Consider yourself lucky if you are a person exposed to surprises In your day to day. When something ceases to surprise us and becomes routine, it is as if it does not exist for us. The difficult thing about the ability to surprise is to be selective. When the capacity for surprise is high, almost everything surprises us. And when it is low, we are not surprised by almost anything. We can train our ability to surprise to get excited, motivated and learn, within the field or activity that we develop.
If we manage to balance our capacity for surprise, we will be more creative. To create is to build. The creativity in addition to devising, building and doing things, but in an extraordinary way. That is why it is key to success. When we review any successful case, we appreciate more or less ability, perseverance, effort and confidence. But what we will always find are high doses of creativity.
The creativity it is the ability to find intelligent solutions, sometimes unexpected, to our daily problems and challenges.
We can think that creativity is an innate ability in people. That is, you have it or you don't have it, but this is not true. We do have an innate ability to imagine, and to analyze the available information to combine different elements and reach conclusions or ideas..
But this imagination and these new ideas are limited by social or personal prejudices, due to legal and cultural norms and barriers, etc..
The creative people work this kind of thinking and they keep it out of constraints. This is achieved in two ways:
1.- Practice the habit of thinking differently about things that normally go unnoticed because they are rigidly delimited. Edward de Bono was a forerunner in this kind of thinking.
2.- Practice the habit of flexible thinking that allows to appreciate more points of view and therefore increase the alternatives. An attitude of openness and acceptance without judging what other perspectives can bring us is necessary..
I encourage you to become aware of your capacity for surprise by following these 3 steps. From there you can get an idea of your level of creativity.
1.- Pay attention to everyday events that surprise you. An unexpected response from your boss, a friend, your partner. An answer from your child, a call that you do not expect, a task or a job that pleasantly surprises you, your quick response in a complicated conversation that you resolve positively.
2.- Write down what are the thoughts that come to you, after the small or great initial shock of surprise
What is your first reaction to a surprise? What do you feel? How do you react? What happens in your body, in your face?
What thoughts come? Where do they take you?
Maybe they will lead you to the openness and the search for a solution or maybe they will lead you to fear and paralysis.
What level of flexibility or possibility of change do your thoughts have?
How do you assess your ability to adapt to an unexpected event?
If your disposition is one of acceptance and security, surprise can quickly stimulate your creativity. And you immediately generate solutions and actions.
If your disposition is defensive, it can lead to a loss of control of the situation or paralysis.
3.- Evaluate what those thoughts bring you and how you handle them. When faced with an unpleasant event, thoughts such as: "He has made the same play on me again", "I would kill him" "I won't be able to do it" "I'd better stay at home", "what a chore!"," It is impossible to continue like this "
The predominant emotion It can be anger, anxiety, anger, fear. And this brings you to the restlessness, worry, inactivity oruncontrolled and impulsive action.
Allow yourself toart tells of that emotion and identify it in a few seconds. She is very fast and triggers immediate reactions. When you have it identified, accept it and ask yourself what that emotion wants to tell you. Maybe you've already started quick action, or maybe you haven't. Stop for a moment and take your attention to breathing, connect with your catch and release air.
LCome thoughts, let them pass, watch them. If thoughts persist that don't make you feel good, go back to your breathing. Other thoughts will come. When any of them make you feel good, maybe smile, feel serenity, hold on to it. You are already focusing on a positive solution.
The curiosity it is another key aspect to maintain a wide field of attention on the things that we do. Curiosity is closely related to the intention to improve, to want to get out of the comfort zone. And it has a great impact on the learning and innovation.
I propose these questions to find out more about your curiosity:
What is your level of intention to improve, to learn, to innovate?
What level of interest do you have in inquiring about the things you do?
What is your field of attention on the things you do?
I share with you another of those great surprises in life, which at first was an emotional turnaround. Fortunately, shortly thereafter, it took me to start from scratch and develop skills that would not have emerged otherwise..
I have entered the hospital, it is eleven o'clock on Sunday, December 15th. I'm about to be a mom for the first time. On Tuesday 17 I have the second exam of an opposition for the position of Municipal Sports Technician in a local town hall.
But if I have the exam on the 17th! What I am going to do?
If I give birth on Monday, on Tuesday my husband can take me to the Town Hall to do the test. I'm crazy! What am I thinking at?…
On Monday the delivery does not advance and they have to provoke me.
I call the City Council by phone, and I tell them in detail my situation, requesting that if possible they delay the exam. They tell me that they are going to consult it and that they will inform me shortly. A few hours later they tell me that the opposition court delays the exam.
At dawn I am the happiest person in the world. I see Carlos, our son. It has been a very long labor that has ended in a cesarean section. It is 0 hours and 15 minutes on Tuesday, December 17.
A few hours later, the secretary of the City Council informs my husband that the exam is taking place. The rest of the applicants have the right to do so and legally it cannot be suspended.
I feel like an opportunity is slipping away. He had studied very hard for many months. The day has come and I can't be there.
I feel extreme helplessness and anger. But, I turn my head and see Carlos. I break to cry.
My husband tells me that we will claim, that giving birth is a force majeure cause. I see my son. I'm very tired. I have no energy left to think or to get angry. Now everything goes for that miracle of two kilos and 685 grams. I break to cry.
A few days later the mayor to congratulate me on the holidays and tells me that they will take the exam in January. This calm me. I go back to studying little by little and I already want to start doing soft sports. I need to be myself again.
The mayor's words are never fulfilled. Weeks go by and a new date is never set. After my insistence, in February they told me that it was impossible to perform the test in an extraordinary way.
Carlos now guides my life. He sets the rhythms of sleep and lactation. I feel very close to me the first months.
I resume my sport little by little. I need it. Moving makes me feel good.
I go for a walk every day with Carlos. I enjoy the scenery, and I feel like my muscles are starting to work again. Walking for about an hour already takes some effort. Right away the body asks me for a little more intensity. I integrate a gentle pedaling of 20 minutes. What a great feeling! I sweat again, my heart rate goes up, my mind frees.
As the weeks and months passed, the sports habit gave me high doses of inspiration and creativity on the way to a new personal and professional life that would lead me to achieve dreams that I had never imagined ... To be continue
(Excerpt from the book Mom triathlete. High Performance Ed, Oct. 2012)
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