I am facing a bit of a technology blip the next few days. My beautiful MacBook Pro, thankfully still under warranty for another two months, is in the shop. Apparently the horrible noises coming out of it when I tried to eject a CD-Rom were do to the optical drive being kaput.
So I am on my old iBook the next few days until the current computer is happy and running again normally. And I must say, aside from the slower speed of working, it is a nice little nostalgia trip.
I got this computer originally because I had started writing more seriously and wanted to have a laptop to work on wherever I happened to be. I was tired of being tied to the bog honking desktop PC. This was my first mac, and I am feeling a bit warm and fuzzy about it's still working so well.
Still, that wasn't the whole point of what I wanted to say today. Going back to older technology and having to reorganize bookmarks so I can work on this computer is a good way to shake up routine and look at what really matters. Sometimes the failure of the reliable is a good opportunity to re-evaluate and come out stronger at the other end.
I certainly hope that my being sick again will result in my figuring out a long-lasting solution that will prevent future bouts of sickness etirely.
Sometimes you have to hit the wall harder in order to get through the block. Which brings me to a great discussion of failure we had on the teleseminar call this past Tuesday evening...
image: "The Failure of Technology, Part B" by George L Smyth.
One of the things we talked about in the teleseminar call on Tuesday was the power of language and story to determine our surrounding reality. We tell ourselves stories all the time about who we are, what we can and can't do, and how the world is. There are a lot of buzzwords that get loaded with meaning and story: money, success, safety, love, relationship, failure.
Failure struck a chord with many on the call. We are all so scared of failure, but why? We are told from an early age that failure is bad: an F grade is a source of shame and will get you in trouble. The ramifications of this are tremendous down the line.
Most of us would rather safely stay in the realm of the predictable than strike out and do something new and unusual, for fear of failing. I have always been struck by the story of Norman Mailer's writing teacher saying that he was not nearly the most talented writer in his class, but he was the most driven. Perhaps we could also say that he was the least likely to let fear of failure determine the course of his actions.
It would have been easy to think that having my computer out of commission for the rest of the week was a disaster. How will I work? How am I going to get everything done without all my programs and the computer set up the way I am used to? These questions did hit me as I left the Apple store without my computer.
But here I am, working, fortunate to have my older computer. And many times, a roadblock is just what we need to remember how creative we really are.
Creative is another term that carries a lot of baggage. Children are told early on by teachers and family whether or not they have made the cut to be included in the group of "the creative" and most of us carry that judgment without question the rest of our lives.
But the truth is, all of us are creative. Just because we aren't necessarily painting pictures all the time doesn't change that. Every time we encounter a block in the road and find out a way to get past it and move ahead, that is creativity. We have created a new way to be with the limitation.
Look at limits you feel you have in your life today. What pops up and seems to be holding you back? Is there a new way you could address this limit that would allow you to move past it, or at least learn something? I am much more thrilled by the idea of limits and challenges as opportunities to be creative. That idea makes me excited to encounter challenge and see what I can do with it.
Please share if you have ways of moving through difficulty that help you. I am always so inspired and learn so much from what people have said in comments here. Thank you to all who have shared them.
My last thought is a great quote a caller in the teleseminar shared- apparently one owner of a company has posted in the office the question: "What have you failed at today?" as a way to encourage employees to take risks with no fear of punishment if the idea flops.
So go out and fail at something, and see how creative you are to move forward from it. I share my adventure with it, if you share yours!
Recent Comments