't braggin' if you really done it." I
wish whoever it was had said it louder, because most people didn't
hear.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking pleasure in being good
at something. But many of us feel, deep inside, that there is
something *extremely* wrong with it.
Even as a writer, forced to self-promote in order to eat, I find
myself "not wanting to brag." I have to remind myself that if I don't
tell people how great my book is and that I think it can help them,
who's going to do it?
I think it's natural and normal not to think of yourself as creative.
I think it's part of living in our society to not notice when
something you do is spectacular.
I think it's a little sad, but it's normal.
I guess the next step, then, after realizing that we don't value our
creativity enough, and why we don't, is to think about whether it's
really important to value that creative genius we all have.
*****
The Importance of Valuing Creativity
There's a part of me, the two-year-old with a big ego, who just wants
to declare, "It's important because it's important!" and have done
with it.
But let's not do it that way. Let's look at three very real reasons
why valuing our creativity is important.
1. If we don't value ourselves, who else is going to?
It's very hard to expect to be treated well if we're not able to
appreciate our own talents and treat ourselves well.
It's even harder to gain recognition for our efforts, no matter how
uncreative they may seem to us, if we're not willing to recognize
that we've done something worth recognizing.
2. If we don't value ourselves, we make it much harder for other
people to value us.
I'm talking, in part, about making it hard for people to express
their appreciation for our gifts, if we don't know how to accept that
appreciation. You know how hard it is to give a compliment to someone
who can't take a compliment.
But I'm talking about more than that. I'm also talking about monetary
value. If we don't put the proper value on our work, how can anyone
pay us what we're worth? And if they're not paying us what we're
worth, how can they appreciate what they're getting?
Think about this. People don't generally buy five dollar paintings to
hang in their ritzy homes, even if the five buck art is as "good" as
some of the stuff they pay thousands of dollars for. They don't value
it.
3. Our children learn what we teach them.
If you don't have kids, you can skip this part. But if you do, think
about this. Do you want your kids to think of their marvelous
creativity the way you think of yours?
I think that's enough on that point.
<End of Part 2>
Cherish Your Everyday Creativity
Part 3 of 3
Practicing Valuing Your Creativity
Is that a grammatical sentence? I'm not sure. But it works, right?
It's not too…creative?
Learning to value our own creativity is a difficult journey for most
of us. I know it was for me.
I decided at 19 that I wanted to be a writer.
Every year or so thereafter, for about a decade, I decided I couldn't
do it.
It wasn't the writing that bothered me. I can write just about
anything, given time and research material. One friend of mine
says, "Give you a topic sentence and an outline and you're good to
go."
No, I can write. Writing has never been the problem.
The problem is *being a writer.* Because writers have to self-
promote. People don't generally come poking through your desk drawers
wanting to know if you've written anything good. At least, they don't
poke through mine. Maybe Stephen King's desk drawers get poked. But
not Angie Dixon's.
I've basically found three things important in learning to value my
creativity.
1. Realize that being proud of your work is not the same as being
prideful.
This is a very important distinction. When we were taught growing up
not to be boastful, most of us learned to not be overly, or publicly,
proud of what we'd done.
You know, I really don't think that's what our parents meant to teach
us. I think they wanted us to know we were wonderful, creative people
who could do anything we wanted. They just a) didn't want us to be
boastful because it hurts other people and b) wanted us to be able to
get along with everyone else.
It's okay to think you're good at something. It's even better to know
you are.
2. Practice being proud of yourself.
This really does take some practice. I find it helps to just keep
practicing with one really good piece of work, and come back to it
daily for a week, two weeks, whatever it takes to really absorb how
good it is.
When I wrote my first novel, I had to really remind myself that
writing a novel was a remarkable thing. No one I knew had written a
novel. Each accomplishment regarding the novel was an opportunity, as
I saw it, to remind myself of my creativity.
Recently I designed a board game. It's not completely finished; I
still have to write most of the trivia questions. But it's the most
amazing thing I've ever done. I still dwell on that, from time to
time. Sometimes I just take it out and admire it. It's fantastic, and
I deserve to realize that.
Which brings me to the third thing I use in my practice.
3. Pretend someone else did what you've done, and heap praise on it.
Sometimes it's hard to praise our own work. But if you can step away
and praise it as if it were something done by your best friend or
your daughter, it's easier to realize how really remarkable it is.
I am firmly convinced, and always will be, that we need to value,
even cherish, our innate, everyday creativity.
From India, Pune
.. Cannot resist to share as one is able to relate with more of the first day of public speaking of how my knees went jelly and the blood rushed .. Or the first time took flight in Fokker Friendship all alone to pierce through the cloud.. Then began another journey.. Creativity and Success has been such twined up together that we refuse to appreciate.. Read , discuss and share .. feel proud of yourself
For some who paid Rs 75,000 per month of STD Telephone charges working on X.400 Internet of WIPRO BT access in 1996 , today is such a creative world indeed and I am with so many more out here .. than those crowded streets and sweats cursing when stuck in traffic jam
It is indeed a creative world now to reach out to people whom I would never meet or know even
More exciting days are ahead..
With best wishes always ,
Rajat Joshi
Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
Genius hits a target no one else can see.
- Arthur Schopenhauer
Cherish Your Everyday Creativity
Posted by: "Arun Verma" arun@creativegarh. com
Cherish Your Everyday Creativity - Article Series
All 3 sections of the article are included on this page for your
convenience.
Cherish Your Everyday Creativity
Part 1 of 3
Introduction
*****
What Is "Everyday Creativity"?
I like to think of creativity as being an extraordinary thing that
happens every minute to every person.
The way I think of it, creativity is all about the everyday, because
it's always happening.
But that's not exactly how most people think of creativity. They
view "creativity" as the kind of action and reaction and thought
process that builds buildings, writes novels, creates amazing works
of art.
And those things are products of creativity. But that's not the kind
of creativity I'm talking about here.
Let me give you an example of the two kinds of creativity in my own
life. I've recently completed a book, The Leonardo Trait. It's a book
on creativity, interestingly enough. I consider finishing it to be a
massive feat of creativity. It's my tenth completed book (first
published). But I am still constantly amazed every time I sit down
and words pour out. It's just astonishing to me.
A few weeks ago I was making chicken fajitas. I hate cutting up
onions. Of course I do, who doesn't? So I got the idea of using the
apple corer/slicer to cut my onions. It worked great. Saved me a lot
of time and tears.
Both those things are creative ?writing a book and thinking of an
easier, less teary way to slice onions.
But most people don't think of culinary necessity when they hear the
word "creative."
I think we don't value our everyday creativity, our workaday
imagination, enough. I may be wrong, but this is what I believe.
*****
Do We Value It?
I want to spend some time with this idea of whether we value our
everyday creativity, or whether we value it enough.
I know that I don't.
And here's how I know that.
I recently put together a brochure for a contest I want to run. It's
a great brochure. It was the first piece I put together after getting
the capability of printing all the way to the edge of the paper.
