How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything
by Sir Ken Robinson. “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”
The most watched TED Talk of all time, by the very man, here.
And another goodun here. Go on, head down a Rabbit Hole!
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Personal Thoughts, Musings & Precis.
“My aim in writing [this book] is to offer a richer version of human ability and creativity and of the benefits to us all of connecting properly with our individual talents and passions. This book is about issues that are of fundamental importance in our lives and in the lives of our children, our students, and the people we work with. I use the term the Element to describe the place where the things we love to do and the things we are good at come together. I believe it is essential that each of us find his or her Element, not simply because it will make us more fulfilled but because, as the world evolves, the very future of our communities and institutions will depend on it.”
And as a bloke that now makes a living selling heating elements & immersion heaters (3 elements on a screwplug with a terminal box) I am really enjoying finding & living my Element, which is why I am evangelically sharing this and all the other stuff with anyone that will listen!
IQ tests are meaningless rubbish, see above. That’s not me being bitter & twisted. Mine was 148 in the old days, back when I foolishly gave a shit.
Creativity as Applied Imagination
“Imagination is not the same as creativity. Creativity takes the process of imagination to another level. My definition of creativity is “the process of having original ideas that have value.” Imagination can be entirely internal. You could be imaginative all day long without anyone noticing. But you would never say that someone was creative if that person never did anything. To be creative you actually have to do something. It involves putting your imagination to work to make something new, to come up with new solutions to problems, even to think of new problems or questions. You can think of creativity as applied imagination.”
This kind of sums up my cognitive dissonance with manifestation, The Secret, etc. You gotta do shit. Or as Mary Elaine Jacobsen more eloquently puts it “The difference between a creative person and a creative producer is hard work.”
Loving what you do
Flow & getting filled with energy
“Activities we love fill us with energy even when we are physically exhausted. Activities we don’t like drain us in minutes, even if we approach them at our physical peak of fitness. This is one of the keys to the Element, and one of the primary reasons why finding the Element is vital for every person. When people place themselves in situations that lead to their being in the zone, they tap into a primal source of energy. They are literally more alive because of it.”
Doing what we love is like biking downhill. Doing what we hate is like an Alpine Climb. Find your flow. It becomes almost Meditational.
What is Your Joy?
Folks ain’t gonna like the New You
“The message here isn’t as simplistic as “Don’t let anything get in your way.” Our families, friends, culture, and place in the human community are all important to our sense of fulfillment, and we have certain responsibilities to all of them.
The real message here is that, in seeking your Element, you’re likely to face one or more of the three levels of constraint—personal, social, and cultural…
Ultimately, the question is always going to be, “What price are you willing to pay?” The rewards of the Element are considerable, but reaping these rewards may mean pushing back against some stiff opposition.”
Our social connections are crucial to our mental well being, immune system, longevity, etc. But this is a balancing act. A Buddhist Middle Path. I was “programmed” in the 70/80’s, my folks were “programmed” in the 40/50’s. The world has changed quite a bit since those days. And much as I love & respect them, I can’t live my life for them.
Attitude is Everything
We alone control our reaction to reality. Are we Response- Able or just knee jerk reacting? As Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says in Flow –
“A person can make himself happy, or miserable, regardless of what is actually happening ‘outside,’ just by changing the contents of consciousness. We all know individuals who can transform hopeless situations into challenges to be overcome, just through the force of their personalities. This ability to persevere despite obstacles and setbacks is the quality people most admire in others, and justly so; it is probably the most important trait not only for succeeding in life, but for enjoying it as well. To develop this trait, one must find ways to order consciousness so as to be in control of feelings and thoughts. It is best not to expect shortcuts will do the trick.” (Much as we’d all like ’em, there simply are no shortcuts!)
Targets & Progress
“I don’t mean to say, of course, that we all can do anything at any time of our lives. If you’re about to turn one hundred, it’s unlikely that you’re going to nail the leading role in Swan Lake, especially if you have no previous dance background. At fifty-eight, with a wobbly sense of balance, I’m getting used to the idea that I’ll probably never take the speed-skating gold at the Winter Olympics (particularly since I’ve never actually seen a pair of ice skates in real life). Some dreams truly are “impossible dreams.” However, many aren’t. Knowing the difference is often one of the first steps to finding your Element, because if you can see the chances of making a dream come true, you can also likely see the necessary next steps you need to take toward achieving it.”
Or John Wooden –
“We should keep our dreams within the realm of possibility— difficult but possible—and make every effort to achieve them…. I set realistic goals—ones that are difficult to achieve, but within reach. You might say I’m a realistic optimist.”
Refuse to Get Old
I love this. Which is why I annoy folks so much. It might not be true, but I find it empowering to believe –
“Dr. Henry Lodge, coauthor of Younger Next Year, makes the point sharply. “It turns out,” he says, “that 70% of American aging is not real aging.
It’s just decay. It’s rot from the stuff that we do. All the lifestyle diseases … the diabetes, the obesity, the heart disease, much of the Alzheimer’s, lots of the cancers, and almost all of the osteoporosis, those are all decay. Nature doesn’t have that in store for any of us. We go out and buy it off the rack.”
Supported by John Robbins’ Healthy at 100 and Walter Bortz’ Dare to Be 100. Chat GPT them!
The Tendency to Conformity
The scary psychology behind the worlds many & varied atrocities, and the muzzle wearing, lockdown conformity of previous years.
GroupThink is dangerous.
“When interviewed later, most of the subjects said they knew they were giving the wrong answers but did so because they didn’t want to be singled out. “The tendency to conformity in our society is so strong,” Asch wrote, “that reasonably intelligent and well-meaning people are willing to call white black. This is a matter of concern. It raises questions about our ways of education and about the values that guide our conduct.”