Laying the Foundations for Creativity

Seth Godin's manifesto on changing yourself is full of insight on how we can reinvent ourselves.  He posits that because we have the resources and the opportunity (via the internet) to make connections and change things, then all we need is the will to do it, and we can completely reinvent ourselves.  This requires quite a bit of effort, but it is worth every ounce because it is the only thing that matters.  We are trained in school (not educated) to follow orders, to be complacent.  Complacency used to work, but now it is dangerous.  If we choose to reject that and reinvent ourselves, then we have a chance at making a difference.

The first and biggest obstacle we face in recreating ourselves is our own survival instinct.  Where it was once helpful, it now restricts us from doing things that matter.  Steven Pressfield calls this the resistance and Godin calls it the lizard brain.

Either way, it is the part of our brain that is scared and causes us to be scared about taking risks.  Risk management is its MO.  Anything that could potentially backfire triggers the lizard brain and causes us to think twice about taking that action.  The most important thing we can do in regards to this resistance is to stare it in the eye and then to walk past it and ignore its pleas for mercy as we go on to do exactly what it tells us not to.  This is how we begin to make progress and make a difference.

Another obstacle is learning.  Not becoming "educated."  Learning something useful.  Education was designed for a factory model of production used in the Industrial Revolution.  This model worked for what was necessary and useful in that time period, but it is counter-intuitive to what we need now, and so it is broken.

You no longer learn what you need to know in school.  You learn when you surf the web and read about what the world is doing.  You learn when you work through communication challenges with a team at work.  You learn when you have to balance things in your life every day, when you choose what to do and what not to do.  Public institutions of knowledge can no longer be relied upon to give us everything we need to function in society, let alone make a lasting impact.  We learn a few useful things in school, but now the responsibilities lies on your shoulders to figure out what you need to know and learn about it.  And this is the first step to rejecting and ignoring the resistance that wants us to be safe and to keep quiet.

Seth Godin often talks about doing real work, doing something important.  Assignments like this one are part of that real work that needs to be done.  If we blow them off, they are useless (as with most things).  However, if we put in the effort to make them worth our time, they give us a valuable opportunity to step back, analyze ourselves, and actually learn.  In addition to that important learning, we also have the opportunity to put together a portfolio chronicling our thoughts and opinions as we develop our creative identities.  The creation of that identity is the foundation upon which we will build careers and our lives. Whether we take advantage of these opportunities or not will be an indicator of how we will develop as professionals and as people.  These assignments are the beginning of a long path that Seth Godin describes as necessary to reinvent ourselves.

Pictures from:
Lizard Brain - http://www.crystalinks.com/brainreptoid.jpg
Cartoon: http://interacc.typepad.com/.a/6a01053596fb28970c0133f28c7108970b-400wi