Believe me, that makes a big difference. This is the best brochure
I've ever designed, and I realized that.
But I didn't really *appreciate* what a work of art this brochure
was. I design brochures on a fairly regular basis. This one was good.
It was even my best work yet. But because I'd been looking at art
books and design magazines, I didn't feel it was *that* great.
It took my husband's enthusiasm about how great it looked to get me
to look back at the first brochure I ever designed, black ink on
colored paper, and back at this, full-color on brochure-quality paper.
And what I had to absorb was not just that it was great. That was
part of it.
What I really had to come to terms with was that this is the caliber
of work I do.
It's not just a matter of realizing that I can be creative.
It's not even just a matter of realizing that I am good at being
creative.
It's a matter of realizing that creativity is an inherent part of who
and what I am.
And I don't think that's true just for "creative people." I think, in
fact I firmly believe, that creativity is the birthright of every
person born on this earth. Even people born off this earth, when that
happens.
Being human means being creative.
<End of Part 1>
Cherish Your Everyday Creativity
Part 2 of 3
Why Don't We Value Our Creativity?
I'm convinced we don't value our innate creativity.
The question that comes to mind then is, "why not?"
I think the very first, simplest explanation for that is that we're
trained not to.
Think about it. We're taught, from the very earliest age, not to
brag, not to be prideful, not to be "conceited."
We're not supposed to be too proud of ourselves, or think too highly
of our accomplishments.
Okay, I can see that, to a point. Those are good behavioral
guidelines for getting along in the world.
But when they're taken to an extreme, I think they're bad behavioral
guidelines for getting along *with ourselves.*
I don't know who said, "It ain't braggin' if you really done it." I
wish whoever it was had said it louder, because most people didn't
hear.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking pleasure in being good
at something. But many of us feel, deep inside, that there is
something *extremely* wrong with it.
Even as a writer, forced to self-promote in order to eat, I find
myself "not wanting to brag." I have to remind myself that if I don't
tell people how great my book is and that I think it can help them,
who's going to do it?
I think it's natural and normal not to think of yourself as creative.
I think it's part of living in our society to not notice when
something you do is spectacular.
I think it's a little sad, but it's normal.
I guess the next step, then, after realizing that we don't value our
creativity enough, and why we don't, is to think about whether it's
really important to value that creative genius we all have.
*****
The Importance of Valuing Creativity
There's a part of me, the two-year-old with a big ego, who just wants
to declare, "It's important because it's important!" and have done
with it.
But let's not do it that way. Let's look at three very real reasons
why valuing our creativity is important.
1. If we don't value ourselves, who else is going to?
It's very hard to expect to be treated well if we're not able to
appreciate our own talents and treat ourselves well.
It's even harder to gain recognition for our efforts, no matter how
uncreative they may seem to us, if we're not willing to recognize
that we've done something worth recognizing.
2. If we don't value ourselves, we make it much harder for other
people to value us.
I'm talking, in part, about making it hard for people to express
their appreciation for our gifts, if we don't know how to accept that
appreciation. You know how hard it is to give a compliment to someone
who can't take a compliment.
But I'm talking about more than that. I'm also talking about monetary
value. If we don't put the proper value on our work, how can anyone
pay us what we're worth? And if they're not paying us what we're
worth, how can they appreciate what they're getting?
Think about this. People don't generally buy five dollar paintings to
hang in their ritzy homes, even if the five buck art is as "good" as
some of the stuff they pay thousands of dollars for. They don't value
it.
3. Our children learn what we teach them.
If you don't have kids, you can skip this part. But if you do, think
about this. Do you want your kids to think of their marvelous
creativity the way you think of yours?
I think that's enough on that point.
<End of Part 2>
Cherish Your Everyday Creativity
Part 3 of 3
Practicing Valuing Your Creativity
Is that a grammatical sentence? I'm not sure. But it works, right?
It's not too…creative?
Learning to value our own creativity is a difficult journey for most
of us. I know it was for me.
I decided at 19 that I wanted to be a writer.
Every year or so thereafter, for about a decade, I decided I couldn't
do it.
It wasn't the writing that bothered me. I can write just about
anything, given time and research material. One friend of mine
says, "Give you a topic sentence and an outline and you're good to
go."
No, I can write. Writing has never been the problem.
The problem is *being a writer.* Because writers have to self-
promote. People don't generally come poking through your desk drawers
wanting to know if you've written anything good. At least, they don't
poke through mine. Maybe Stephen King's desk drawers get poked. But
not Angie Dixon's.
I've basically found three things important in learning to value my
creativity.
1. Realize that being proud of your work is not the same as being
prideful.
This is a very important distinction. When we were taught growing up
not to be boastful, most of us learned to not be overly, or publicly,
proud of what we'd done.
You know, I really don't think that's what our parents meant to teach
us. I think they wanted us to know we were wonderful, creative people
who could do anything we wanted. They just a) didn't want us to be
boastful because it hurts other people and b) wanted us to be able to
get along with everyone else.
It's okay to think you're good at something. It's even better to know
you are.
2. Practice being proud of yourself.
This really does take some practice. I find it helps to just keep
practicing with one really good piece of work, and come back to it
daily for a week, two weeks, whatever it takes to really absorb how
good it is.
When I wrote my first novel, I had to really remind myself that
writing a novel was a remarkable thing. No one I knew had written a
novel. Each accomplishment regarding the novel was an opportunity, as
I saw it, to remind myself of my creativity.
Recently I designed a board game. It's not completely finished; I
still have to write most of the trivia questions. But it's the most
amazing thing I've ever done. I still dwell on that, from time to
time. Sometimes I just take it out and admire it. It's fantastic, and
I deserve to realize that.
Which brings me to the third thing I use in my practice.
3. Pretend someone else did what you've done, and heap praise on it.
Sometimes it's hard to praise our own work. But if you can step away
and praise it as if it were something done by your best friend or
your daughter, it's easier to realize how really remarkable it is.
I am firmly convinced, and always will be, that we need to value,
even cherish, our innate, everyday creativity.
From India, Pune
Dear all,
If we analyse the sources for the lateral thinking - one thing that stands out is common sense.
Regards,
Rajat
We Need a Severe Outbreak of Common Sense
by Rick Sidorowicz
I could be taking all this revolutionary stuff too seriously but it
seems that you hear and read more and more of all the admirable
intentions and nice rhetoric but see very little of it applied.
It might have something to do with some of the extraordinary
neurophysiological mechanisms operating in the mosaic of the minds of
executives - but then again it might just be case of insecure egos
and a fear of the unknown. Is it really so %$# complicated?
What on earth would we do if it were indeed - more simple.
We need a serious outbreak of common sense.
What on earth is so complicated and complex about treating people
with dignity and respect, providing information so they can make
informed and intelligent choices, giving people the tools, resources,
and authority to do their jobs, and trusting them to get it done
right and on time? And is it really that much of a leap of faith to
see that if you treat your employees that way - they will tend to
treat their customers that way too?
