Tag: problems

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motivation

Problems Exist, and That’s Good

cartoon of doctor and patient

“The adventure of business is to know the problems exist, to hunt and eliminate them, and to grow a culture that does this continually.”

Thomas Anderson in Changed People Change Process

Problems will continually pop up. They are like a game of whack-a-mole. As soon as you address and solve one problem, another one pops up… and that’s a good thing!

If problems didn’t exist, if things went smoothly all the time, what’s the point of work? It would become quite boring. There would be less need for creativity. Problem-solving can be one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of the business.

As the quote suggests, problems become an adventure. If you read a story where the protagonist has a smooth ride and faced no problems, what fun would that be? Adventures involve facing and solving problems.

Embrace problems, analyze and solve them. You may become the hero of your own adventure. You will improve. And you will have fun doing it!

Categories
motivation

Christmas Whining

Cartoon of two fish staring at a tree. One say, "Every Christmas, it's the same thing. When will they make a Christmas tree that won't float?"

If fish celebrated Christmas, they would need a Christmas tree that worked in their environment. They would need to adapt to the holiday traditions that could work underwater. Whining about traditions and customs that don’t work doesn’t help much.

Cartoon of two fish staring at a tree. One say, "Every Christmas, it's the same thing. When will they make a Christmas tree that won't float?" If a Christmas tree floats, find one that doesn’t!

Yet, how many times are people like the fish in this cartoon? We complain about things that we feel are out of our control instead of doing something about it.

  • We can change the situation
  • We can find the good side of a problem
  • We can find a solution that benefits everyone
  • We can let go of a tradition or custom in order to create a new, exciting one

Finding a problem is easy. Finding a solution and doing something about it is powerful.

Categories
motivation

Constraints Can Make You More Creative

Cartoon of two boys at a painting. One boy says, "It's my finest work. I call it, 'Clean Your Room!'"

From Fast Company:Brainstorming, thinking outside the box, working with free reign on a project–they’re old creativity maxims, but how well do they really work?

— Read on www.fastcompany.com/3027379/the-psychology-of-limitations-how-and-why-constraints-can-make-you-more-creative

Last night, I had a cartoon to draw. My old laptop is showing it’s age. It’s slow. I upgraded the system software and now it won’t play nice with my old drawing tablet. I may have chucked it all in if I didn’t need to send a cartoon out.

Cartoon of two boys at a painting. One boy says, "It's my finest work. I call it, 'Clean Your Room!'"

Then I remembered the article from Fast Company. I smiled when I read it because my high school graphic design teacher always proclaimed to the class, Limitation is the Basis of all Creativity! It’s the constraints that cause us to think in creative ways.

Of course, that doesn’t work if you see constraints as obstacles that cannot be overcome. Each time we face a problem, we can rationalize why things won’t work, or we can get creative and find a solution perhaps no one has thought of before.

Every challenge, every constraint gives us an opportunity to think creatively. Look at those limitations as an opportunity to think outside of the box.