Are there times when you feel like
your creativity and imagination have taken a vacation and don't have the
map to get back to you? Lack of time and a mounting list of
responsibilities often crunch out the chance to create, think up, design
and enjoy. And yet if you look back on your childhood, you could write,
design costumes and star in a play in an afternoon! Or you could while
away the day finding 1001 uses for a wooden Popsicle stick.
Most life or career frustration comes
from the feeling that you aren't getting to just be who you really
are. You're spending time in an office when you crave fresh air. You're
carpooling when you would like to just spend a few minutes sitting and
letting your mind wander. It just seems that there is little time to tap
into your own creativity and let that "inner child" (yes, I said it) come
out to play! Recently, a couple of things have gotten me excited about
exercising my brain.
First, at 8:00 p.m. CST on Thursday evenings you will find me watching "The Apprentice."
I'm ashamed to be hooked on any television show, but if I have
other plans, I record it. Why? Because I learn so
much about two things I love studying: business and group dynamics. Every
week a group of bright, creative individuals are given a real business
project to create and sell. They go through a process of brainstorming,
agreeing upon a plan, assigning responsibilities and following through to
completion. I like to think about how I would manage the project and then at the
end, learn what worked and what didn't and hear the rest of the
"hindsight" analysis. It
exercises my imagination and is just plain fun! (As of this writing I am
waiting for the season finale to see who will finally win...)
Another real mind-sharpener for me is
a book I'm reading now called A Whole New Mind: Moving from
the Information Age to the Conceptual Age, by Daniel Pink. I was so
excited about its content that I ordered it before it was even published!
(By the way, I don't know the author personally nor do I get any fee for
recommending the book!)
In the book, the author outlines his theory
that having passed through the Industrial Age to the Information Age, we
are now moving into what he calls the Conceptual Age. He suggests that in
the Information Age, those who prospered were the left-brain directed
thinkers who are Information Technologists,
Accountants, some Lawyers, and other professionals who excel at that kind
of logical, ordered thinking. Because many jobs requiring those skills are
now being outsourced to other countries or automated (you
can create a will on the internet now without even consulting a lawyer),
the opportunities in some of these professions are becoming fewer all
the time. Good news though; he suggests that
what cannot be outsourced or automated is the ability to reason and
conceptualize, and this is where the greatest future career opportunities
will lie. A computer cannot interpret group dynamics or the emotions and
needs of employees or customers, no matter how sophisticated. Nor is it
likely that someone to whom technical work has been outsourced overseas
can analyze and synthesize those same issues from across the ocean.
The book makes a great scientific case
for the fact that you can develop your whole brain styles. It isn't
necessary to define yourself as "left-brained" or "right-brained."
Don't most of us have both sides? It's just that we tend to favor one
style over the other through our learning experiences.
As a coach, I
find exercising both sides of the brain to be very exciting stuff! Besides
the career implications, it may finally mean that those creative impulses
you have been stifling to fit into the Information Age may well be the
very things that allow you to flourish and enjoy yourself in the
so-called Conceptual Age! If you have been frustrated by a career that has
been task-oriented or overly technical, the door is opening for you to let
your creative, imaginative side flourish!
If you would like some help flexing
your creative muscle, I would love to work with you to build your
"whole-brain" fitness level by providing you with exercises, challenges,
and projects that are not only fun, but help give you an edge as you go.
Here is just one example: Practice making a game of evaluating the
type of service you receive in a restaurant or retail establishment (or
just about any kind of business) and think about how you would improve
efficiency, attitude, environment, and service.
What does sharpening your creativity
and imagination mean to you? A number
of things:
-
Be encouraged that a new "age" means
new opportunity!
-
If you have children of any age and
want to prepare them to succeed in the world, encourage their creative
abilities, which will help them broaden their critical thinking
skills.
-
Look upon this new theory as a reason
to "lighten up." Embrace that side of yourself that wants to build
something out of the sweetener packets at the table. It may provide the
edge you're looking for!
-
If you consider yourself a left-brain
or right-brain directed type and want to develop more of the other side, there are neat ways to
exercise your whole-brained thinking style. This book is a great
beginning. You can also hire a coach, start studying the arts or music or design,
travel to new places or do anything that gives you new "ah-hah's."
-
Awareness is everything. If you want
to succeed, you must keep up with where the world is going and decide how
you want to fit into it. Understand that being prepared to go with the
flow is a skill you can develop.
Questions or comments? Send me
an e-mail, or
better yet,
call me for a free consultation!
Warmest Regards,
Gwen