Is it really that obvious and simple? Anita Roddick, founder of The
Body Shop has this to say about her success, "... what's so hot-shit
about putting up products that are good and visually exciting and
effective and having staff well trained and loving the
product?" "It's not extraordinary. It's obvious!" Is it really so
simple? Absolutely! We need a severe outbreak of common sense - and
perhaps a `common sense revolution.'
Want to solve your multi million dollar `positioning' problem? Ask a
group of eight year olds what they think of shopping in your
store. "Boring," was the response I got and they were right on the
money. Mega bucks on media advertising? How about a critique from an
eleven year old that the ads were quite dumb and not at all
believable - not even funny. The creative talents of an agency and
$1.2 million later to discover what a bunch of kids from around the
corner could have told you in a five minute conversation. But still
we need focus groups and more research to guide our thinking.
(because it's so complicated!)
Where does all this complexity and clutter come from? Are the minds
of senior managers and executives just so complex that they can no
longer grasp fundamentals - the simple truths - the basics? Is it
because it just has to be complex to appear to be important, or
astute, or executive? Can simple co-exist with exalted ?
The answer must be to simplify and apply ... our common sense; to
stop strangling ourselves with information, research, statistics and
superfluous jargon. Solving any problem requires stripping away all
of the extraneous information - the clutter - and getting to the
heart of it - the meat - the fundamentals. And believe it or not,
those with less experience in the complexities of the executive suite
often have the clearest perspective. So do your customers - (if you
asked them) - and your suppliers (if you asked them too.) It's really
not all that complicated!
Jack Welch - mega value creator at GE gets to the heart of it in the
following quote:
"Insecure managers create complexity. Frightened, nervous managers
use thick, convoluted planning books and busy slides filled with
everything they've known since childhood. Real leaders don't need
clutter. People must have the self-confidence to be clear, precise,
to be sure that every person in their organization understands what
the business is trying to achieve. But it's not easy. You can't
believe how hard it is for people to be simple, how much they fear
being simple. They worry that if they're simple, people will think
they're simple-minded. In reality, of course, it's just the reverse.
Clear, tough minded people are the most simple."
Thanks Jack.
From India, Pune
If we analyse the sources for the lateral thinking - one thing that stands out is common sense.
Regards,
Rajat
We Need a Severe Outbreak of Common Sense
by Rick Sidorowicz
I could be taking all this revolutionary stuff too seriously but it
seems that you hear and read more and more of all the admirable
intentions and nice rhetoric but see very little of it applied.
It might have something to do with some of the extraordinary
neurophysiological mechanisms operating in the mosaic of the minds of
executives - but then again it might just be case of insecure egos
and a fear of the unknown. Is it really so %$# complicated?
What on earth would we do if it were indeed - more simple.
We need a serious outbreak of common sense.
What on earth is so complicated and complex about treating people
with dignity and respect, providing information so they can make
informed and intelligent choices, giving people the tools, resources,
and authority to do their jobs, and trusting them to get it done
right and on time? And is it really that much of a leap of faith to
see that if you treat your employees that way - they will tend to
treat their customers that way too?
Is it really that obvious and simple? Anita Roddick, founder of The
Body Shop has this to say about her success, "... what's so hot-shit
about putting up products that are good and visually exciting and
effective and having staff well trained and loving the
product?" "It's not extraordinary. It's obvious!" Is it really so
simple? Absolutely! We need a severe outbreak of common sense - and
perhaps a `common sense revolution.'
Want to solve your multi million dollar `positioning' problem? Ask a
group of eight year olds what they think of shopping in your
store. "Boring," was the response I got and they were right on the
money. Mega bucks on media advertising? How about a critique from an
eleven year old that the ads were quite dumb and not at all
believable - not even funny. The creative talents of an agency and
$1.2 million later to discover what a bunch of kids from around the
corner could have told you in a five minute conversation. But still
we need focus groups and more research to guide our thinking.
(because it's so complicated!)
Where does all this complexity and clutter come from? Are the minds
of senior managers and executives just so complex that they can no
longer grasp fundamentals - the simple truths - the basics? Is it
because it just has to be complex to appear to be important, or
astute, or executive? Can simple co-exist with exalted ?
The answer must be to simplify and apply ... our common sense; to
stop strangling ourselves with information, research, statistics and
superfluous jargon. Solving any problem requires stripping away all
of the extraneous information - the clutter - and getting to the
heart of it - the meat - the fundamentals. And believe it or not,
those with less experience in the complexities of the executive suite
often have the clearest perspective. So do your customers - (if you
asked them) - and your suppliers (if you asked them too.) It's really
not all that complicated!
Jack Welch - mega value creator at GE gets to the heart of it in the
following quote:
"Insecure managers create complexity. Frightened, nervous managers
use thick, convoluted planning books and busy slides filled with
everything they've known since childhood. Real leaders don't need
clutter. People must have the self-confidence to be clear, precise,
to be sure that every person in their organization understands what
the business is trying to achieve. But it's not easy. You can't
believe how hard it is for people to be simple, how much they fear
being simple. They worry that if they're simple, people will think
they're simple-minded. In reality, of course, it's just the reverse.
Clear, tough minded people are the most simple."
Thanks Jack.
From India, Pune
This is bit long and need patience reading, read when you have time
DISCOVER YOUR CREATIVE MIND
You may have heard that your mind is like an iceberg, with 9/10ths of it below the level that we can see. You may also have heard that most people do not use 90% of their brain. You can learn to explore and use that portion of your mind which is outof view for most people.
The inner part of your mind is a fascinating place. It holds all of your hopes and dreams, your fantasies and the seed of the future that you will create for yourself. Just as each plant has its foundation in the hidden soil of the earth, so too are your thoughts based in the inner part of yourself.
By learning what the soil is made of and the process of growth that occurs in a plant, a scientist can learn how to develop richer soils and healthier plants. By learning what goes into creating within the inner part of your mind and what the process of growth is for your thoughts, you can learn how to make your thoughts stronger and healthier, and enrich your existence.
As you begin to learn about creation, you will also naturally learn about your responsibility to yourself and in dealing with others. You will learn that only YOU can make the choices that really matter in your life and to expect others to choose for you is to deny yourself the respect you truly deserve.
THE STRUCTURE OF MIND
Each thing that exists in the natural world has its own unique structure that serves to identify it from all other things. You are not likely to confuse a rabbit with an oak tree, for example, because their structures are so obviously different to your naked eye. Even rocks have different crystalline structures that help the expert tell them apart.
Our greatest advances in science have come about by learning the structure or makeup of things. Even now, tremendous amounts of time and money are being spent on research into the basic structure of sub-atomic particles, in hopes of liberating new secrets about the nature of matter.
Mind itself has a structure that is not immediately apparent to the untrained observer. Learning the structure of mind is the important firststep to really using your creative mind to your fullest potential. Each thing that exists is made of mind. Existence means existence in mind. When you learn how the mind is structured, you can begin to learn the cause and effect of each thing that exists. You will see that what many people call 'psychic` senses are really just the learned ability to use the creative mind. The mind has three basic divisions. It is important to remember that most of mind is not physical. The only part of your mind which is physical is the brain. Think of the divisions of your mind as like the layers of an onion.
