Category: Work-Life Decisions

Meta Motivation

On By ashleyfausIn Work-Life Decisions1 Comment

Today’s post is the result of a psychological rabbit hole, inspired by my recent director-ish stint for the children’s musical at my church. The head director asked me to come in and work with the small cast of kids that had speaking parts during the show, and I learned a lot about motivation while working with the kids.

First, working with non-experts really makes you think about your own skill set. I’ve been doing stage work for most of my life, and studied it formally for a year in college, so I know a thing or two about acting. But, 3rd-5th grade kids are a different ballgame. They require detailed direction for any movement (called “blocking” in the theater world) or interaction on stage (usually something like “character development” in the theater world). Thus, when I am about to move toward another actor, extend my hand to an actor, or walk across the stage, I usually try to think of a good reason why I’m doing that. Kids do these same actions “because I said so”. But in reality, “because I said so” is a terrible reason to do something on stage! Kinda similar to life and business, eh?

Take, for example, the motivation behind having one of the kids bend down to tie his shoe. It’s pretty obvious on the surface, because there’s a line that states, “Hey kid, stand up” in the script. Thus, for the kid to stand up, he must be doing something other than standing immediately prior to that line. Ah, we’ll have him bend down! Ok, why is he bending down… we can’t just tell him to bend down for no good reason (the line isn’t a strong enough reason, it’s akin to “because I said so”). AH, we’ll make him tie his shoe, it’s a perfect reason for a kid to be bending down! So, we tell the child actor to pretend to tie his shoe, so that the next line makes sense. He then proceeds to mime tying his shoe, which looks silly, because there’s no motivation for him to take this action, as his shoe is not untied. So, down the rabbit hole, why would he bend down to tie his shoe if it’s not untied? By this stage, I’ve made up a whole scenario about how his shoe frequently comes untied, he looks down and notices that it is about to come untied, so he bends down to preempt the untied shoelace by knotting it firmly, and now he’s bending down to knot his shoelace when he’s asked to stand up. Now, it makes sense, falls into place, and looks natural, right?  I’ve drilled down to the motivation behind the motivation.

This same logic applies to our academic pursuits and corporate ascent. Think about it: what’s your motivation for doing well in school? Getting a good job. What’s your motivation for getting a good job? Making lots of money. And your motivation for making lots of money? Financial security and material goods. And the motivation for those two things? Freedom and happiness. There it is! So, if freedom and happiness are the motivation for the motivation, how do we know that the actions resulting from the motivation are correct?

Now we’ve gone down the rabbit hole of factors for life satisfaction, and what we’ve been primed to believe. For most people, a solid day’s work with measurable results will bring a feeling of accomplishment, and a hearty meal will complete the feeling of satisfaction. The definition of a”solid day’s work” and “measurable results” are points of debate, but the underlying desire for success is pretty concrete. I guess I’m just in the mood to contemplate the meta motivation today. Are you just getting more credentials because someone told you to? Are you going in to work everyday because there’s a line in some imaginary life script that says, “Ashley went into work at 8:03 am”, and you need to make that line make sense? Just like the kids, we sometimes start doing exactly what we’re told, when in fact, it makes no sense until we drill down to the very bottom.

Perpetuating the “In Group”

On By ashleyfausIn Work and Office, Work-Life Decisions2 Comments

This post might be a little bit controversial, but I’m going to throw it out there, since it’s been on my mind for a few weeks. I’m completing another Organizational Behavior (OB) class, and we often discuss concepts around forming groups and behavior within those groups. There’s a concept of an “in” group and an “out” group, “we” vs. “them”, “us” vs. “the other”. These concepts have been particularly applicable lately, as I’ve been reading a lot of articles about the pay gap, the ‘ole boys’ club, and disputes between minority groups and majority groups.

From the articles around the web, it seems that many people feel that the ‘ole boys’ club continues because men are intentionally sexist and exclusionary, and that women aren’t fighting hard enough to break down the walls to force their way into the network. I sometimes fall into this hyped-up mentality that often incites sensationalism, instead of an honest look at a problem, and a plan of action to come to a solution. But then, once in a while, my own bias hits me square in the face, and I realize that in general, things keep going the way they’ve always gone simply because of human nature.

Take my MBA classmates, for example. I had the good fortune to work with an excellent group in my OB class, and I would love to work with them again. I would also love to be introduced to people that they would want to work with again, because I trust their word. I commented that I wanted to host a casual networking party toward the end of the summer, and extend it to them, and any of their classmates or contacts that they’d like to invite. The goal is to trade professor recommendations, find good group members for future semesters, and ultimately, build relationships with people that can help you on your ascent up the corporate ladder. This is how networks form: I picked people “like me”, and they will in turn introduce me to people “like them” (and, good ‘ole math, if a=b, and b=c, then a=c… there’s a proper name for that, but I haven’t used it since freshman year of high school!).

