Exercise your right to be creative and inventive

I ripped my daily stars out of the paper last night, at the pizza bar whilst waiting for my pizza to cook...

If you don't like the thoughts that are passing through your mind, think different ones. Exercise your right to be creative and inventive. Dream up something inspiring. Contemplate a more appealing action. Don't be a prisoner of what, effectively, is only an idea. Others may feel that there's only one way to look at what's happening now, but they are wrong. Their horizons may be narrow but your's can be as broad and exciting as you want them to be. Your only enemy now is negativity.

...I was ripping it out before I'd even finished reading it! It speaks volumes about where I sense I am at right now. I say 'sense', because I've found it difficult to put my finger on the negativity creeping into my days, in relation to work.

I have noticed that this feeling has coincided with my studies. Reviewing the state of education, my role in it and looking into the future, has not been all that heartening. Why? Well, frankly, I'm not sure.

Part of my studies includes a subject on change management in educational organisations. One task is to pilot a short action research project. I'm thinking that perhaps I need to engage in a personal reflective action project myself, and have a good look at where I am, what I'm doing and why I'm here (there's that big question again!).

How could I act on this, perhaps taking the quote and adding practical elements to get the ball rolling? Well, here's one go:

1. Think different thoughts. Commit to an action/activity, like writing a blog post without the guilt.
2. Exercise your right to be creative and inventive. Use different senses. Get up from my computer.
3. Dream up something inspiring. I like handwriting in my journal! Document stories related to daily work to inspire others. By practicing communication, I can refine it.
   
4. Contemplate a more appealing action. Don't just think about an idea, do it! See how an idea works in practice, like developing movie clips for online help.
5. Don't be a prisoner of what, effectively, is only an idea. Let go of ideals if they cannot be effectively communicated - or find inspiring ways to communicate them! it's OK if the idea is not original or mind-blowing; if it works, IT WORKS!
6. Your horizons can be as broad and exciting as you want them to be. See the big picture and stay informed.
7. Your only enemy now is negativity. Be kind to myself - some days are more fun than others! :o)

I have a project coming up for which I am the educational designer. I'm really excited about it. I'm also sensing some negativity as I anticipate the challenges the team will face along the way (some known, some still to surface). So, perhaps I'll revisit this list and act on it for this project. I might just be pleasantly surprised!

[project], [action learning], [personal development], [teamwork], [change management]