Too Heavy...

Quite recently one of my few readers told me that the topics in my blog is 'too heavy'... I need to lighten up a bit.

I agree with him. Actually, I know it for quite awhile, I just don't know how to 'lighten up' more than it already is :)

Maybe it is time to pull from the wisdom of the public...


Any ideas? :)

Overwhelmed

I talk to a lot of people, and they often told me that they are overwhelmed. In the spirit of problem solving, I find it interesting to take a look at this common condition using the IDOAIM framework.

Identify the reason: Do we want to stop feeling overwhelmed? This sounds like a silly question, but I found some people "enjoy" being overwhelmed. It gives them opportunity to talk, to complain, to be the center of attention. Yes, I agree that it is sick to be that way, but it is a sick fact. So, before moving forward, let's see if we really want to stop being overwhelmed. For example: we have been missing a good peaceful sleep because of stress and sleep is really, really something of value for us.

Once we identify the reason, the stronger reason the better, of working on this problem, we move on.

What do you see?

Let's take a look at this photo:

  

Can you tell what is inside this photo?

Let me share a hint: Our brains are conditioned (through education and upbringing) to focus on the dark part of an image to identify meaning. If we break this condition and start seeing the photo as a whole (see the black blotters AND the white space) we might be able to capture something.

Do you see that this is a photo of a cow?

Some of better-trained people with open-minded brains will see this perhaps at the moment they see the photo. Some will see this after they receive the hint (that they should include the white space as part of the photo). Some with lesser-trained, more-hardened brains will see this after they are told that this is a cow. Some with a severe case of close-minded brains will still unable to see it even after they are told about the cow.

So what's the point? Creativity is the capability of creating something new out of what seems to be impossible - something people never thought about. This requires our brain to be 'open' and see beyond the norms, such as seeing a cow in a seemingly random blotters.

This is taken from Creative Thinkering, by M. Michalko. The book is very entertaining and inspiring. It has a lot of brain exercises and techniques that eventually will train us into a more creative individual.