This post is part of an ongoing "Be More Creative" series that has something in it for everyone.
I sat with my son, and all the other potential engineers at the A&M Engineering orientation just before his freshman year started. I looked around at all those smart young people, the pocket-protector-wearing kids who tote graphing calculators around for leisure entertainment. Not a super creative bunch, clearly. That's why I was surprised when I heard the professor say this:
"Engineering is creativity in action. It is taking things meant for one purpose, and figuring out how to make them work for another."
He went on to recount the story of Apollo 13, the famous mission in which duct tape, baling wire and creative problem solving got the astronauts home safely. They used what they had on hand, because that was all they could do. And it worked.
I started looking at engineering in a whole new light.
I love hearing stories of pioneers and Depression-era people. They, too, were inventive and imaginative in how they took everyday objects and made them into tools, or say, re-worked old drapes into dresses, or fixed leftovers five ways. Without the luxury of going out and buying new things, they were forced to think outside the box.
They made do, invented, reinvented, reworked, re-used, rearranged, recycled and repaired.
Necessity made them get creative.
I believe the energy those generations put into motion is part of what made our country great...and we can learn much from them.
Today's Small Thing is to look at your necessities in a new light. What can you re-use, rework, rearrange, recycle or repair?
- Do you need a new tool to do a job....or could you use something you have on hand in a new way?
- Do you need a new outfit....or could a scarf be creatively tied with it to make a "new" ensemble?
- Can you make a dinner from leftovers and pantry items without going to the store?
- Could you make hand weights out of canned food or bags of rice, rather than getting "real" ones?
- How about going to the library, or borrowing books online instead of buying?
- Would your children play a board game rather than going to see a movie?
- Can you highlight your own hair without spending a fortune at the salon?
- How about rearranging your decor and "shopping your house," before shopping Hobby Lobby?
- What service could you trade with friends, rather than hiring someone?
The list is endless, once you start imagining what could be.
You see, we often limit "creativity" to artistic talent, when in reality that is only one aspect of it. If you can solve a problem - fix a leak, make a birthday card, harvest seeds from this year's garden, you name it - you are being creative.
Sometimes creativity looks a lot like hard work... and making do with what you already have.
Use your necessity for invention!
What are some of YOUR creative problem solving feats? Is there something you are especially proud of? What will you do today to turn your necessity into an invention? Have fun with this one!
