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WorkPlay Series On Reflection: The Springboard

by on July 11, 2007 in Creative

It’s probably my Quaker educational background, but reflection has been one of the best tools in my learning utility-belt. Back when I thought I wanted to teach high school social studies, my college’s rather progressive education department put us raw teacher candidates through a series of intensive learning exercises. One of the very first lessons was on building our skill in reflection. “Big deal,” I thought. “Reflecting is sort of like thinking and I’m pretty good at that.” Yeah, and the Cubs may actually win another World Series one day. As I realized quickly after the hubris wore off, reflecting is a whole different skill and it takes dedication to honing and mastering it.

You may have been conditioned to think of reflection as some huggy-feely, woo-woo exercise. I hope not. But, if the very thought of reflecting starts to give you the shakes or conjures up sounds of kumbaya, perhaps it’s time to reconsider. Here are some foundational ideas to help you start (or respark) your reflecting process.

Slow down and seek quiet.
Slowing down and being still aren’t exactly up there in our daily priority lists. I mean…who has the time? Exactly. Running along at a 1000 miles a minute isn’t conducive to learning and – let’s be honest – it’s not exactly good for our health. Find a spot that’s quieting and where you can just let go for a little while. Or if being in one spot isn’t your cup of tea, go for a walk. Whatever you choose, try to limit the external distractions so you can focus on your internal voice.

Ask lots of questions…and then ask some more.
So much happens to us in the course of our day and at such a fast pace, we don’t have time to understand it all. Reflection is a form of inquiry, a way to pull ourselves out of the weeds and see a bigger picture. There are no right questions and certainly no right answers. If you need some help getting started, begin by saying, “I wonder…”

Accept strangeness.
If reflection feels new and strange, that’s okay. It’s an activity that’s easier for some folks than it is for others. Introverts tend to find reflection a more natural process because they internalize their thoughts. Extroverts may find the process uncomfortable. The important thing is to make a commitment to stick with it and find a way that works for you. Journaling is a traditional way of reflecting, but you don’t have to write. If you do better when you talk aloud, consider using a voice recorder.

This is our series springboard. Through the next few weeks, we’ll look at these related topics:

  • On Reflection and Retreat
  • On Reflection and Intention
  • On Reflection and Leadership

“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”
-Peter Drucker

What’s Next: July’s Theme Is Reflection

by on June 28, 2007 in Creative

I’m back from my own experiment with retreat and reflection, spending some time with my gals and extended family at a beach house without television and computer. Lately, the television hasn’t been that prevalent in my daily life; though, I must admit that if it is on it’s usually tuned to a baseball game. On the other hand, the computer tends to be an interesting presence in my life. It serves as a portal to the wider world and creative catalyst through my blogging ventures. It also seduces me toward more frivolous websurfing activities (rather like channel surfing and getting caught up in a stupid movie that I regret watching later). It’s that lack of intention that leaves me with an empty feeling. One remedy is to introduce or re-introduce retreat and reflection into life.

I’m going to try something new here…I’m going to incorporate a monthly theme into the WorkPlay blog. While other folks have done it with great success, this will be my first foray into this type of writing. So, July will focus on ideas of reflection: uses in our lives, but perhaps more importantly, uses in our work. Let’s see where it goes and what we can learn. See you soon.

The Benefits Of Competition?

by on June 17, 2007 in Creative

Bernie DeKoven at DeepFun.com asks, Must we compete? Perhaps a better question is, When should we compete? I don’t see competition as an all-out negative compared to cooperation. That would ignore the benefits of competition. One way to compete is with ourselves as a way to improve our skills and experience.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Just because folks can take competition to the extreme doesn’t mean it’s a negative. Competition can teach just as well as cooperation. We need to be well-rounded and that means knowing when to compete with ourself and others and then when to cooperate.

The Creative Heat In The East

by on April 22, 2007 in Creative

I’m a sucker for good visual data and the map generated by Kevin Stolarick at the Richard Florida Creativity Group is particularly interesting. Using data on where the creative class lives, county by county, he has been able to show the ‘heat’ of the creative hotspots and the spillover into neighboring areas. (Click here for the pdf containing drill-down views of different U.S. regions)

Even though Kevin provides a brief glimpse at his methodology, I’m still not sure about the data he’s using. It would be interesting to see it in its raw form.

So, the question I have as I look over this map is what this means for businesses and for creatives. For the latter, it clearly shows where to find other creatives and probably more fulfilling work options.

Some questions to ponder:

Is there a reason why Arizona, Nevada, and much of the west are relatively cool to creatives? It’s interesting that Southern California doesn’t factor into the map. New Orleans is still fairly hot. The area around Cincinnati is positively smoking. Bear in mind that I haven’t really dug into Florida’s core research so I find these trends curious.

Is geography still an important influence? We hear about creative folks ditching the big city scene for the small town or rural environment. And as long as there is a basic supportive infrastructure – I’m going to put high-speed internet/communications toward the top of that list – can’t you just move out to Santa Fe, New Mexico or Fargo, ND for a more creatively conducive environment? Will there be a point where the internet (or another future technology…like teleportation…I’m serious) will make geography an obsolete concept?

Do you see something interesting about the map? Any surprises?

Finding Purpose Is The Journey

by on June 5, 2006 in Creative, Life

Ever have the thought that the sooner you find your purpose in life, the happier you’ll feel? It’s kind of like our unique sense of purpose is the final piece to the puzzle of life and once it locks into place…well then we can check that one off the list and then really start living.

I admit this trap is hard not to fall into at times. And when you do, it’s always nice to have someone help you climb out. For instance, I like what Patricia Soldati writes in her article, Finding Purpose: Don’t Let It Get You Down:

Purpose is not a thing, or a goal to be achieved. Maybe it’s your work…or maybe not. It lives on no one’s timetable and defies any systemic approach that says, “At the end of this lesson, you will be able to…”

In fact, the more you hard-core it – set your mind to finding it – the more elusive it becomes. You end up chasing away that which you most want to embrace in your life.

She then lists four ways to reconsider the journey of finding purpose. My big takeaway? Number 2: Find it outside of your own needs. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my own sense of self-exploration, I forget that the answers to the really big questions just might exist outside of myself.