The three divisions of mind are the CONSCIOUS, SUBCONSCIOUS AND SUPER-CONSCIOUS minds.
The outermost division of mind is the CONSCIOUS mind. This division houses your brain and your emotions, and of course, is the physical division. This is the part of your mind that you use to perform your regular conscious activities. You use your conscious mind most of all when you are concentrating on learning new understandings. As you learn the reasons behind a pattern of thought or activity, and practice this understanding over and over again, it gradually becomes a part of your subconsious mind.
For example, remember the first time you drove a car. Remember peering over the steering wheel at the road and constantly turning the steering wheel as the car weaved back and forth down the road? Now, when you get in the car, you may drive all the way to work without a single conscious thought about how to drive. An activity that used to be conscious is now almost entirely performed by the subconsious mind at your command.
Your SUBCONSCIOUS MIND is the second innermost division of mind. The subconsious mind is like the genie in the lamp of Aladdin. It will perform the most amazing services for you if you know how to ask for them. Some of the things that the subconsious mind can do for you will seem like magic at first, until you learn how they are accomplished.
The subconsious mind holds all of your past understood experiences, things that you have learned by practicing them over and over again, until they have literally become a part of your mind. One of the many miracles of the subconsious mind is how it keeps the physical body properly coordinated, adjusting hormone levels, respiration and heartbeat, digestions, and so forth. Your subconsious mind knows more about how to keep your body going than all the doctors in the world put together.
To use your subconsious mind to its fullest advantage, you need to understand how it works. The subconsious mind exists to provide you learning experiences. The subconsious mind responds to pictures. Whatever you place your attention on, whether it is a desire or a fear, your subconsious mind will create the experience for you. The subconsious mind does not have our conscious prejudices about pleasant and unpleasant experiences. It gives us what we ask for, and it assumes we are asking for something when we think about it. Remember, thoughts are things!
To create the things and experiences you desire, you need to learn to make clear mental pictures in your conscious imagination. Each picture serves as a kind of computer program for the subconscious mind. The stronger and clearer the picture, the more accurate your results will be. The subconscious mind is your servant. It is up to you to learn to program your subconscious mind to give you the things you truly desire.
The innermost division of mind is the SUPERCONSCIOUS MIND. This is the part of mind that provides the energy and overall direction for the rest of mind. Your superconscious mind contains the blueprint for your expression as an individual. It is the part of your being which is closest to the Supreme Being, or God.
USING YOUR CREATIVE MIND
Your mind is always creating. In the same sense that your physical body constantly breathes, your mind constantly creates. You may not always be aware of your breathing or control the rate and depth of each breath, but your body continues to breathe from the moment you are born to the end of your physical existence.
In the same way, your mind creates unceasingly. It is the natural function of the mind to create, whether you are awake or asleep. Your subconscious mind has been creating events for you throughout your life. Indeed, nothing can occur in your life without the activity of your subconscious mind causing it to happen. Your subconscious mind will do only what you consciously or unconsciously tell it to do.
The most important thing to remember in using your creative mind is that nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, 'just happens` to you. Each event that occurs in your life has one cause, and that cause is YOU. It is up to you to make sure that the things you really want to happen in your life are happening. It is up to you to be sure that you are creating the things you intend to create.
CREATING WITH IMAGINATION AND WILL
Everything that exists in the physical began as a thought. Take a good look at your physical surroundings. Everything, from this paper you are reading, to the chair on which you sit, began as a thought in mind. Remember, thoughts are things!
To create something you desire, all you need do is imagine it and then begin the necessary activity to bring it into the physical. For example, let's say you want a new car. Imagine exactly the kind of car you want, the color, the make, the style, and the cost. Imagine yourself sitting in the drivers seat, driving down the road. Imagine the joy and satisfaction you get from driving your new car. Use all your senses to experience your new car in your imagination.
The next step is to use your WILL to bring your new car to you. What this means is making the decision to get the kind of car you want and then following thru with this decision by going out to look for it. Since you know exactly what you want, your subconscious mind will take you directly to the car you are looking for.
KARMA
In creating with your imagination and will, it is important to remember to create EVENTS. Respect the free will of others, because if you don't, you will not get the results you really desire. Also, you would not like someone else trying to make you do things you do not desire to do. There is a rule of the game called KARMA, which ensures that "as you sow, so shall you reap". The intentions you are using in your creative activity are the same ones you will experience in return. Treat others as you would have them treat you.
BELIEVING
It is important, when creating an event, to practice 'believing'. Again, this is when you must use your will, because it is not always easy to 'believe'. Do not be concerned or worried as to 'how' an event will come about. Anxiety can clog up the energy flow between the conscious and subconscious mind.
This is what Jesus meant when he said "Ye must be as little children". Children are natural believers and they have very good imagination skills. To children, anything is possible, until an adult convinces them otherwise. You must use your creative mind as a child. Believe that what you desire will become a reality. In fact, in your imagination, believe that your desire has already entered the physical. Believe that what you want to happen, has already happened. In this way, you send a complete picture of the event to your subconscious mind, for the creation process to begin.
It is a good idea, while you are still new at creating what you want, to keep your thoughts and goals to yourself. It may come as a surprise to you, but many people do not want you to be creative. They want the people they know and the things they do, to be as predictable as the sunrise in the morning. They would rather live with a predictable pain than take chances on an unpredictable joy.
As you become stronger, you will be able to tell others of your goals, because their negativity cannot penetrate your belief in yourself and in what you are doing.
LAW OF ABUNDANCE
What about all the times when you experience an unpleasant situation? You lose your job, you have no money, your mate leaves you or you have an accident. You are the creator of unpleasant experiences, as well as the pleasant ones. But how is this possible, you might say. Why would I create an unpleasant situation for myself? Why would I consciously create a hardship? The answer is that your hardluck situation was created from your 'unconscious mind'.
Your unconscious mind houses all your fears, anxieties, and worries. When you place your undivided attention on a fear, that fear can become a reality. For example, you fear that you won't have enough money to pay your bills. If you concentrate on this fear long enough, you will create the exact situation you fear.
You see, whatever you place your attention on is what you get. If you dwell on a particular fear, then your subconscious mind is programmed to create the 'fear' for you. Your subconscious mind does not care if the situation causes you pain. It only gives you what you picture in your mind.
Knowing this, would it not be better to create from desires, rather than from fears? The choice is always yours. There is a universal law called the Law of Abundance. This law states that there is always an abundance of whatever it is that you desire. There is always enough money to pay bills, always enough food to eat, fuel to burn, happiness to be shared. The energy to create whatever you desire is always there, if you will use it.
Remember the story in the Bible where Jesus fed the multitudes?
