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Week 8 - Creative Confidence Self Assessment

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Week 8 - Creative Confidence Self Assessment

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This course has helped me realize that I already have more creativity than I thought. When we began, I would have classified myself as ‘not creative’, but as we discussed early on in the course, creativity is not just limited to the traditional arts (painting, drawing, etc.), it is part of everyday life; creativity is needed in problem-solving and management as much as it is needed in the arts.

I attempted to use the skills learned in this class for the first time in my job this past week. There was an overbooked schedule for the day and the manager was struggling to figure out how it was all going to get done by the end of the day. I was able to gather everyone in the office and discuss who was able to do what. We played off of peoples’ strengths instead of their usual assigned tasks. I took over some of the office work from the manager so that he could be more useful in helping the set up team, and one of the set up employees switched over to AV for the day to help them out. We ended up accomplishing everything because of a creative solution that required ignoring the norms of the workplace and I am glad I was able to assist in that!

I am grateful to have taken these past eight weeks to develop these skills. I was worried when we started this class that it was going to be irrelevant to the rest of the program, but I was happily proven wrong!

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This course has challenged me over the past 6 weeks. I could have never imagined the changes in both my personal and professional lives.
The week this class started I also began a new job. The tie between the two has pushed me to be more open to new ideas and to make a difference in my workplace, despite being new. I have learned that I don't have to be in a company for years to see the places that need change, a fresh set of eyes can be just what is needed.
In my personal life I have also been pushing myself to expand my creative capacity. Luckily in this new position I am surrounded by passionate people who believe in change; they have been a great support system. I have been exploring new interests and diving deeper into current ones.

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Week 4 - 09/22/2021 - Creative Confidence Self Assessment

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Week 4 - 09/22/2021 - Creative Confidence Self Assessment

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I have become more aware of the areas in which I can improve my creative confidence in these past few weeks. I think it is a step in the right direction, but nowhere near where I want to be in the long run. My goal by week eight is to have used a skill we learned in class in my professional life. I hope to report back on what I did and how I felt about the process. It may be a slow process, but baby steps are still forward motion! Building creative confidence is more difficult than I thought it would be, and I am starting to realize that this will be a long journey but well worth the time it takes.

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Week 3 - 09/18/2021 - 10 Ideas a Day Assignment

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Week 3 - 09/18/2021 - 10 Ideas a Day Assignment

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Thursday:

1. Could there ever be vehicles that power themselves?

2. If I could have any superpower it would be flight.

3. Why don’t we utilize wind power more?

4. Invention we need: Animal thought translator.

5. How can National Parks continue to preserve lands and keep up with increasing visitors?

6. Is it possible to create a new color?

7. I wonder why some animals travel in packs/herds and some prefer to live solitary lives?

8. I wish I had the capacity to learn every language.

9. All mattresses should be adjustable to your soft/firm preference.

10. I wish there was a way to know if everyone sees color the same way, or if it is different for each of us.

Friday:

1. There should be more research done to find a sustainable alternative to parking lots.

2. Could vaccines be put into pill form? Into food?

3. The US would benefit greatly from a better public transport system - cross country trains?

4. What if we replaced traditional roads with heavy duty solar panels that produced heat in the winter and melted snow and ice?

5. People working in the fossil fuels industry could easily be trained to work in the renewables industry.

6. Tunnels through the oceans to connect continents by car or train.

7. Everyone should be able to shadow jobs before applying.

8. How did hot air balloons get invented?

9. We should make more adult sized parks (slides, swings, etc.) to promote lifelong fitness.

10. Invention we need: Accurate hair cut or hair color simulator, to see if you like it before you actually do it.

Saturday:

1. My phone should just know what I want to type.

2. Clothes and shoes that grow with children should be invented.

3. An app that can scan foods for hidden allergens.

4. There should be a way to organize the photos on my phone by importance.

5. It should be acceptable to have multiple soap options by the sink, more scent varieties at once.

6. Someone should invent a dryer that also folds the clothes.

7. There should be an at-home way to check your vitamin and nutrient levels.

8. Work weeks should be shorter - happier people put more effort into work.

9. A website where you can input your place in a book and it will give a recap up to that point.

10. An app that can scan any item and tell you where you can buy it.

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Week 1 - 09/05/2021 - Creative Confidence Self Assessment

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Week 1 - 09/05/2021 - Creative Confidence Self Assessment

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I love to work in spaces that encourage creativity and reflection, but I struggle to find those characteristics in the public sector. I spent four years in a very creative and unstructured workplace. There, it felt natural to build creative confidence. Since graduating college, and therefore leaving that space, my creative confidence feels like it has been on a rapid decline. I know I have the ability to bring my creativity back and I am hoping my new position, in addition to this course, will help me find the confidence to do so.

The MAPA program has allowed me to refocus and explore new options. I just finished a temporary position with the USDA and I will be starting another temporary position for a non-profit tomorrow. I think my first step in building creative confidence is accepting the fact that I don’t have to have it all figured out yet. This program has uniquely placed me in a spot where I am able to take these short-term positions and learn where my skills are best put to use. I am looking forward to the course, and continuing to rediscover my creative confidence!

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This was a great exercise to help me understand that I might have some perfectionism issues I need to address! I took so much time deciding what to draw in the circles that I still had ten left. I also found out that I am not very artistically inclined when it comes to doodles. Three minutes goes by pretty quickly when you're focusing on figuring out what on earth could go in a circle - including the Earth! I thought this would be an easy exercise, but once again I was proven wrong.

I like that this exercise is used to generate multiple ideas within the same context - in this case, what can go in a circle. I could use the same idea within my work. Say a cable is plugged in the wrong place, how many other places can it go? One of the options will eventually be correct!