It’s interesting, because on the surface, the people “like me” are actually a pretty diverse group. In my group this semester, there’s males and females from several different cultural backgrounds, including China, Haiti, and Chile, a few white males, and a few white females. Groups from past semesters include males and females from several other countries and cultures around the world, so this networking party would be a nice rainbow. However, our backgrounds are very similar. We all grew up with the expectation of going to college, and many, with the expectation of attending graduate school. We all work in nice offices, wearing nice clothes, and we go home to a nice neighborhood, to nice spouses with good jobs. We all speak fluent English, and we all behave according to American norms. Despite a wide array of cultural norms in our personal lives, we do business like Americans.

Quite frankly, it’s just easier that way. When we say “business formal”, we all know what that means. When we say “standard presentation”, we all know what that means. When we divide the work load for a project, we know what “deadline” means. It’s just easier to work with people who are like you, so you end up gravitating toward them, and perpetuating the “in group”. At least in my circle, we’ve moved past skin color and gender issues, but we use education and money as the new barrier. Again, not intentionally, but because it’s just the path of least resistance. I don’t know that this is necessarily wrong, either, since some of it has to do with life stages as well. I relate better to people who are in graduate school or a business environment, just like I relate better to young married professionals than a stay-at-home mom.

The concern is that the “in group” never gives anyone else a chance to break in, even though they may be perfectly suited to join the group. It’s most dangerous when the bias is not obvious, like the group I described in my case. We look diverse and inclusive on the surface, but we’ve got some pretty strong bias in the group. Would we be willing to invite someone with little or no work experience to the networking party? Probably not. Would we be willing to invite someone that isn’t pursuing graduate studies? Pretty unlikely. Then again, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard, and Google started in a garage. Granted, everyone in the world isn’t a college-drop-out-turned-billionaire, but there are definitely smart, capable, well-connected people that don’t fit “our” criteria. And thus, the same network trends continue, and business as usual goes on. This is also problematic because we live in a globalized society, with a worldwide economy. I like to think I’m open-minded about different business customs and I love exploring other cultures. I rarely examine my own bias when it comes to business interactions, because I believe I don’t have any. This is a false sense of security, and though uncomfortable, it’s necessary to understand the judgements and preconceived notions I have about people with different backgrounds.

I don’t have any concrete solutions for breaking down the “in group” mentality, but I believe it starts with brutal honesty within ourselves. I’ve taken the time to understand a situation with my networking prospects, and I’ve been considering the consequences of my actions. Have you recognized a time when you perpetuated the “in group” mentality? Is there a person that might not fit the criteria, but could bring valuable insight, connections, or perspective to a situation?

Raw as the Limiting Factor

On By ashleyfausIn Work-Life Decisions1 Comment

I talked about how technology levels the playing field in my previous post, and it got me thinking about the limiting factor in today’s society. I cycled through attributes like intelligence and time as the limiting factor, but finally landed on the word “raw”. With all that technology can do, and the nature of specialization in our society, a lot of people can fake a lot of things, including intelligence and skill. A few lucky shots or a well-placed industry buzz word might convince a whole crowd that you’re the expert.

I think raw is an abstract concept that I haven’t totally defined, but I know it has something to do with someone’s inherent ability to do a task. The task is also pretty abstract, since it could be “create and communicate a vision”, or “change the world”. Or, it could be as simple as “make a great card”. I’ve mentioned that my mom and I do a lot of scrapbooking and card-making, and we both get a lot of compliments on our creativity. But then we look through some blogs or catalogs, learn a new technique, or purchase a new tool, and we feel like we’re not creative at all, we’re just copycats! We wonder what kind of raw creativity someone must possess to come up with such a technique, because there’s no way we could’ve figured it out. My mom and I create beautiful work, but do we really have the “raw” factor? Is what we bring to the table so incredibly unique that no amount of technology or teaching could make someone our equal? I’ll be the first to say say, “DEFINITELY NOT!”

But what about people that use the raw factor to change the world via technology? Was it the human mind that conceived the idea, the human skill that built the tool, or the technology itself? Think about Facebook, a technology that has fundamentally shifted the way humans interact with each other. Sure, Mark Zuckerburg had a great idea, but did he really envision the re-work of social science as a result of his tool? Is he a visionary that will continue to change the world, or a guy who happened on the right idea, at the right time, via the right technology? What about the old-school inventors and thinkers, from Aristotle to Edison, with game-changing ideas and technology? Surely, there’s something innate in their abilities that allowed them to come up with their philosophies and inventions!

You can’t learn the raw factor, and you can’t mimic the raw factor… it just exists for some people. We don’t know what “it” is, that quality that takes someone from “smart” to “visionary”, from “creative” to “creator”, from “talented” to “unequaled”. It takes 10,000 hours to become an expert, but even experts can’t compete with raw talent, brain power, creativity, or vision. I think in a world where technology has leveled the playing field, “raw” is the new limiting factor, and I don’t know that we’ll ever be able to replace or replicate that.

Level Playing Field

On By ashleyfausIn Work and Office, Work-Life Decisions2 Comments
My hobbyist husband owns a high-quality lens and studio lights. My amateur modeling, hair, and make-up knowledge and materials come from reality TV and Wal-Mart!

