It is one of our four mottos: “Tap into your own creative inspiration and create more than what you ever expected!”. We believe that every person can achieve much more than they often think for themselves. Strangely enough, that thinking often gets in the way of people’s creativity. Whereas giving space to your own creativity without inhibition, like you did as a child, actually ensures that you have and get many more cool ideas. With this open-mindedness, it is then logical that you dare to put them into practice. Especially because developing your own creativity makes you feel good. Because then you are doing something meaningful and that simply makes you feel happier (read the 8 characteristics of flow according to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi). And yet it is oh so difficult for most people to give space to their own creativity. Well, perhaps because people often think too much. In this article you will read how you can break through that so that you too can fully use your creativity, which is already within you, with the result that you create more than you ever imagined.
Mopping up with the tap
It’s always down to someone else
Last month, I had a lovely cappuccino with Els and we talked about all kinds of things. She is a store manager at a large retail organisation and what she touched on is something I really see happen quite often in practice. What happened?
With Els, I have a nice conversation about what she and I are working on, what our motivations are and what we are up against. Els is nice and busy with her staff and organising the day-to-day management. There is a lot of challenge and there is always something to arrange. It all sounds interesting I think. But often things don’t really run smoothly and there are constant fires to put out, Els points out. At that point I ask why some things can’t be solved in a simpler structural way to make the work easier and more fun. Then Els really goes wild.
“Yes, I would actually like that too indeed,” she responds. “But that is impossible because it is all determined by head office. And the other store managers don’t dare respond to head office because they are afraid of their own skin. Those other store managers are much worse whiners than me anyway. They come to me to complain about many more trivial details. The colour of the carpet is not right. The opening hours should be fifteen minutes later. The light in the shop is too bright. And you name it. Moreover, although my own staff complain, they are not really open to change.”
And so this lament goes on for a while. Time for a second cappuccino, I think to myself.
The sparkle when you take responsibility yourself
I catch myself having trouble following Els’ story. To understand it better, I ask her, “okay, and if there were no obstacles at all; what would you want to tackle first yourself?”. Els is silent for a moment. She thinks long and hard before answering.
Then comes Els’ response: “Well, the first thing I would do, together with my staff, is to think about a very flexible and easily adaptable system so that all processes are integrated. And by all processes, I mean really everything: the till, stock management, sales results, customers, customised customers, staff planning, different apps per target group and so on. Then everything is very clear and very transparent. Now it’s multiple systems with a lot of complicated workarounds…..sigh. It is important that my employees are involved in this, because after all, they know exactly what is needed in practice.”
Hey, this is suddenly an interesting conversation I begin to notice. Els has a sparkling twinkle in her eyes and she starts beaming. It puts a smile on my face, lovely this!
And yet…this is how we always do it
Els then thinks and does it again. The sparkle disappears, a frown appears on her face and then suddenly everything falls apart. She comes up with the story that the ideas she now suggests are all impossible. Head office won’t give permission, the employees are far too busy, the other branch managers don’t dare or want to. Moreover, she herself is already too busy with her work and simply has to earn money, she says. However much she would like to, it is impossible to go ahead with it, is her conclusion.
Aaarrggghhh, what a shame. Els was so close to a positive sequel. And no matter how hard I try to get her back to her sparkle, Els is not going along with it. She is busy with all sorts of things. Her earlier lament plays up again. Els even articulates that it’s mopping up, but yes….that’s how we always do it.
The creativity is already in you
The bears…brave them
The story above happens very often. During our conversation, Els was well on her way with her ideas to make her work situation better. But then came the bears on the road. And she is not the only one who has these impeding thoughts and beliefs. I see it happen often and I think it’s a real shame.
Of course I understand that it can be very scary to start doing something new. But nevertheless, it would be nice if people defied those very bears. And actually, it is much simpler than you expect. After all, it is already inside you.
Give space to your subconscious
After all, it would be so nice if people could get over that last bump. And actually, it’s much simpler than you might expect. By staying in positive mode with solution ideas, you give yourself a chance. This doesn’t mean you should start filling in your ideas right away. Precisely not! Just hold your ideas firmly in the back of your mind for a while, write them down for yourself briefly and smile at them. Talk about them loosely with others and include their feedback in your story. You may not have a clue at that point as to how exactly you will get it all done, but give it a shot, hold your ideas and give yourself space through your subconscious.
And now I’m going to dó it!
If you then also indulge yourself by taking the time and rest to do “nothing” in nature then you are totally on the right track. Go for a nice bike ride, take a (beach) walk, walk through the forest or enjoy the view over the expansive water if you sit on a bank. You don’t have to do anything at all, you don’t have to think or talk. Everything that happens around you is okay. Just do “nothing”, and through these relaxing activities you give your unconscious brain space to consider your good ideas. It happens automatically, you don’t have to do anything for it. It’s already inside you.
It can just happen that you come home from a walk in the woods and you suddenly have all sorts of positive inspirations. If you then write them down “off the cuff”, you get into a flow. By continuing to relax in nature in this way for a while plus writing down the wonderful hunches freely, you give your ideas a serious positive chance. At some point, the story with the notes is so concrete that you naturally agree with yourself: that’s it, of course…and now I’m going to dó it!
Making each other stronger
Els’ story and her impeding thoughts, inspired me to write this article. My wish for her is to allow space for herself and to let go of the delusion of the day to some extent. Maybe I will go for a walk with her, afterwards we will both write down our inspirations and share them with each other. In this way we make each other stronger and I grant Els the moment she says to herself: that’s it, of course…and now I’m going to dó it!
Access into your own creative inspiration
Of course, it is up to each person to decide which method works well for him or herself. One may go fishing, another may paint, another may garden, it doesn’t matter to me. What matters is that the subconscious is positively triggered to give a chance to your ideas. Everyone can achieve more than what they often think for themselves. That is something I firmly believe in. Simply by giving the creativity that is already in you the space to unfold That is what we do ourselves, of course; read here how SixBlocks solution uses its own creative inspiration and creates more than what was ever expected!
If you want to know more about that or want to share your own story with me, feel free to contact me. In that case, mail your question to joost.de.wit@sixblockssolution.com.
