Do what you’ve always done, and you’ll get what you’ve always got
I’m reading a fascinating book at the moment. It’s all about making things work in unexpected ways – combining things that have never been combined before, doing things differently, and stumbling on success.
I was sitting in my mobile office (Starbucks) yesterday and I read something that made me sit up – and put my skinny decaf hazelnut latte down.
It was about comfort zones.
We all have them, even if we don’t admit it. We tell ourselves we’re striking out, crossing frontiers and breaking new ground.
But are we?
Room 101, anybody?
A couple of years ago, in a life-drawing class I was in, the teacher put on some mood music. It reminded me of Laurie Anderson’s O Superman, with the lyrics spoken instead of sung.
And one of the lines made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
Do something that scares you each day.
It’s an old idea: conquer your fear by facing it down. Speak to that stranger. Pick up the phone and make that call you’ve been putting off. Walk up to that dog and pat it (OK, you do that one, because there’s no way on earth I’m doing it).
It’s good to shake things up a little – but we hardly ever do.
The book talked about hiring decisions, and how we very rarely step outside our comfort zones. People hire people they like. I’ve been on both sides of the hiring table, so I know that it’s true.
But really, the the author argues, we should hire people we don’t like. People who haven’t got relevant experience. Hire people for a vacancy you haven’t even got yet.
Just do it, and see what happens.
Step outside the frame
Artists know all about looking at things from a different angle when they can’t see things clearly. One I know regularly turns her pictures upside down to see what’s wrong with them. If that doesn’t work, she views them in a mirror.
And often, just to keep herself on her toes, she’ll switch to a medium that she doesn’t feel comfortable with – just to see how she copes. If nothing else, she argues, it’ll ‘clean her palate’ (pun intended, I’m sure) and let her return to her usual medium.
So what could you change in your work that would give great results? That would produce unexpected creativity? That would help you clear that mental hurdle?
Just do it. And I’ll try patting a dog.
Promise.