He may or may not have manifested food out of thin air and the arguments could go on forever. However, I believe that this is not the real issue here. I believe the real miracle of this event is that Jesus wanted us to know that there is more than enough of what we need, if we will imagine it, use our wills to believe it and then engage in the physical activity to bring it about.
Believe in the Law of Abundance, because it is true. This will take a lot of will power, especially in the face of need, but believe anyway. Just when you catch yourself saying, "I will not have enough", stop right then and say, out loud, "There is always enough of what I need". Soon, you will not only believe in abundance, you will know it is so.
RESPONSIBILITY
To live a truly creative life, you must first acknowledge that you are the creator of your own life. You must recognize that the CAUSE of each event in your life is YOU. You must accept responsibility for yourself. A lot of people are afraid of the idea that they have free will and can use it in any manner they wish. Many of us go through life complaining about the situation in our lives that we see as out of our control. In this way, we deny responsibility for the events that occur in our lives.
There are no events or situations outside your control! You have complete freedom to change the things that are happening now in your life. Only you can choose to live a happy or satisfying life and if you are telling yourself that you have to wait even ONE MORE MINUTE before you begin, you are kidding yourself. When we pretend that we need something, outside of ourself, for our continued happiness or peace of mind, we experience what I call 'attachment' . We attach part of our self-worth to an outside event, person or thing. Then we try to control our feelings of self-worth by attempting to control that person, event or thing. It never works!
Creativity is your birthright. You have the free will to choose your own life. The only catch is that if you don't use it, someone else will. If you don't make your own decisions, someone will make them for you, leaving you to wonder why you are always the 'victim'. If you find yourself in a situation where you feel 'victimized' or 'used', check your memory banks. Chances are, you passed up an opportunity to make a decision so someone else made the desision for you! It is always up to you to make the life you desire for yourself. Do not wait for permission from another to unfold the real you. You have the permission with each breath you take. Use it! Remember you are the creating intelligence within yourself. Remember that your mind will create for you constantly, just like breathing, whether you want it to or not. It will create what you desire or what you fear. It is up to you to choose. If you hesitate in your choice, you choose the fear by default. Since you have a
choice, wouldn't it be better to have what you want, rather than what you don't want? Remember, the time to choose is now, and the time to begin creating what you desire is now. If you wait until tomorrow, tomorrow will never come.
MENTAL EXERCISES
Your mind is a highly specialized, finely-tuned creative instrument. Scientists has worked for years to duplicate the functions of the human brain using computers. The results so far has been very primitive. Some scientists have speculated that to duplicate the functioning of one human brain, it would take computer equipment worth over one billion dollars and hundreds of programmers working together for years. Your brain is the equivalent of a billion dollar computer. Think of how much you can do with so large an investment!
Your mind can be programmed for more efficient activity by the use of exercises that strengthen your abilities in the areas of concentration, relaxation, imagination, will and memory. These exercises must be done on a regular basis, just as you would do physical exercises.
THE MOST WANTED LIST
This exercise will help you develop will power, perspective, goal setting skills, concentration and visualization skills. For this exercise, you will need a small note pad. Get one small enough to carry in your purse or pocket. Here is how the exercise works:
1. Write down ten things you want, as if you already had them and were enjoying them. Now rewrite them in the order of their importance. Make sure the things on your list are specific and measurable. In other words, it is OK to want happiness, but how will you measure it, so you will know when you have it? Instead, put the things on your list which will bring you happiness.
2. Now, at least three times a day, read the list, and imagine yourself having and enjoying the items listed. See yourself using them, in the present tense. To help you remember, read your list at each meal.
3. As soon as you have gotten three things on the list, you may discuss it with someone else - not until then. Do not show the contents of your list to anyone else! It is easy to allow the doubts, fears and mental laziness of others to affect your thinking. At this point, you are making a series of mental pictures, and you don't want anyone else blundering around in your darkroom, perhaps double-exposing your negatives. Remember, you can use your mind, or you can let someone else use it for you.
4. When you get something on your list, take it off the list, and re- place it with something else you want. If you have something on your list which is no longer important to you, again, replace it with some- thing you do want.
5. When the list starts working for you, don't panic and shy away from it. It may seem like magic, but it is not. It is just a tool.
The Most Wanted List uses the exact same process you are presently using to get what you desire or fear, but the list helps you to make the control of the process more conscious. Learning to use your creative mind is similar to developing any other skill - it takes practice, patience, and persistence. But, results will come quickly once you begin to follow thru on our commitment to harness the power of your mind. Your mind is already creating - you are just learning to direct the process.
Use these ideas daily and you will truly discover your creative mind
From India, Pune
DISCOVER YOUR CREATIVE MIND
You may have heard that your mind is like an iceberg, with 9/10ths of it below the level that we can see. You may also have heard that most people do not use 90% of their brain. You can learn to explore and use that portion of your mind which is outof view for most people.
The inner part of your mind is a fascinating place. It holds all of your hopes and dreams, your fantasies and the seed of the future that you will create for yourself. Just as each plant has its foundation in the hidden soil of the earth, so too are your thoughts based in the inner part of yourself.
By learning what the soil is made of and the process of growth that occurs in a plant, a scientist can learn how to develop richer soils and healthier plants. By learning what goes into creating within the inner part of your mind and what the process of growth is for your thoughts, you can learn how to make your thoughts stronger and healthier, and enrich your existence.
As you begin to learn about creation, you will also naturally learn about your responsibility to yourself and in dealing with others. You will learn that only YOU can make the choices that really matter in your life and to expect others to choose for you is to deny yourself the respect you truly deserve.
THE STRUCTURE OF MIND
Each thing that exists in the natural world has its own unique structure that serves to identify it from all other things. You are not likely to confuse a rabbit with an oak tree, for example, because their structures are so obviously different to your naked eye. Even rocks have different crystalline structures that help the expert tell them apart.
Our greatest advances in science have come about by learning the structure or makeup of things. Even now, tremendous amounts of time and money are being spent on research into the basic structure of sub-atomic particles, in hopes of liberating new secrets about the nature of matter.
Mind itself has a structure that is not immediately apparent to the untrained observer. Learning the structure of mind is the important firststep to really using your creative mind to your fullest potential. Each thing that exists is made of mind. Existence means existence in mind. When you learn how the mind is structured, you can begin to learn the cause and effect of each thing that exists. You will see that what many people call 'psychic` senses are really just the learned ability to use the creative mind. The mind has three basic divisions. It is important to remember that most of mind is not physical. The only part of your mind which is physical is the brain. Think of the divisions of your mind as like the layers of an onion.
The three divisions of mind are the CONSCIOUS, SUBCONSCIOUS AND SUPER-CONSCIOUS minds.
The outermost division of mind is the CONSCIOUS mind. This division houses your brain and your emotions, and of course, is the physical division. This is the part of your mind that you use to perform your regular conscious activities. You use your conscious mind most of all when you are concentrating on learning new understandings. As you learn the reasons behind a pattern of thought or activity, and practice this understanding over and over again, it gradually becomes a part of your subconsious mind.
