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Resistance is useless

Here's a thoughtspur from creative thinking pioneer Roger Von Oech:

"The human mind," notes scientist W.I. Beveridge, "likes a strange idea as little as the body likes a strange protein and resists it with a similar energy." When you judge new ideas, focus initially on their positive and interesting features. This will counteract a natural negative bias, and help you to develop more ideas. What are two positive things you can say about your problem?

We tend to try to preserve equilbrium or status quo. It is a way of eliminating risk and the remorse of choosing the wrong thing.
It is a paradox in business, though. Clinging to the accepted or conventional ways of doing things allows upstart competitors with nothing to loose to steal markets from right under your nose.

Perhaps it is more useful to build up a high threshold to anitigens. I suggest playing in the dirt, eating loads of mental roughage, sleep as much as you can - and write down your dreams.

Comments

  1. Anonymous11:09 pm

    Throwing away the alarm clock
    ...................................
    by Charles Bukowski

    My father always said, "early to
    bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise".


    it was lights out at 8p.m. in our
    house and we were up at dawn to
    the smell of coffee, frying bacon and scrambled eggs.

    my father followed this general
    routine for a lifetime and died
    young, broke, and, I think, not too wise.

    taking note, I rejected his advice
    and it became to me, late to bed and late to rise.

    now, I'm not saying I've conquered
    the world but I've avoided
    numberless early traffic jams,
    bypassed some common pitfalls
    and have met some strange,
    wonderful people

    one of whom was myself - someone my father never knew.

    ReplyDelete

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