Did School Kill Your Creativity?

28th of April ~

Did school kill your creativity?  Ken Robinson certainly thinks it may have.  If you haven’t seen his TED talk here it is:

The good Sir Robinson has also written an excellent book called The Element.  We are in our Element when our natural talent/aptitude meets our personal passion.  This sounds a little like Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s notion of ‘Flow‘ but here’s how I see the difference: if you have a chance to pursue your talent and passion (your Element) then you will more often find themselves in a state of Flow.

Here is Sir Ken is concern: schools today are over-focused on a narrow definition of intelligence.  Standardized tests determine everything from school funding to who gets into elite programs and colleges.  Perhaps you’ve read A Whole New Mind or Five Minds for the Future.  Perhaps you believe that employers are seeking creativity, the ability to solve complex problems and do more than simply provide the ‘right’ answer.

The world needs flexible, generative minds alongside the analytical, logical minds.  And our curricula and assessments do not reflect that, sadly.

For many years my Element has been dance.  For many years I studied ballet (and tap, and jazz and even baton twirling!).  When I studied dance technique I was definitely not in Flow.  It was painstaking learning.  But eventually, I got better and became a trained dancer.  I haven’t performed in years but I still seek opportunities to dance.  I do lose track of time and enter ‘single-minded immersion’.   What a gift to have found something for which I had some aptitude and loved so much.  I also believe that my training in the arts prepared me to make a broader contribution professionally.  I studied math and science.  I took ballet lessons.  Both improved my brain.

What is your Element?  What have you pursued with passion and aptitude?  If it’s been a long time since you’ve found yourself in Flow may I suggest that you find a way to get back to what you love?  You and the world will be better for it.

I Love Technology

22nd of April ~

Yesterday I met with a former theater colleague.  He’s a marketing whiz but he also knows a ton about emerging technologies and how to use them.  “I don’t care about the inner workings.  I just want the technology for what it can do.”

And here’s a lovely example of how technology is opening possibilities.  This woman was born in 1911 (yup, 99 years old).  She received an English Literature degree from Reed college in the the 1930′s but her glaucoma has made reading extremely difficult.  With the iPad she can read more easily because the screen is so bright.

Delightful.

I hope when I am 99 years old I, too, will be open to using new technology.

Third Thought Deck: Ponder

21st of April ~

Unplugging for Creativity

13th of April ~

One thing I’ve observed about many creative people is a delightful curiosity.  “Oh, look!  Something new!”  If you are easily distracted (to the point of low productivity) I can recommend the adoption of an old practice: Observe a Day of Rest.   Take one day each week to unplug from your technology, go outside for a contemplative walk and simply give your brain something different–space to roam.  Here’s one site to help you try it: Sabbath Manifesto

I treated myself to a day of rest over the weekend and I was astonished at how often I reflexively headed for my computer.  Without it I was a little lost.  But then I took the dog for a leisurely walk.  And then I did some writing.  And then I did a lot of reading.  It was nice, all that space.

OK, I admit that by the evening I did have to indulge in some technology via Netflix.  Still, I went to bed early and slept well.  And the next day I did notice a lot of energy to dig into my more unformed work.

And, if you absolutely don’t have time to take a Day of Rest…well, then you really, really need it.  Here are a couple of strategies:

  • Plan a trip and then cancel it at the last minute.  I hadn’t planned on canceling my most recent trip.  But once I did I had this empty calendar.  Days of unscheduled time!  What a luxury!
  • Choose a day three or four weeks out and put it on the calendar.  Get your people to support you in this.  Then, escape the house and office.  Then do it twice a month, then three times a month.  Then every week.

Trust me, if you are a working professional you will feel lost.  But then your brain will begin to occupy itself in different ways.

Let me know what happens…

Go With It

3rd of April ~

I am a professional in the change management field, with an expertise in creativity and innovation.  That said, I have often chuckled at how change-inept many of us are in our personal lives.  This spring I am fired up around multiple goals….and I have been sick.  What?!  I am NOT in control here?!

So, this week, on my second round of antibiotics and hopped up on vicodin for cough suppression (whee!), I am pondering the gifts of inaction.  What am I to learn here?

Fallow Time

Farmers let their fields rest.  My body has enforced rest upon me.  I don’t think I was stressed or burning the candle at both ends.  Still, my life is FULL.  I like to take big, gobbling bites of life and maybe it’s time to slow down and pare the To-Do list a little.  I feel completely guilty watching multiple versions of Jane Eyre.  I am catching up on TV via Hulu in my sickbed.  Modern Family had me laughing aloud (again, love the vicodin).  I feel better when I rest.

The Essence

I have had to cancel things left and right.  Some wonderful events I could not attend.  Others have been pushed out.  The only thing I am doing this entire week is showing up at family Easter dinner.  What’s most important rises easily to the top when choices are narrowed.

Incubation

Hours in bed, wandering around in my head, is giving me time to ponder.   I am making notes in my journal about my delayed plans.  The Incubation process is a well-documented aspect of the creative process.  My dreams are gaining momentum with the forced stillness.

Reflection

I have also taken my own advice to reflect on the first quarter of the year and ask big and small questions: What have I harvested and what do I still want to accomplish in 2010? Here are a few of the things that popped to the top of the Harvest list:

  • Fed kangaroos and petted a koala in Australia!

  • Managed to sustain the first three months of weekly newsletters.  The public commitment compelled me and, what do you know? I LOVE writing it.
  • Initiated external work on our home.  We have a new roof and the primer paint is going up!

Meanwhile, I leave for Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.  Oh La!  Living La Vida Loca….

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