Your Creativity Is In Your Hands

Are you in charge of your creativity?

Do you play with new ideas, new textures, new techniques? Your creativity is yours to manage and it's also in your hands, literally. From another angle: your hands create.

Think about a sculptor at work, her hands carefully forming her art. Her mind is completely engaged, maybe even in a flow, and her hands instinctively, creatively, know what to do. That only comes after hours of practice.

Think about a concert pianist: the mind is involved, the heart is involved, and the hands are doing far more than running thru the paces of mechanical memory. The hands are creating tone, inflection, articulation, emphasis, texture, stylization, and yes even emotion. The hands add what the brain hasn't even imagined until it hears it coming straight from the hands. That level of synthesis only comes after many hours of practice.

Name the format and the hands are there -- not just as a set of useful tools but also as generators of inspired creativity: painting, sketching, sewing, quilting, crafting - the hands are at the heart of creativity. Hands design, they deliver, and when necessary they destroy -- all in the spirit of creativity.

Yes, you are in charge of your creativity. And if you are blessed with two strong hands you are truly blessed indeed because within your hands are entire worlds of creativity.

-- doug smith

Creative Actions

Fold a piece of paper into a shape you haven't considered or tried before. Let your hands guide the action and make the changes. Leave it up to your hands.
Feel hands-full of beach sand. Hold it, fold it, let it touch your hands back. Do that for a few minutes. What ideas do you have for something to create?
Put your hands in your shoes for a moment. How does that feel? Consider walking somewhere without your shoes - barefoot if possible. Let your feet enjoy the creative freedom of touching the earth.

Comments

Fix The Problem

Fighting a problem does not require us to fight other people. We don't need to agitate when we can collaborate. Fix the problem (which is likely caused by flaws in the process, design, or environment) and the people will be fine. -- doug smith

To Be The Best

You could rely on luck. You could depend on inheritance. Maybe you could fake it until you make it. All of those courses of action are unreliable. As an old friend used to say about buying lottery tickets: "It's for people who think that the answer is outside of themselves." To be the best work harder than the rest. That's the only secret formula you need. -- doug smith

Gain That Personal Input

Do you like it when other people make decisions for you? Me, either -- and neither do the people on your team. That's all the more true about decisions that become, or feel like, rules. Our inner rebel will rise. A rule we didn't make seems much easier to break. If you want your team to keep certain rules, first find out how they feel about those rules. -- doug smith

Build The Right Connections

Build the connections that strengthen your team and release the ones that tether your team to trouble. What we hold tight might not be what we need now. Deliberate connection just might take your full attention. -- doug smith

No Crystal Ball

"My crystal ball is broken and all the snow has dried up..." says my friend Linda whenever someone expects her to read their mind or tell the future. The information is not available. We can spend a lot of time looking for shortcuts. What passes for an insight could be instead a slight. With all the tools and software we have available we still do not have workable crystal balls. My job might be easier if I had a crystal ball, but if I did have a crystal ball then I wouldn't be needed. Worth considering? Let's not fear the future. Let's do the work that's right in front of us while keeping sight of our mission. -- doug smith

Leveraging Shared Problems

As frustrating as it is, some people don't care about your problem until you make it their problem, too. But you don't have to manipulate them into it. Talk about it. Share your concerns. Find the connections and you'll also find their investment. Once they are in, collaboration is far more likely. -- doug smith

To Be Noble...

Goals have the power to change us, to form us, to set us up for success -- or less. But, they should serve more than your own intentions. Great goals also serve others. Make sure that your goals are noble because they will direct your behavior. And, you do want to be considered noble, don't you? -- doug smith

Thriving Teams

Thriving leaders thrive as their teams thrive. It's a partnership. It's a deal. It takes constant support and service to sustain a high performance team. Thriving leaders recruit with the enthusiasm they show for their team. People can tell when your team is cohesive, cooperative, and collaborative and people crave that for themselves. Create and support a team that supports each other and others will rally to the cause. You have no weak links. You have no poor performers. You have no superstars. You do have team members who need your guidance and support. That's the role of a leader. -- doug smith

Broken Trust?

It hurts when a trust has been broken. It might even feel unforgivable. It should be possible for someone who has broken trust to rebuild it -- but it won't be fast, and it won't be easy. When in doubt, for all you are worth, maintain that trust. -- doug smith

What Can't Be Monetized?

This is controversial in a capitalist society (which is a great choice for a society while also being deeply flawed.) You may disagree and that's fine. You may agree, and that's OK, too. It's just a notion, but feels true: What matters most cannot be monetized. Or, if it IS monetized loses its value: love kindness devotion loyalty trust compassion Emotions, feelings, relationships, and core character. We cannot cheapen it by placing a cost. As leaders, we have an obligation to achieve our goals -- yes. And often that means making more money. We also have a (call it sacred) obligation to the higher ground of ethical, moral behavior in our leadership. love kindneess devotion loyalty trust compassion... What else would you add to the list? -- doug smith

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