There But For I - Go Me

There was a beautiful blonde woman in great shape in the front row of my cycling class this morning.  She worked hard the whole class, a very serious rider, but seemed to enjoy the class too. At the end of our workout she came up to me and thanked me for a great class. She let me know she was visiting from Arlington, Tx (near Dallas/Fort Worth) and mentioned a few things about instructors there. Her words were a compliment to me.  She wistfully mentioned she would love to be an instructor but thought they wouldn't consider her because of her age.  Thinking she couldn't possibly be any older than me, I mentioned that there were several instructors our age and some even a little older and she shouldn't let that stop her at all. Then she told me how old she was. Inside I am sure my jaw was dropping because she looked much younger.  Without skipping a beat, I told her I could tell she would be good, her form was great, her physique would be motivating and her love of the sport would shine through.  She said, "Maybe I will look into that".  I hope she does.  I wish that I had thought to get her contact information to check in with her. 

When I was in my mid forties I was finally able to do the splits for the first time (see profile picture).  I joked to my yoga class that I should try out for cheerleading now because I couldn't when I was little. Not being able to do the splits prevented me.  I tried out for the Houston Texans cheerleader squad with a 20 year old girlfriend.  I made it through to the second round. My friend had to quit after the first round because her back and neck hurt so much from all the bending, fllipping and hair whipping.

Don't let your age hold you back from taking a risk. 

"There but for I - go me!

What If?

What If?  A simple question - with endless possibilities for answers.  The use of this question can open up so many opportunities for you and your organization. 

In a training class on Creativity the instructor posted several flipchart pages on the walls with one question at the top of each chart.  The one that intrigued me the most was "What if there were 48 hours in a day?  Wow - what a cool thought.  What if there were?  I would certainly spend about ten of them sleeping without any guilty feelings.  There would be time for everything including time to just sit there and do nothing more than enjoy the beauty of the world around me.  To have twice as much time as we have now.  Hmm.  "Oh the Places You'll Go" - as Dr Seuss says. 

Then we were instructed to write our own "What If?".  I wrote "What If I Went to Bed Early?". You can tell from the time of this posting that isn't happening tonight, but what would happen if I did?  I started with the negatives. I would miss my favorite late night show - The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. But the list quickly turned to positives.  Books would be written and lack of sleep wrinkles would disappear.  A smile crossed my face as I thought about the changes that would occur with a simple alteration of my sleep schedule.

What will you do with this question?  Use it for your own self discovery?  Share it with friends? What "What If" would you post in the lunchroom or on the agenda for your next meeting? What do you think would happen at work if you opened up the thinking process of your coworkers with that simple question? 

Try it and tell me what happens.

Clutter Cramps Creativity

How can you think when stuff is falling down around you?  When your office or your home is full of things that you don't really need; that fall on your head when you open up closets; that make it difficult to close drawers - it is time for an overhaul.  The simple act of throwing something away can lift your spirits and clear you head for creative ideas to flow.  Many people don't ever start on it because it seems like an overwhelming task to declutter.  They think that it will take hours or days to make an impact and that they don't have the time to do it right now.  So they keep waiting for the day when they will have that precious break in their hectic schedule.  It never comes. 

Starting small and just starting are the ways to make it happen.  Dump a drawer upside down on the floor or counter, pull all of your clothes off a closet rod, or open up that file cabinet and just start sifting.  Commit to fifteen minutes a day and delight in the difference a little bit at a time can make.  May your creative ideas start flowing the minute the "stuff" starts flowing out the door. 

Time to Create

I start my presentation on Creativity asking for a show of hands in the audience of who thinks they are creative.  Surprisingly, not every hand shoots quickly to the ceiling.  There are various reasons for that; as varied as the people in the room.  Some people really don't believe they are creative and others don't want to appear arrogant about their amazing flow of ideas.  The truth is that everyone is creative; we just don't take the time to let our creativity work. 

Here are some simple ways to incorporate creativity into your busy life when you only have a few minutes to spare:

- Attend an organizational meeting of a group you don't typically associate with (if you are an engineer - go to a writers club meeting).  Hanging out with a different crowd can inspire new ways of thinking and ideas.

- Take a ten minute break from whatever work you are involved in.  Set a timer, write down one problem you need ideas for at the top of a page and then write all the ideas that come to mind as you focus on just that one problem.

- Take a break and go outside with your Ipod or other music player.  Listen to music without lyrics and let your mind wander, jotting down any thoughts that arise.

- Write down three problems at the beginning of the day and keep the short list in plain sight.  Jot down any thoughts that come up as you go through your day regarding those three specific problems.

- Ask someone  what ideas they might have about an issue that is puzzling you and see what they come up with .  Make sure they aren't involved in or familiar with concept - to open up your thinking.

- Assemble a group of seven or eight people together in a circle.  Each of you writes a problem you have at the top of your own piece of paper.  Then each person passes their problem one person to the right.  For one minute everyone writes the first thing that comes to their mind regarding the problem they are reading (advice, empathy or concerns).  When the one minute is up everyone passes their paper one person to the right.  The process is repeated until everyone has had a chance to respond to each person's problem. 

Give yourself time to create.  Your mind just needs a break from all the other things going on in it.  Give it a chance to think casually and calmly about nothing.  And then nothing will become something.