Creative Whack Pack

Creative Whack Pack

 By Melissa Miranda

The Explorer: See the big picture; Listen to your dreams; Get out of YOUR box; Give yourself a whack on the side of the head.

I am certainly demonstrating elements of the “explorer” in my project.  I am diving into the lives of elderly, gay folks.  I am neither gay nor elderly; and, I surely feel out of my element or out of my box.  The project involves identifying an innovative housing plan for gay elders.  How many of us have thought what it would be like to be old? I’d like to think many of us have.  How many of us, though, have thought what it would like to live at home alone when we are old?  Even more thought provoking is what it would be like to live in a nursing home for the rest of our lives.  Now, taking it even further, what if we are gay and have to live in a nursing home?  For many, this scenario contributes to gay elders going back “in the closet” effecting their health and quality of life.  Until now, I didn’t recognize this issue.  Now that I know – I am ready to explore and contribute to the healthy life and wellbeing of my fellow eldersJ 

The Artist: Reverse your viewpoint; Make a comparison; Imagine how others would do it; Change its name.

This perspective is brilliant!  For some reason, when I think of how one of my closest friends would tackle my project, I immediately become relaxed and feel less pressure.  Of course, she is a fourth-grade teacher and everything she does with her students seems simplistic yet brilliant.  I’ve always felt that teachers who make learning fun – who make learning not feel like learning – are the most successful.  If she and I were to sit down, I am sure she would give me great ideas on how to go about my work – things I would never have thought about. 

Additionally, I am a fan of “changing the name.”  My mentor at work is famous for this.  Not only does she change the name, she is the master of cool acronyms also.  A couple examples include: Career Health for the Upwardly Mobile (CHUM) and Share from the Chair. Until now, I didn’t realize that changing the name or creating a metaphor was an element of artistic creativity.  But I can say that I am attracted to the elements of it.  I love cool names used differently; I remember them easier.  Maybe I love them because  no one can “really” tell you that you’re wrong when your intent is to be creatively and innovatively different. 

The Judge: Focus on the real truth; Ask a fool; Slay a sacred cow; Check your timing.

The perspective of the “judge” is a little more difficult for me to implement.  Certainly the timing of our ideas is critical.  If the timing is off it could mean it is too late, in which case the need has been lost; but, it could also mean the world isn’t ready and it must be shelved for some unknown amount of time.   Both are hard to accept.  Dislodging assumptions is no easy task either.  Not only must I dislodge my own assumptions as I create an idea, I must present my ideas in a way that encourages others to dislodge their assumptions – assuming I even know what those could be.  It would be unrealistic to think an idea would be accepted by everyone; but, when you have a good idea, who doesn’t want to shout it from the roof tops and get everyone’s attention!

The Warrior: Give yourself a kick in the seat of the pants; Have something at stake; Sell, sell, sell; Expect Resistance.

In this perspective, it is apparent that my great idea can place me in a lonely, unsupported place.  Through that, it is persistence and the belief that the idea is as good as I believe it is that keeps me from caving in.  Certainly if my idea requires anyone to change either their thoughts or actions, I expect it to be met with resistance and criticism.  After all, I don’t love change either.  I’ve learned, though, that the pains of change are usually well worth the effort.

The Four-C Model of Creativity:

The Four-C Model of Creativity makes sense. Certainly any expertise is captured in stages.  At any given time throughout our lives, we likely demonstrate elements of each depending on what we are doing. Even an expert can tackle something new, which may change the level of creativity that they exemplify.  After reading the article, it seemed likely that most people would never reach the Big-C level of creativity.