The tips were brilliant, true, but most of them are easy to come by on your own as long as you employ your own common sense and take care of your mind.
#8: Take a break
This one I thought was a bit ridiculous. Take a break? Um, hai- that’s an obvious one! But sometimes things can be so obvious that we don’t fully comprehend them. Ditkoff is right in suggesting we let our minds breath because burning out is no fun. And it really does seem like a simple concept, taking a break. Yet there is the dangerous line between “taking a break” and “giving up.” The difficulty is to control yourself, even when you’re on a break. Ditkoff’s suggestion is definitely a good one for not overworking yourself in pursuit of an innovation.
#10: Hang out with diverse groups of people
I really liked this tip. It’s definitely a motivator for creating good ideas. When you surround yourself with different people, you’re forced to open your own perspective and see the world through their eyes. I love traveling, and learning about different cultures. One of my biggest annoyances is when someone refuses to understand another cultural perspective different from their own. When I hear, “Why do they doooo that? That’s dumb” = %@*#^$! I get very upset. I can't help it! My tolerance meter is immediately shattered and I can't help but explode in anger. This probably stems from growing up with my South Korean mother in a dominantly white school district. I guess I've never fully recovered from the annoying teasing done to me in elementary school.
Learning about other cultures broadens our own horizons. By doing this, an outsider could notice something about another culture that the local could not see, or vice versa. Different people joining together and learning creates a layered, well-formed innovation.
#14: Suspend Logic
This one had me torn. I believe that Ditkoff makes a brilliant point- not everything can be explained. He goes on to say that we should suspend logic and let our creativity run rampant. However, this is far easier said than done. While suspending logic is great advice, it almost seems full of empty promises. I wish that Ditkoff was more active in the suggestions he gives because all is fine and dandy to think about the tips; what is important is learning how to employ them.
Prompt #5: Think of a current challenge of yours. What would a fantasy solution to this challenge look like? What clues does this fantasy solution give you?
One of my current challenges is my goal to live overseas. I’ve literally been fantasizing about living in London for half my life (granted, I’m only twenty- but ten years is a long time to a twenty year old). I have this recurring dream about it. The means are usually different, but the result is always the same. Human Rights Watch (a non-profit organization) scouted and found me in America, and offers me a wonderful job in London. I move there and write films on the side, working on my independent film company with a few artistic friends while creating marketing material for HRW campaigns. Sometimes the company changes to another non-profit organization, but like I said the ending result is always the same: I’m making films in London with friends.
Basically, this fantasy clues me into the fact that I want to live in London while doing work that I consider worthy. I want to work for a cause, and feel like my life isn’t just another problem added to the World’s long list of issues needed to be resolved. The fact is that I need to work hard if I want to get anywhere even remotely close to where I want to be.
The only problem I have with Ditkoff’s prompts is how they relate to action. Yes, I’ve pinpointed the problem- and I’ve known that it’ll take a monstrosity of work to achieve. Yet, I am exactly in the same spot as before with getting there. Perhaps if Ditkoff could offer more decisive action other than empty, esoteric words, I would like this article (and him) a bit more.
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