For example, remember the first time you drove a car. Remember peering over the steering wheel at the road and constantly turning the steering wheel as the car weaved back and forth down the road? Now, when you get in the car, you may drive all the way to work without a single conscious thought about how to drive. An activity that used to be conscious is now almost entirely performed by the subconsious mind at your command.
Your SUBCONSCIOUS MIND is the second innermost division of mind. The subconsious mind is like the genie in the lamp of Aladdin. It will perform the most amazing services for you if you know how to ask for them. Some of the things that the subconsious mind can do for you will seem like magic at first, until you learn how they are accomplished.
The subconsious mind holds all of your past understood experiences, things that you have learned by practicing them over and over again, until they have literally become a part of your mind. One of the many miracles of the subconsious mind is how it keeps the physical body properly coordinated, adjusting hormone levels, respiration and heartbeat, digestions, and so forth. Your subconsious mind knows more about how to keep your body going than all the doctors in the world put together.
To use your subconsious mind to its fullest advantage, you need to understand how it works. The subconsious mind exists to provide you learning experiences. The subconsious mind responds to pictures. Whatever you place your attention on, whether it is a desire or a fear, your subconsious mind will create the experience for you. The subconsious mind does not have our conscious prejudices about pleasant and unpleasant experiences. It gives us what we ask for, and it assumes we are asking for something when we think about it. Remember, thoughts are things!
To create the things and experiences you desire, you need to learn to make clear mental pictures in your conscious imagination. Each picture serves as a kind of computer program for the subconscious mind. The stronger and clearer the picture, the more accurate your results will be. The subconscious mind is your servant. It is up to you to learn to program your subconscious mind to give you the things you truly desire.
The innermost division of mind is the SUPERCONSCIOUS MIND. This is the part of mind that provides the energy and overall direction for the rest of mind. Your superconscious mind contains the blueprint for your expression as an individual. It is the part of your being which is closest to the Supreme Being, or God.
USING YOUR CREATIVE MIND
Your mind is always creating. In the same sense that your physical body constantly breathes, your mind constantly creates. You may not always be aware of your breathing or control the rate and depth of each breath, but your body continues to breathe from the moment you are born to the end of your physical existence.
In the same way, your mind creates unceasingly. It is the natural function of the mind to create, whether you are awake or asleep. Your subconscious mind has been creating events for you throughout your life. Indeed, nothing can occur in your life without the activity of your subconscious mind causing it to happen. Your subconscious mind will do only what you consciously or unconsciously tell it to do.
The most important thing to remember in using your creative mind is that nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, 'just happens` to you. Each event that occurs in your life has one cause, and that cause is YOU. It is up to you to make sure that the things you really want to happen in your life are happening. It is up to you to be sure that you are creating the things you intend to create.
CREATING WITH IMAGINATION AND WILL
Everything that exists in the physical began as a thought. Take a good look at your physical surroundings. Everything, from this paper you are reading, to the chair on which you sit, began as a thought in mind. Remember, thoughts are things!
To create something you desire, all you need do is imagine it and then begin the necessary activity to bring it into the physical. For example, let's say you want a new car. Imagine exactly the kind of car you want, the color, the make, the style, and the cost. Imagine yourself sitting in the drivers seat, driving down the road. Imagine the joy and satisfaction you get from driving your new car. Use all your senses to experience your new car in your imagination.
The next step is to use your WILL to bring your new car to you. What this means is making the decision to get the kind of car you want and then following thru with this decision by going out to look for it. Since you know exactly what you want, your subconscious mind will take you directly to the car you are looking for.
KARMA
In creating with your imagination and will, it is important to remember to create EVENTS. Respect the free will of others, because if you don't, you will not get the results you really desire. Also, you would not like someone else trying to make you do things you do not desire to do. There is a rule of the game called KARMA, which ensures that "as you sow, so shall you reap". The intentions you are using in your creative activity are the same ones you will experience in return. Treat others as you would have them treat you.
BELIEVING
It is important, when creating an event, to practice 'believing'. Again, this is when you must use your will, because it is not always easy to 'believe'. Do not be concerned or worried as to 'how' an event will come about. Anxiety can clog up the energy flow between the conscious and subconscious mind.
This is what Jesus meant when he said "Ye must be as little children". Children are natural believers and they have very good imagination skills. To children, anything is possible, until an adult convinces them otherwise. You must use your creative mind as a child. Believe that what you desire will become a reality. In fact, in your imagination, believe that your desire has already entered the physical. Believe that what you want to happen, has already happened. In this way, you send a complete picture of the event to your subconscious mind, for the creation process to begin.
It is a good idea, while you are still new at creating what you want, to keep your thoughts and goals to yourself. It may come as a surprise to you, but many people do not want you to be creative. They want the people they know and the things they do, to be as predictable as the sunrise in the morning. They would rather live with a predictable pain than take chances on an unpredictable joy.
As you become stronger, you will be able to tell others of your goals, because their negativity cannot penetrate your belief in yourself and in what you are doing.
LAW OF ABUNDANCE
What about all the times when you experience an unpleasant situation? You lose your job, you have no money, your mate leaves you or you have an accident. You are the creator of unpleasant experiences, as well as the pleasant ones. But how is this possible, you might say. Why would I create an unpleasant situation for myself? Why would I consciously create a hardship? The answer is that your hardluck situation was created from your 'unconscious mind'.
Your unconscious mind houses all your fears, anxieties, and worries. When you place your undivided attention on a fear, that fear can become a reality. For example, you fear that you won't have enough money to pay your bills. If you concentrate on this fear long enough, you will create the exact situation you fear.
You see, whatever you place your attention on is what you get. If you dwell on a particular fear, then your subconscious mind is programmed to create the 'fear' for you. Your subconscious mind does not care if the situation causes you pain. It only gives you what you picture in your mind.
Knowing this, would it not be better to create from desires, rather than from fears? The choice is always yours. There is a universal law called the Law of Abundance. This law states that there is always an abundance of whatever it is that you desire. There is always enough money to pay bills, always enough food to eat, fuel to burn, happiness to be shared. The energy to create whatever you desire is always there, if you will use it.
Remember the story in the Bible where Jesus fed the multitudes?
He may or may not have manifested food out of thin air and the arguments could go on forever. However, I believe that this is not the real issue here. I believe the real miracle of this event is that Jesus wanted us to know that there is more than enough of what we need, if we will imagine it, use our wills to believe it and then engage in the physical activity to bring it about.
Believe in the Law of Abundance, because it is true. This will take a lot of will power, especially in the face of need, but believe anyway. Just when you catch yourself saying, "I will not have enough", stop right then and say, out loud, "There is always enough of what I need". Soon, you will not only believe in abundance, you will know it is so.
RESPONSIBILITY
To live a truly creative life, you must first acknowledge that you are the creator of your own life. You must recognize that the CAUSE of each event in your life is YOU. You must accept responsibility for yourself. A lot of people are afraid of the idea that they have free will and can use it in any manner they wish. Many of us go through life complaining about the situation in our lives that we see as out of our control. In this way, we deny responsibility for the events that occur in our lives.
