START THINKING CREATIVELY
The Bible calls you a ‘child of God’. Stop and consider what that means. God’s creativity is already built into your DNA; your job is to recognise it, release it and put it to work. Advertising executive George Lois said, ‘Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything.’ But for your creativity to be released, you must first identify the barriers and start taking them down. Here’s a common one: ‘We've always done it this way.’ People who say that have stopped thinking for themselves. They’re just putting in their time, waiting for a pay packet and going home at the end of the day without thinking, reflecting or even considering the possibilities of change. If you’re one of these people, it’s time to wake up and start looking around you. Mind-deadening routine is the cancer of creativity. If you mindlessly go about your business the same way every day, your routine is opening you up to mistakes. Why? Because, the chances are, your habits have caused you to lose the ability to think critically and question your methods. Start questioning policies, techniques, forms, rules, paperwork—anything that’s become routine. Ask, ‘Why do we do that? Is it even necessary? Can we do it better?’ On the farm of success there are no sacred cows. If you insist on doing things the way they’ve always been done, you’ll end up being out-thought, out-sold, out-produced and finally out of business. So start thinking creatively.
God sees things others don’t, and He talks about them as though they were established facts. ‘God…calls things that are not, as though they were.’ And since you are made in His image, you need to do the same. In other words, start thinking creatively. Film director Frank Capra said, ‘A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.’ So if you’re part of a church or a business that continually throws up obstacles to productivity, forms barriers to originality and puts the brakes on momentum, it’s time to speak up. And if nobody will listen, it’s time to pray and ask God if you’re in the right place. An environment doesn’t just ‘happen’, it’s created by the people who live and work in it. People, systems and policies either stoke the fire of creativity or put it out. Alexander the Great once visited the famed teacher Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for him. Diogenes replied, ‘Only stand out of my light.’ One of the best things you can do for a creative person is not to get in their way! Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Leonardo da Vinci all used the best equipment and went to extraordinary lengths to find the finest materials for their paints, brushes and canvas. And they’d be no different today. But don’t expect change to come easily. Insecure leaders tend to penalise honesty and feel threatened by creativity, especially when it suggests there’s a better way of doing things. But you owe it to God, to yourself and the people you work with to give it your best shot.
Not everybody is willing to think creatively, and some people resent those who do. The apostle John said: ‘I have written briefly to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to take the lead among them and put himself first, does not acknowledge my authority and refuses to accept my suggestions or listen to me.’ Every organisation has at least one of these people; just make sure it’s not you. Author Phil Cooke says: ‘One of the most damaging sacred cows in organisations is basing employee status on seniority rather than talent. Yes, loyalty is important, but some of the most loyal employees I’ve ever met are loyal because of selfishness. They project loyalty to keep their jobs, retain their benefits, or hold on to their authority. Real loyalty is about innovation, original thinking and helping the company get to the next level…Every person has worth and is important. But a great leader always knows the people who bring the most value to the organisation. Those are the people to be developed, trained and cultivated. When you create an atmosphere of original thinking, you’ll have more loyalty than you’ll know what to do with. Most companies are so ignorant of how to develop an environment of innovation that if you’ll do it, you will have people coming from every direction to work with you.’ The apostle Paul practised and taught this principle: ‘We urge you…to recognise those who labour among you…and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake…’ (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 NKJV). To become a creative thinker, you must value creative thinking
Source: http://www.ucb.co.uk/
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