I'm in need of a little inspiration for a project I'm working on. What direction should I go? Time to reach into the Creative Whack Pack. It's card # 53: "Flex Your Risk Muscle." This is one that always demands some action. It reads:
Bull's-eye every time? If so, you're standing too close to the target. If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative. Everyone has a "risk muscle." You keep it in shape by trying new things. If you don't, it atrophies and you're no longer able to take chances. How can you exercise your risk muscle? What kinds of risk can you take while pursuing your issue? What's the biggest, most sensible risk you can take?
I'm not quite sure how to interpret this, but two ideas come immediately to mind: 1) to call a person I'd been putting off for fear of not getting through or looking stupid; and 2) being a little more adventuresome in my design.
I'm sure I'll think of other interpretations as the day goes by.
In the book Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, he talks about how people are happiest and doing their best work (his idea of flow) when there's a good balance between being comfortable with the work you're doing and being challenged in it. As your skills improve, it's important to continue to find new challenges for those skills. I know that I'm happiest and have gotten the best rewards when I've taken risks and embraced difficult situations. The inverse is also true: when I've avoided interesting risks, I've often regretted it.
Posted by: David L. Warner | 25 October 2006 at 10:26 AM