There are no events or situations outside your control! You have complete freedom to change the things that are happening now in your life. Only you can choose to live a happy or satisfying life and if you are telling yourself that you have to wait even ONE MORE MINUTE before you begin, you are kidding yourself. When we pretend that we need something, outside of ourself, for our continued happiness or peace of mind, we experience what I call 'attachment' . We attach part of our self-worth to an outside event, person or thing. Then we try to control our feelings of self-worth by attempting to control that person, event or thing. It never works!
Creativity is your birthright. You have the free will to choose your own life. The only catch is that if you don't use it, someone else will. If you don't make your own decisions, someone will make them for you, leaving you to wonder why you are always the 'victim'. If you find yourself in a situation where you feel 'victimized' or 'used', check your memory banks. Chances are, you passed up an opportunity to make a decision so someone else made the desision for you! It is always up to you to make the life you desire for yourself. Do not wait for permission from another to unfold the real you. You have the permission with each breath you take. Use it! Remember you are the creating intelligence within yourself. Remember that your mind will create for you constantly, just like breathing, whether you want it to or not. It will create what you desire or what you fear. It is up to you to choose. If you hesitate in your choice, you choose the fear by default. Since you have a
choice, wouldn't it be better to have what you want, rather than what you don't want? Remember, the time to choose is now, and the time to begin creating what you desire is now. If you wait until tomorrow, tomorrow will never come.
MENTAL EXERCISES
Your mind is a highly specialized, finely-tuned creative instrument. Scientists has worked for years to duplicate the functions of the human brain using computers. The results so far has been very primitive. Some scientists have speculated that to duplicate the functioning of one human brain, it would take computer equipment worth over one billion dollars and hundreds of programmers working together for years. Your brain is the equivalent of a billion dollar computer. Think of how much you can do with so large an investment!
Your mind can be programmed for more efficient activity by the use of exercises that strengthen your abilities in the areas of concentration, relaxation, imagination, will and memory. These exercises must be done on a regular basis, just as you would do physical exercises.
THE MOST WANTED LIST
This exercise will help you develop will power, perspective, goal setting skills, concentration and visualization skills. For this exercise, you will need a small note pad. Get one small enough to carry in your purse or pocket. Here is how the exercise works:
1. Write down ten things you want, as if you already had them and were enjoying them. Now rewrite them in the order of their importance. Make sure the things on your list are specific and measurable. In other words, it is OK to want happiness, but how will you measure it, so you will know when you have it? Instead, put the things on your list which will bring you happiness.
2. Now, at least three times a day, read the list, and imagine yourself having and enjoying the items listed. See yourself using them, in the present tense. To help you remember, read your list at each meal.
3. As soon as you have gotten three things on the list, you may discuss it with someone else - not until then. Do not show the contents of your list to anyone else! It is easy to allow the doubts, fears and mental laziness of others to affect your thinking. At this point, you are making a series of mental pictures, and you don't want anyone else blundering around in your darkroom, perhaps double-exposing your negatives. Remember, you can use your mind, or you can let someone else use it for you.
4. When you get something on your list, take it off the list, and re- place it with something else you want. If you have something on your list which is no longer important to you, again, replace it with some- thing you do want.
5. When the list starts working for you, don't panic and shy away from it. It may seem like magic, but it is not. It is just a tool.
The Most Wanted List uses the exact same process you are presently using to get what you desire or fear, but the list helps you to make the control of the process more conscious. Learning to use your creative mind is similar to developing any other skill - it takes practice, patience, and persistence. But, results will come quickly once you begin to follow thru on our commitment to harness the power of your mind. Your mind is already creating - you are just learning to direct the process.
Use these ideas daily and you will truly discover your creative mind
From India, Pune
Thinking like a Genius
http://www.studygs.net/genius.htm
The first and last thing demanded of genius is the love of truth
Goethe
"Even if you're not a genius, you can use the same strategies as Aristotle and Einstein to harness the power of your creative mind and better manage your future."
The following eight strategies encourage you to think productively,
rather than reproductively, in order to arrive at solutions to problems. "These strategies are common to the thinking styles of creative geniuses in science, art, and industry throughout history."
The practice of genius
1. Look at problems in many different ways, and find new perspectives that no one else has taken (or no one else has publicized!)
Leonardo da Vinci believed that, to gain knowledge about the form of a problem, you begin by learning how to restructure it in many different ways. He felt that the first way he looked at a problem was too biased. Often, the problem itself is reconstructed and becomes a new one.
2. Visualize!
When Einstein thought through a problem, he always found it necessary to formulate his subject in as many different ways as possible, including using diagrams. He visualized solutions, and believed that words and numbers as such did not play a significant role in his thinking process.
3. Produce! A distinguishing characteristic of genius is productivity.
Thomas Edison held 1,093 patents. He guaranteed productivity by giving himself and his assistants idea quotas. In a study of 2,036 scientists throughout history, Dean Keith Simonton of the University of California at Davis found that the most respected scientists produced not only great works, but also many "bad" ones. They weren't afraid to fail, or to produce mediocre in order to arrive at excellence.
4. Make novel combinations. Combine, and recombine, ideas, images, and thoughts into different combinations no matter how incongruent or unusual.
The laws of heredity on which the modern science of genetics is based came from the Austrian monk Grego Mendel, who combined mathematics and biology to create a new science.
5. Form relationships; make connections between dissimilar subjects.
Da Vinci forced a relationship between the sound of a bell and a stone hitting water. This enabled him to make the connection that sound travels in waves. Samuel Morse invented relay stations for telegraphic signals when observing relay stations for horses.
6. Think in opposites.
Physicist Niels Bohr believed, that if you held opposites together, then you suspend your thought, and your mind moves to a new level. His ability to imagine light as both a particle and a wave led to his conception of the principle of complementarity. Suspending thought (logic) may allow your mind to create a new form.
7. Think metaphorically.
Aristotle considered metaphor a sign of genius, and believed that the individual who had the capacity to perceive resemblances between two separate areas of existence and link them together was a person of special gifts.
8. Prepare yourself for chance.
Whenever we attempt to do something and fail, we end up doing something else. That is the first principle of creative accident. Failure can be productive only if we do not focus on it as an unproductive result. Instead: analyze the process, its components, and how you can change them, to arrive at other results. Do not ask the question "Why have I failed?", but rather "What have I done?"
Michael Michalko is the author of Thinkertoys (A Handbook of Business Creativity), ThinkPak (A Brainstorming Card Set), and Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Geniuses (Ten Speed Press, 1998).
From India, Pune
http://www.studygs.net/genius.htm
The first and last thing demanded of genius is the love of truth
Goethe
"Even if you're not a genius, you can use the same strategies as Aristotle and Einstein to harness the power of your creative mind and better manage your future."
The following eight strategies encourage you to think productively,
rather than reproductively, in order to arrive at solutions to problems. "These strategies are common to the thinking styles of creative geniuses in science, art, and industry throughout history."
