Today I launch the book through a small gathering in the fabulous Cardiff Bay! It’s more of a celebration than a launch as it’s taken since October 2011 to get this baby finished and available on amazon.

Interesting that it’s taken so long and yet it’s not even 100 pages. But you know what Anita Roddick said “If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.” So I’m hoping my book, although small, has a big impact on people individually.

I am also mindful that now the book is out I have no control of how people may respond or how they may interpret what I’ve written. My work is done I have to let go and not be attached to what people may think or how they judge it. Part of me did it for a personal challenge- What did I think on the subject of creativity? Part of me also did it so that  people got to know about all the ‘best bits’ from the various more serious text books I’ve read on the subject- without having to go through all that reading!

Underlying it all is that I believe creativity is a great thing! It is a gift- that maybe we’ve wrapped up too well and pushed to the back of the cupboard. Being creative means that you have to be positive and open to possibility also essential traits in this climate. Creativity is empowering because it says you have a choice- you can create- you can contribute.

The book is about reconnecting to our inner creativity and using it in which ever way works best for you. This might be in work- with some fo the creative problem solving techniques. Or you may just want to ‘get out of your box’ more generally.

I hope to take this work forward and continue my creative explorations- particularly in using creative mediums within the workplace. I am convinced, although I have no scientific proof yet, that thinking through different mediums can help you come up with more innovative solutions. I will be inviting people at my launch to come and explore with me at a pilot workshop in August.

The book is available now on Amazon at a price of £9.99

I look forward to your thoughts and pictures!

Welcome to the second installment from my book: Who says you’re not creative?

The first section of the book is headed Our starting point : Where are we now? It includes 4 ideas for your consideration. The first was posted last week   “A logical-rational bias” and I am pleased to say it prompted a good discussion. (Press ‘previous’ to view). The next two sections are below. Again very short but I hope they are thought provoking.

Straitjacketed?

We are all straitjacketed to a certain extent. We take on the mantels of the organisations and institutions we become part of and begin to think and behave in a certain way – ‘group think’.

Even if we rebel it is often against the parameters set by the context so we are, to a certain extent, still locked within a given system.

When developing a workshop recently, I found myself trapped by the value I placed on established ‘models of creativity’ instead of giving value to my own thinking and ideas. I kept myself in the bounds of the knowledge created by others, which surrounded and created my world and understanding of the subject. What was this if not straitjacketed thinking?

Scared to play

As adults we are scared to play. Our notion of being an adult, especially at work, is being sensible, serious, measured discussions and debates, little laughter. Having fun is frowned upon and seen as ‘not working’.

We all know of some of the famous companies who encourage play and fun environments like Google and Innocent but these are few and far from the everyday experience of what most of us know as ‘work’.

In my workshops I sometimes ask people to draw a problem, or mould their problem using play dough. There are usually three reactions: some people become paralysed by the situation; others laugh and eventually start playing and make something fairly descriptive; and the third, smaller group relish the challenge and often create something a little more left field, metaphorical.  It’s as if they have been waiting for someone to give them permission to let out their creative selves.

The majority of us feel embarrassed, too self-conscious, as adults to do this kind of thing. Are we afraid of what people will think? Are we afraid of looking stupid?

Will this same fear keeps us from presenting new, off the wall ideas, to our peers? In which case – it becomes a problem.

My questions for you:

Do you feel ‘straitjacketed’ in anyway? How much of this is self imposed? 

(It was this realisation that prompted me to write my book- it was the vehicle through which I could ask myself what i thought about the subject of creativity.)

Are you scared or too self conscious to play/ be playful in your attitude?

Are you lucky enough to be in a work environment that encourages a sense of creative play/ exploration?