Movement

Consider movement.  The lustful straining of the seed towards the egg; the slow plod from ignorance to skill; the innocent wind rocking the trees; getting up and going on a Monday morning.  Everything begins with movement.

Studying a few of the core physical realities surrounding us can be liberating, and help distract us from ourselves.  Contemplating the bare wonder of sight or hearing or touch can lead to amazing insights.  No element of our existence is more powerful, however, than movement.  Losing yourself in the dance of anything is a sure way to creative insight.

Observe interactions around the office, the body language that is so revealing.  Watch people on the street and listen to the flow of their movement.  Contemplate a natural scene in terms of what is moving.  Watch television with the sound off.  As you sit reading this, slowly clench one fist and then release it, tuning in to the fine points of muscular action and concommitant emotional response.

Because of this essential value of movement, we’ve come to understand that physical fitness makes a huge difference to mental and emotional states.  A day that includes a nice long walk and a few yoga stretches is inevitably a happier and more aware day for me.  Touching back in on the foundational wellspring of movement ensures a brighter creative outlook.

A fun recent post by Mitch Ditkoff is the results of their poll asking when and where people get most of their creative ideas.  Check it out and see how many people seek movement when looking for new ideas.

It doesn’t matter if you’re outrageously out of shape and king of the couch potatoes.  Take advantage of your ability to move, if it’s only a finger lift to start with.  Let the mysteries of movement penetrate, sway, and entertain you.  Even on a Monday morning, you’ll find yourself refreshed.

Hats off to Ditkoff

Awesome.  Yesterday’s post at Heart of Innovation by Mitch Ditkoff sets it all out for us.  100 easy ways to be more creative at work.  Check it out, print it, hang it by your desk.   It’s one blog post that can become your life saver.

Of course, the biggest step in changing anything is the very first one.  You have to start somewhere, you have to initiate change, your willing (yearning) spirit is the single most important ingredient in any innovation.

Most likely, you have no yearning for improvement unless you’re unhappy with things as they are.  And who am I to deny your complacency?  Maybe you’re plenty comfortable and content with your job and your life.  If so, stop reading now.

But if you are anything short of bliss-filled, you can probably use some new approaches.  I’m here to reassure you that life doesn’t have to be suffering.  If you’re unhappy, frustrated, uncomfortable, unappreciated, or just generally sad or feeling lost, maybe it’s time to re-cast yourself in a new light.  Once you decide to experiment with such renovations, the possibilities will endlessly multiply.  Mitch’s list is a viable jumping-off place.

An element of this argument is abdicating control.  When seeking personal change, it’s necessary to relinquish your accustomed hold on things.  It’s essential to take a step back and let the universe speak.  It’s required that you do your best to forget your own idea of yourself.  If you’re stuck in your thinking or problem-solving, the first thing to do is give it up. 

And today I’ll suggest that the second thing to do is go straight to Mitch’s list, close your eyes and pick one.  Follow it through and then thrill to the ways it brightens your outlook, improves your process, returns you to meaningful productivity.

Fascination

Mitch Ditkoff, Heart of Innovation, offered this the other day:

“A person who is fascinated does not need to be motivated… or managed… or ‘incentivized.’ All that person needs is time, some resources, meaningful collaboration, and periodic reality checks from someone who understands what fascination is all about … the root of innovation is fascination.”

There it is, folks. The understanding we are newly gaining, the truth of human nature that is already far down the road towards the dissolution of industrialism and hierarchical business structures. Instead of relying on money as the ultimate goal, we find that our own individual souls provide the true source of inexhaustible motivation. Once discovered, no substitute will suffice.

Of course, the problem remains that we have generally lost (misplaced?) our connection to fascination. Our social structures for the most part encourage suppressing our quirky little obsessions. Our challenge is to learn to pay attention to them, cultivate them, find our meaning and purpose through them. Use them to benefit the world. We will soon be teaching the skill of such self-knowledge in every arena, in schools and businesses and governments, on the streets and in our homes.

Branding and compassion

“When you treat people with respect, acknowledgment, and genuine positive reinforcement, you significantly increase the odds of creativity — and by extension, innovation — flourishing in your organization.”  So said Mitch Ditkoff a few days ago on his Heart of Innovation blog.

Branding of any kind is about sharing with others; it’s a function of communication.  It is not, however, about bragging or sharing yourself in the sense of shoving your personality down other people’s throats.  It’s really about sharing your capacity to be compassionate.  It’s the reputation you’ve earned for the level at which you’re able to help others.

As accomplished and marvelous as I may be, the only thing of real interest to anyone else is how well I can share the benefits of my prowess.  My achievements that can be duplicated by others or that serve to aid and comfort others are the ones that really count.

Ditkoff’s point goes even a little futher, however, in saying that it is possible to bring the sources of inspiration closer, to make innovation part of your everyday business, by establishing a culture of mutual “respect, acknowledgement and … positive reinforcement.”  I suggest that likewise, a worker wanting to strengthen personal branding does well to start with a strong dedication to supporting others.  Even if this doesn’t come naturally to you, as you practice compassion you’ll become infinitely more aware of what makes you tick.