The practice of genius
1. Look at problems in many different ways, and find new perspectives that no one else has taken (or no one else has publicized!)
Leonardo da Vinci believed that, to gain knowledge about the form of a problem, you begin by learning how to restructure it in many different ways. He felt that the first way he looked at a problem was too biased. Often, the problem itself is reconstructed and becomes a new one.
2. Visualize!
When Einstein thought through a problem, he always found it necessary to formulate his subject in as many different ways as possible, including using diagrams. He visualized solutions, and believed that words and numbers as such did not play a significant role in his thinking process.
3. Produce! A distinguishing characteristic of genius is productivity.
Thomas Edison held 1,093 patents. He guaranteed productivity by giving himself and his assistants idea quotas. In a study of 2,036 scientists throughout history, Dean Keith Simonton of the University of California at Davis found that the most respected scientists produced not only great works, but also many "bad" ones. They weren't afraid to fail, or to produce mediocre in order to arrive at excellence.
4. Make novel combinations. Combine, and recombine, ideas, images, and thoughts into different combinations no matter how incongruent or unusual.
The laws of heredity on which the modern science of genetics is based came from the Austrian monk Grego Mendel, who combined mathematics and biology to create a new science.
5. Form relationships; make connections between dissimilar subjects.
Da Vinci forced a relationship between the sound of a bell and a stone hitting water. This enabled him to make the connection that sound travels in waves. Samuel Morse invented relay stations for telegraphic signals when observing relay stations for horses.
6. Think in opposites.
Physicist Niels Bohr believed, that if you held opposites together, then you suspend your thought, and your mind moves to a new level. His ability to imagine light as both a particle and a wave led to his conception of the principle of complementarity. Suspending thought (logic) may allow your mind to create a new form.
7. Think metaphorically.
Aristotle considered metaphor a sign of genius, and believed that the individual who had the capacity to perceive resemblances between two separate areas of existence and link them together was a person of special gifts.
8. Prepare yourself for chance.
Whenever we attempt to do something and fail, we end up doing something else. That is the first principle of creative accident. Failure can be productive only if we do not focus on it as an unproductive result. Instead: analyze the process, its components, and how you can change them, to arrive at other results. Do not ask the question "Why have I failed?", but rather "What have I done?"
Michael Michalko is the author of Thinkertoys (A Handbook of Business Creativity), ThinkPak (A Brainstorming Card Set), and Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Geniuses (Ten Speed Press, 1998).
From India, Pune
DO YOU THINK IT CANNOT BE DONE? - NEVER GIVE UP!
All of us at one time or another uttered this statement. “It cannot be done.?Let us talk about a person who heard this statement all through his life but he always believed that one could do anything if one is determined and focused to the task.
It was the year 1883, an engineer John Roebling got an idea. He wanted to build a bridge that could connect New York with the Long Island. Now, you ask yourself what would be the reaction that one would have to hear if you try to do something new. Yes, that is what our engineer heard.
* This is an impossible task
* It can’t be done
* It is not practical
* It has never been done before
* You would do well to forget it
Engineers all around the world said that this was an impossible task and he would do well to forget it. But he did not and could not forget his idea. He shared his idea with his son, Washington who was also an engineer. And he was successful in convincing his son (after a lot of discussion and persuasion) that the bridge could be constructed. Now both of them sat down and started finalizing the project as to how this project could be completed.
Crew was hired and the process of realization of dream was started. Just after a few months an accident on the site killed John Roebling and left Washington crippled for life. He could walk and he could talk or move. Now, what would be the reactions of people after this?
* We told him so!
* Crazy dreams always end up like this
* How foolish to go on wild goose chase
* See what he has brought his life to
And after all only the father son duo knew how the bridge could be built and that is why all felt that the bridge project should be scraped. There was only one man who didn’t feel so. Yes, Washington! He had a dream and he was going to realize it. As he lay on his bed in the hospital, he could see the sky and the trees outside. And he felt alive again. He could just move one finger and that is what he used to maximum impact.
He developed a code of communication with that one finger with his wife. It took a long time but at last he succeeded in developing this unique way of communication. He told her to call the engineers and used this way of communication with his wife to communicate to the engineers what needs to be done. The reactions that he got were as expected.
* He is again doing a foolishness
* He has still not learn from his mistakes
* When he falls again, he would understand
But as usual our Washington didn’t listen to anyone and the work started. It took 13 years of continuous tapping of fingers by Washington to his wife till the bridge was finally completed. And yes, we call it the Brooklyn Bridge!
Successful people are not the ones who face the least trouble in lives. Successful people are the ones who know how to come out of hopeless situation in triumph in the most adverse situations. And as the saying goes, “Winners never quit and quitters never win!?You tell me how many excuses do you make not to go after your dreams?
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
All of us at one time or another uttered this statement. “It cannot be done.?Let us talk about a person who heard this statement all through his life but he always believed that one could do anything if one is determined and focused to the task.
It was the year 1883, an engineer John Roebling got an idea. He wanted to build a bridge that could connect New York with the Long Island. Now, you ask yourself what would be the reaction that one would have to hear if you try to do something new. Yes, that is what our engineer heard.
* This is an impossible task
* It can’t be done
* It is not practical
* It has never been done before
* You would do well to forget it
Engineers all around the world said that this was an impossible task and he would do well to forget it. But he did not and could not forget his idea. He shared his idea with his son, Washington who was also an engineer. And he was successful in convincing his son (after a lot of discussion and persuasion) that the bridge could be constructed. Now both of them sat down and started finalizing the project as to how this project could be completed.
Crew was hired and the process of realization of dream was started. Just after a few months an accident on the site killed John Roebling and left Washington crippled for life. He could walk and he could talk or move. Now, what would be the reactions of people after this?
* We told him so!
* Crazy dreams always end up like this
* How foolish to go on wild goose chase
* See what he has brought his life to
And after all only the father son duo knew how the bridge could be built and that is why all felt that the bridge project should be scraped. There was only one man who didn’t feel so. Yes, Washington! He had a dream and he was going to realize it. As he lay on his bed in the hospital, he could see the sky and the trees outside. And he felt alive again. He could just move one finger and that is what he used to maximum impact.
He developed a code of communication with that one finger with his wife. It took a long time but at last he succeeded in developing this unique way of communication. He told her to call the engineers and used this way of communication with his wife to communicate to the engineers what needs to be done. The reactions that he got were as expected.
* He is again doing a foolishness
* He has still not learn from his mistakes
* When he falls again, he would understand
But as usual our Washington didn’t listen to anyone and the work started. It took 13 years of continuous tapping of fingers by Washington to his wife till the bridge was finally completed. And yes, we call it the Brooklyn Bridge!
Successful people are not the ones who face the least trouble in lives. Successful people are the ones who know how to come out of hopeless situation in triumph in the most adverse situations. And as the saying goes, “Winners never quit and quitters never win!?You tell me how many excuses do you make not to go after your dreams?
Cheers,
Rajat
From India, Pune
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