To Soar… 3

 in 2014 August: Innovation by

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Innovate.

What does it mean to innovate?

How about a brainstorm…

To create. To Improve. New. Fresh. Alive. Outside of the box. Different. Useful. Resourceful. Not wasteful. Fascinating. Interesting. Exciting. Inventive. Creative. To rise above. To soar.

How does one go about being innovative?

Is innovation something I can be doing on a daily basis? Can I be creative, inventive and innovative in the everyday?

As I change nappies, wash dishes, bathe the children, vacuum the floors, walk the kids to school, do the shopping…can I be innovative?

Is it possible to make innovation a way of thinking? A lifestyle choice? Is there a way to think outside the box so that I can stay fresh and alive, resourceful and fascinating?

In order for innovation to flourish, I wonder if first we need a conducive environment. Perhaps we need to create cultures in which we:

  1. Feel safe – find people with whom we can be ourselves without fear of ridicule
  2. Open dialogue and genuine listening – to express and explore our ideas
  3. Courage to have a go – embracing setbacks, failures and knockbacks
  4. To be willing to break the rules of ‘shoulds’ and ‘musts’ – to be authentic
  5. The energy to think clearly – adequate rest and relaxation
  6. Space to imagine and experiment – less noise, chatter, and endless activity.
  7. Intentional and considered choices – how am I spending my time?
  8. Practice gratefulness and thankfulness – perspective in the everyday demands.
  9. To embrace big dreams and endless possibilities – just because you can.
  10. Be mindful – grab hold of and enjoy the moment – never be too old to play.

Brené Brown, in her book The Gifts of Imperfection, writes about people who ‘Dig deep’ in order to live ‘wholeheartedly’. I really like the following acrostic as an easy reminder to be thinking innovatively – particularly when I feel stuck or weighed down:

Deliberate in their thoughts and behaviours through prayer, meditation, or simply setting their intentions;

Inspired to make new and different choices;

Going. They take action.

 

I want to innovate.

I want to be courageous. I want to be free to be me. I want to soar.

I want to be someone who creates, improves, invents, thinks outside the box, is different, fascinating, interesting, exciting, interested, creative, transforming, resourceful, new, fresh, alive.

In reality, I think that some days I will Soar…

…and some days I will just Survive.

And that’s okay.

Esther x

 

 

 

 

 

About Esther Murray

As a bit of an idealist, Esther often dreams of a world where kindness is the currency and where no one ever suffers from hunger or mistreatment. In the hopes of making some part of this dream a reality, Esther studied a Bachelor of Social Work. She quickly discovered that she probably wasn’t going to save the world but could simply strive to make a difference in her everyday. Much later, as the sea of nappies, toys, teething and tantrums threatened to engulf the dreams of a former life, Esther began to write. Making meaning of a childhood in the Himalayas, the craziness of motherhood and the state of the world was a much-welcomed creative outlet. Esther loves doing life alongside her husband Clive raising their three young daughters. In her down-time Esther can be found drinking tea (never coffee), tinkering on the piano or bass-guitar, practicing her Urdu, rummaging the op-shops, or attempting some kind of DIY.

3 thoughts on “To Soar…”

  • Jodie McCarthy

    I love this Esther, somedays we soar and somedays we survive. But instead of settling for just surviving, digging deeper to find ways to soar.

    I love your points too, such practical application. xx

  • Esther Murray Post author

    Thanks for your comments Jodie and Elaine. It was an interesting piece for me to write – I found myself greatly challenged as I thought it through – now it’s just putting it into practice! 🙂 xx

Comments are closed.