One of the problems people suffer from as adults is the acceptance of constraints. When we’re kids we tend to dream big with little or no constraints. Anything seems possible once we get bigger! As we grow up we begin to put constraints on ourselves or others add constraints to us and we take our big dream that seemed so possible a few short years ago and we chip away it until it fits with in all these new (and apparently reasonable) constraints.
What we should really be doing is spending our time looking at how to move or remove the constraints that are too small for our dreams. We should be looking at ways not to shrink our dreams, but to grow the space to make it fit!
Why don’t you to write down all the constraints that are currently stopping you live the life you want. Everything that is getting in the way of achieving your goals. Make it a long list and don’t hold back. Anything and everything that gets in the way.
Then write down one thing (just one thing) that you could do to change it! I bet you most of things on your list, most of the constraints that you thought got in the way aren’t really that difficult to overcome!
Here’s a great presentation about how to service design right (so that it works for the customer, not for the business process). Thanks Paul and Nick!
Hands up if your creative. (I hope you all put your hand up!)
I was just reading a back issue of ‘Fast Company’ magazine. The December 2004 issue – I like to return to stuff I thought I learnt just to make sure I still understand it! This issue was all about creativity. Articles like ‘What Makes Beautiful Minds’, ‘Finding Your Inner Creative’, ‘The 6 Myths Of Creativity’ and ‘The Fabric of Creativity’.
It suddenly struck me that throughout our lives and particularly when we’re young, we’re trained to follow the rules. We are trained by others to conform. At school we’re taught ‘the right way’ to do stuff. When we start a new job we are shown how it should be done. When we learn to drive we are told exactly what we need to do. It is a constant theme every day. Be like this! Do it like this! This is how it should be done!
Well I for one say NO! I’m gonna do it differently, just for the hell of it I’m gonna get out of your box and do something ‘the wrong way’. That’s how we learn to be creative. By mixing it up. By not following the rules. (Not that I advocate being too creative while driving! I wouldn’t want an accident or a fine!)
But I do believe we need to practice being creative. We need to relearn what we have spent years unlearning. We all have the ability to be creative – just do something a different way or look at something differently every day this week and see how it grows your creativity.
“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, is creativity.” – Charlie Mingus
Images courtesy of Mr Fish from Harper’s Magazine!
