by Dr. Denise A. Trudeau Poskas
Whenever
a blank stark white piece of paper is placed in front of me, that fundamentally is the amount of creativity
that is stimulated; literally blank. No matter what
genius, creative thought that might be there its inaccessible. My mind flows
with waves of whiteness
reciprocating the feel and look of the blank stark
whiteness of the paper. At times, I will write one sentence. It seems to end
abruptly at the period and then nothing.
Feeling this
abruptness, I resort to
changing the font hoping that might encourage
movement of thought beyond that little black period. Instead, the period’s
unexpectedness end only appears to grow larger until that little dot looks as
large as the 11 font I am using.So there I am with a blank piece of paper with one sentence, a large dot, and stark white emptiness. Any feelings of inspired creativity then begin to evolve into shear pain of looking at that one meager sentence in the middle of that stark white dessert known as a blank word document. The pain causes me to find distractions. Suddenly the tree outside becomes a point of interest, or the impulse to clean my desk grows, or I find the cover on my flash drive (it’s a wonder woman flash drive) becomes of great curiosity. It is at this point, I know I will have to have to change my strategy entirely or that blank stark whiteness will well into desperate feelings of creativity inadequacies.
As individuals, at times we
actually play
out this scenario metaphorically in our
leadership or followership journeys. A situation appears that is uncomfortable
or a barrier which moves us to realize that we desire to address it and suddenly it is as
though we “open a blank word document”. At that
moment, we stare
into the abyss of the situation as though
it were a stark white dessert and in return our creative resourcefulness ends
abruptly as the period at the end of the sentence.
We may resort to trying old strategies used before and of which are as helpful
as changing the font, cleaning our desk or finding an interesting tree. We may
even talk to someone about the fact that the situation is intolerable and
something needs to be done; yet still we are working with that blank word
document. The situation is unresolved,
tension arises and days, months or more can go by without solutions.
So how do we as individuals,
leaders and followers prevent this from playing out in our lives? It really comes down to this; instead of
focusing on a strategy, we need to focus on the state.
Let us go back to my initial
story of how I react to the blank word document. I have come to realize that it
is essential to
understand that the brain has a way
about it. Our brains hold our thoughts and reactions that create our state.
Thus, instead of using
a strategy, in this case, changing the font
or giving into distractions, I realize that my brain is simply responding to a
white piece of paper. Thus, my state essentially becomes that white stark
dessert.
To change my state, I surround myself with pictures,
music or thoughts that inspire me. I center myself on what excites me (my
passion and purpose) considering
how what I write will contribute to empower others. Then, I place these ideas
or pictures close to the paper, shrink the size of the paper, add color and
suddenly my brain gets that I desire this… a new creative state. This new state
activates
the reticula activating system (place
between our ears-center of our creativity) which results in creative thoughts,
ideas, and things I want to share flowing out onto the wonderful
creative canvas that was previously a blank
white word document.
We
can apply this same change of state to a
situation that is a barrier or an issue.
When it becomes apparent you are faced with one; instead of
focusing on fears, strategies, and barriers realize you start with changing
your state. Change the “blank white word”
document by writing down your purpose, values and what you desire to feel and
see. Breathe it in, close your eyes, and see it. Anchor yourself in this positive,
resourceful state, vision and what you desire to
feel. From there ask yourself a few questions:
- What would/is possible here?
- What am I
curious about learning?
- How might my
strengths empower others or myself in this situation?
- What
benefits are there to addressing this situation?
- What is my
next step to take to move through this situation?
Seems simple? It is in many ways.
After all, we
choose our state at any time in our situation. It
takes practice however to choose a resourceful, energized one. We must choose
to anchor on
positivity and resourcefulness instead of
focusing on the problem, barrier or issue. That takes practice. Yet, if you
choose to stay
curious, adventurous, and refrain
from the blank word document metaphor, you will notice how easy it becomes.
For more information about
Unleashing Your Purpose and Passion, or other coaching strategies, read more of
our blogs. Or contact us through BlueEggLeadership.com for a coaching session.
