Category Archives: Creativity

Practice

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by Rebecca Cochran

practiceWhat did you practice today?

Practicing isn’t just for musicians. Or ballerinas. Or Olympic athletes.

We all need to practice in order to improve. In order to learn. In order to ingrain strong habits within ourselves.

Practice enables us to do things. Even simple things like cooking. Or gardening. Or blogging. Practice also enables us to do things well.

The act of regular practice helps us to get better at innovating within our companies. Practicing innovation skills such as questioning, observing, networking, experimenting and associating, can enable us to effect change within our organizations.

Practice doesn’t have to be complicated or even time-consuming. Any of us can do it. The key to accomplishing anything is to establish a practice routine. Your routine may be weekly, semi-weekly, daily or whatever. The important thing is to carve out time on your calendar to engage in regular practice of the activities or skills that are important to you.

I think we all need to practice practicing. Or, as Aristotle so adeptly put it, “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”

Walk. Look. Create.

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footprintsI’ve been walking daily since I was a little girl. I have my father to thank for that. I relished my evening walks with him during my adolescent through teenage years. We’d set out, just the two of us, every evening after dinner, walking, sometimes talking, always observing the world around us. When we’d return, we were ready to tackle the dinner dishes and relax into the evening.

Walking is a gift. It is something most of us can do for free. Walking doesn’t require any special talents. We don’t have to buy any special clothing (although a comfortable pair of walking shoes is recommended). Most of us can simply head out our home or office door and just walk.

Walking is nature’s cure-all. No matter how I feel when I set out on a walk, I always feel better by the end. If I’m tired when I start my walk, I’m rejuvenated when I finish. If I’m feeling overwhelmed with work or personal issues when I begin a walk, I am clear-headed and focused by the end. And, of course, the long-term physical benefits of moderate-impact aerobic activities like walking are well known.

As an adult, no matter where I’ve lived – city or suburban setting, no matter the climate, I’ve always kept up my walking ritual. A daily walk, even a short one, is a must for me. I’m not one to listen to music or the news while I walk. I focus on my stride (to create a sort of natural rhythm). And I focus on my surroundings, trying to notice things that I’d miss if I were driving the same route.

I walk best alone. (Sorry, Dad.) Friends regularly invite me to join in their walking ritual, but I usually decline their offers. The benefits I derive from walking come when I’m able to think and observe in silence.

The simple act of a daily walk allows me to solve problems. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve begun a walk thinking I had a big problem to sort through, only to determine, 10 minutes in, that I’d been blowing the issue way out of proportion.

And, best of all, I regularly experience creative breakthroughs when I walk. These breakthroughs happen when I’m not even trying. The act of walking and focusing on my stride clears my head. Ideas flow naturally. Dots connect themselves.

Walk. Look. Create. It’s really that simple.

by Rebecca Cochran

What’s So Great About “Great?”

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selective photo of gray shark

Photo by GEORGE DESIPRIS on Pexels.com

Yep, that’s right. “Great” is overrated.

For quite awhile, I have been thinking about the possibility of eliminating the word “great” from my vocabulary.

Is “great” a noun? An adjective? An adverb? Or, most likely, all three? What makes it so great to use “great” in a sentence? What is the meaning of “great?”

I always took “great” to mean “large,” as in the phrase, “something greater than myself.” Or, to use examples from the animal world, “great white shark” or “great horned owl.”

Another bothersome point for me is that “great” can refer to things both wonderful, like great art — and devastating, like great destruction during wars or storms.

And, I’m confused why so many of us (myself included) answer “Great!” when asked, “How was your weekend?” Does that one-word response really mean “large?”

It’s almost as if “great” has become an easy catch-all, something we use when we’re too lazy or uncreative to use a descriptive, attention-grabbing word — whether we’re speaking or writing.

What if, instead, when asked by a friend or colleague, “How was your weekend?”, I answered, “Delicious — A friend and I tested several new French recipes on Saturday night and we can’t wait to try more!” Or, “Mind-numbing — I spent the entire weekend working on my tax return!”

And, what if I worked to delete “great,” as an adjective, from my vocabulary?

I might challenge myself to be more descriptive in these instances, as well. Rather than saying, “That was a great concert last night,” I could replace “great” with a more thought-provoking adjective: “That was an emotional concert last evening, don’t you think?” Perhaps this change would open up a real conversation about emotions and feelings around the music for both myself and my concert-mate.

What’s your take on “great? I’m thinking “great” might not be so great any more.