Unleash your Creativity and Embrace the Change!

Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. ― Rob Siltanen

Don’t let your degree define you

Since the industrial revolution the trend has been towards specialisation. By dividing up the work into distinct repetitive tasks, and making each worker focus on only one, or a small number, it was found that efficiency could be massively increased.

These gains were obtained in two ways. By specialising, each worker learned to do a few things very well, rather than many things less well. And by ensuring there was no need to continually switch between tasks, it was possible to avoid the inefficiency introduced when people are required to change context. There is no doubting that these changes made possible huge improvements in productivity, albeit at the expense of worker satisfaction.

Where the limitations of increasing specialisation are recognised, there is a shift in thinking towards building teams of generalists. Rather than recruiting for individuals based on a tick-list of highly specialist skills, the goal is to construct smaller teams (to reduce the communication overhead) of individuals with broader skills and experience who have the flexibility to work across multiple areas.

The specialist is dead, long live the generalist.

Stop focusing on what other people will say or think

People will always have opinions! Worrying about what people will say or think if you did this or that is a sure way to remain stuck. Start your side project, show off your creations or talk about what you’re passionate about. Yes, it’s hard to put yourself out there especially when it’s something that’s really dear to you but keep in mind that your true friends will support you and those who criticize you rarely know what they are talking about.

Your passion could be entrepreneurship, the arts, music or some other creative adventure. In the past couple of decades, there has been a continued rise in short-term work and millennials have found more and more ways to redefine their career paths and pursue fulfilment in jobs without having to give a long-term commitment. Find a job or volunteering opportunity that somehow lets you explore your creative side. For example, if your passion is to be a dancer but you’re an accountant for now, on weekends you can volunteer to teach dance at your community centre.

Be the change you wish to see in the world

It is always better to initiate changes ourselves using free will than to let our life progress down a negative path until change affects us in a dramatic way. When you are consciously aware of change, it is much easier. Explore the world and the endless possibilities available to you. Be creative, find new opportunities and increase the number of options you have in your life. The world isn't as scary as you might think and there are lots of things out there that are potentially life enhancing but you have to explore them.

Your attitude toward life is affected by your ability to embrace change. If change happens to you, rather than you influencing that change, you are much more likely to feel like you are being dragged through life. Embrace change with a calm and relaxed mind. Know where you are going and what you are setting out to accomplish. The clearer you picture these changes, the more motivated you will be.

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about learning to dance in the rain. – Vivian Greene