The Creative Muse: An Expanding View

Expand your view. Let go of preconceptions. Wiggle loose your perceptions long enough to visualize more, ever more, possibilities.

Are you locked into your thinking? Is your mind made up on certain concepts, designs, beliefs? It's easy to slip into a comfortable certainty about what we believe and to then accept that as absolute truth.

How would we even know if absolute truth was absolute?

What if we tested our beliefs? What if we did learn about opposite points of view? What if we did explore ideas that were radically different than our own?

If our own truths are truly absolute, couldn't they withstand the most probing scrutiny and the most rigorous doubts? And if our beliefs are valid beyond doubting then couldn't they emerge confident after wandering through some divergent paths?

What if we let down our guard and listed openly to a new idea? What if our version of the truth is incomplete and could benefit from cranking open the windows and breathing some fresh air?

Creative actions:

Explore a writer you've never read before, especially one you've consciously avoided. Read with a sense of curiosity.
Create a list of ten things that you believe to be absolutely true. Reflect on the list. How did you form each of these beliefs? How much of each idea is yours and how much was provided to you by someone else?
Refer back to your list and create a list of ten opposite views. What makes these views flawed? Are any of these flaws in YOUR views as well?
Think about an idea or concept you have tried in the past to convince someone else was true. What if you didn't have to prove it -- what would it look like? What if proving it resulted in also proving something unexpected -- what would that be?
Draw a picture to illustrate a concept that you've always thought couldn't be true (such as a flying pig.) Reflect on your picture. What is now true that was not true before?
Pick any three notes from a piano or other instrument (this works best if you pick notes within your vocal range.) Play those notes over and over several times until they nestle into your memory. Hum these notes. Sing these notes. Put some words to these notes (for example, "truth can grow" or "there is more" or "truth has wings..." You decide.)
Still singing your new three-note song, create an improvised dance to it. Feel free to expand your song as your dance emerges. If it feels right, clap your hands along or snap your fingers. Smile. Raise your voice, tap your feet, sing and dance.

Comments

A Warning About Tradition

Are you bumping up against tradition? As leaders we are often breaking barriers. We're constantly knocking down walls. Sometimes, we're stepping on toes. We change things because that's what leaders do but it does matter how we change. Are we graceful, or clumsy? Are we considerate, or brutal? Are we deliberate, or chaotic? Change is necessary because it's where growth happens. Doing that change we can forget about or even demolish tradition. "If it mattered we'd keep it," right? It matters. How we handle tradition tells our team how we will eventually handle each and every one of them. What has been placed there before us has been trusted to us. We can improve it, always. Must we ever destroy it? Seldom. Ignore tradition and you'll lose stability. Lost stability and there's no telling where you'll end up. We can drive change and still honor tradition. That means learning more about both. -- doug smith

Are We Really All In Sales?

How many people have tried to sell you stuff today? Six? Sixteen? Sixty-six? It's a lot, isn't it? Some days it feels as if everything is a sales pitch. Buy this, try that, sign-up for freemium but get ready to pay. It's good for you, it's what you need, it will bring you friends and fun. I know, I know, I know. We're all in sales. I sell stuff, too. I do better if people sign up for my courses. I make more money when customers supplement their learning by buying materials from me. I sell, I sell, so who am I to tell? I get so weary of people trying to sell me things that I almost stop selling things myself. But, I do find myself selling less these days. I'm not criticizing sales. I have a son who is an absolute ace at selling insurance and he does very well, and well -- people DO need insurance. It meets a need. But, we don't think about it, we don't address the need, unless someone tells us about it. Unless someone sells us something. How do we make pe

Who Are You Today?

How far afield have you ever gotten distracted? Have you ever gotten so far distracted that you forgot who you are? Not literally who you are, but rather who you are supposed to be in your work. Your role, your vision, your mission -- your PURPOSE for working. Presumably who you ARE is safely lit in your heart. It's in our work that we can get confused. At least, that's true for me. I've at times taken assorted bunny trails down jobs that were not suited for my purpose. I did them, whether it was as a favor, or out of a desire to serve, or to simply earn some money -- but I could always feel, in those times, a gentle tug telling me "hey, this isn't you..." Like a small cat patting me on the head when I shouldn't be sleeping. Like a small puppy tugging on my pants leg when I should be outside, moving around...that gentle but irritating feeling that there is better work ahead, but what I'm doing is getting in the way. It's easy to do. Life will l

Start With A Goal

Have you ever solved a problem and then been disappointed by the result? I sure have. The problem was bad, the solution was worse. We need to narrow down our target. We need a focus that allows for surprises and yet creates a solution based on something we really want. After all, it's not the END of something we're working on, it's the existence of something better. High performance leaders create better situations. Be careful about solving a problem until you know what you really want. Start with your goal. -- doug smith

Your Goals Need You To Get Started

If your big goals is really a series of twenty-five little goals, the sooner you get started on those little goals the sooner those goals will add up to that one big goal. -- doug smith

Keep Digging

Bigger problems have more than one cause. Keep digging. -- doug smith

Wherever we are...

During a webinar that I was facilitating, one of my participants, David Palmore, quoted a former boss of his and it makes so much sense I just have to share it here: It's a supervisor's job to remove obstacles and excuses. -- Mark Howard It's so easy to find excuses - "they won't listen anyway," "it's above my pay grade," "I'm not good enough for that..." and yet what do excuses ever give you? You don't have to think too long on that because the answer is nothing. Maybe less than nothing because excuses take away opportunity. We're not always fully equipped to do the job we need to do. We often lack resources needed to achieve our biggest goals. People push back and give us second thoughts. There are walls everywhere. But we can climb those walls. We can dig under those walls. We can go around those walls. And, when we need to we can pound thru those walls. No wall is worthy of an excuse, and no excuse is as tough as a wall

Problems Spark Collaboration

Is it annoying when someone brings you a problem? Sometimes they catch us by surprise. Usually, it's in the middle of something else that's already important. There it is, a problem. We could resist. We could avoid. Or, we could engage. It's up to us. Think of someone who brings you a problem as a new collaborator. -- doug smith

What It Means

Find meaning in this moment. That's where the meaning is. -- doug smith

Keep Moving

Perfection is a direction, not a destination. -- doug smith

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