 

We live in the “Information Age”, where it’s possible to get any information, on any subject, anywhere in the world, in less than one minute. Some of my classmates posited that “Information Age” doesn’t equal “Knowledge Age”. And, while I agree with this to some extent, I have to say, technology has leveled the playing field. Case in point: the picture at the top of the post.

Technology has made everything better, faster, and cheaper, including learning. My husband purchased his professional-grade camera and lenses for a few thousand dollars, and a light kit for less than $1k. For a total of about $3,000, total amateurs can set up a studio almost anywhere. Then there’s my contribution, complete with modeling techniques gleaned from a few episodes of “America’s Next Top Model” (you know you see the difference when you schmize, don’t lie!), make-up techniques from around the web, and super convenient hot rollers (vs. the heated metal rods of yesteryear, I can just smell the hair burning!). We then used an open-source software called GIMP to edit the photos, and we’re now sharing them with the world via the free gallery, SmugMug. You don’t have to be a “professional” to get magazine-quality photos anymore.

And it’s not just pictures or “frivolous” endeavors. Take TurboTax and QuickBooks, software programs that allow most anyone to process a simple tax return. Or email and Skype, functions that allow companies to go global from a single conference room. My husband has fixed our dishwasher and rebuilt a toilet after watching a few instructional YouTube videos. Programs like Band in a Box allow you to create music for multiple instruments, and composition software makes it easy to transpose and update the melodies in your head. Airplanes have made travel cheap, easy, and fast… I can literally fly around the world in a day. That’s INCREDIBLE.

So, with all that technology enables common laypeople to do, what’s the point of a fancy degree or hiring a professional? First, there are certainly areas that require specialized training, like medicine. Would you want a surgeon that learned how to clip a brain aneurysm via YouTube? Other professions that deal with government regulations definitely require some standard, so I think it’s reasonable to require a law degree, accounting degree, or pilot’s license. I do think that many professions outside of creative endeavors still need some objective standard, and the licensing and educational requirements ensure safety and accuracy. But the creative professions? I think it’s becoming a free for all, and technology has definitely leveled the playing field. You don’t have to have access to expensive printing presses and hazardous chemicals to achieve quality pictures. You don’t have to have a private recording studio, a fancy sound man, or a huge label to make and share music. This is not to say that you don’t have to have skills and talent, but the “who you know” or prohibitive equipment costs create less of a barrier to entry. The thing is, though, that with so much free information available, it’s also easier to gain the knowledge and skills! You don’t have to take an apprenticeship or spend years learning a specialized piece of equipment anymore, and you can experiment with things cheaply to learn.

I’ve been blown away recently by how much technology has leveled the playing field, both in the professional and personal spheres. I think that as technology enables learning and use, the market is going to start favoring those with the ellusive-to-quantify “people skills”, “management skills”, “spark/charisma/creativity”, and generally qualities/talents that are much more difficult to learn. If anyone can differentiate themselves via technology, what’s the limiting factor in today’s society?

5 Long Distance Tips for Dating Corporates

On By ashleyfausIn Work-Life Decisions2 Comments

After this week’s posts on the latest social issues and campaigns, I figured it was time for a post on a lighter note! Today’s guest post talks about the intersection between business and personal and offers some tips for long distance relationships for busy professionals.

Mary Edwards is one of the contributors and editors for best dating sites. She is passionate about thought leadership writing, regularly contributes to various career, social media, public relations, branding, and parenting and online dating community. She can be reached at via email.

 

Whether your significant other has relocated to a different city or you have met your match that happens to live a plane ride away, there are ways to keep your love life going. Working a corporate job keeps you busy and you already feel like you don’t have time for yourself, so how do you make time for a long distance relationship? Here are a few tips to get you through the distance:

Talk at Night: Instead of trying to chat on the phone at different times during the day, save phone conversations for the evenings once work is over. If you try to chat during your lunch break, chances are the other person is busy or has their mind their upcoming meeting. Set a time in the evenings to talk, you will find that you have a lot more to talk about instead of breaking it up throughout the day.

Set Dates: Set a date when you will see each other next. This requires a lot of planning on both parts. But take turns visiting. Depending on budget and distance, try seeing each other at least once a month if not more. Once you set a date to visit, focus on that date. It will help you get through that hard time of missing the other person.

Keep Work Out of It: Try to keep work out of your conversations. When one starts to talk about work it tends to turn into a venting session and eventually becomes the topic of your nightly conversation. When you are apart from your partner you want your conversations to be positive. Feel free to share exciting work news but avoid all other work related talks.

Send a Text: Normally texting isn’t the best for relationships but in a long distance relationship, texts are your mini relationship savers. Sending a text or two during their work day will put a smile on their face. Sending a ‘Hey, can’t wait to see you!’ or an inside joke will keep you in their mind during the day. Since you are not able to see them as often as most couples, little things like this really do help you and your relationship partner feel part of his/her daily life.

Video Chat: There are phone programs like Qik or Facetime for video chats. And for your computer, the popular Skype is a great program to use. Not being able to see your partner for a long time is difficult but the next best thing is video chat. Chatting daily or weekly via video will help you feel more connected.

 

Thanks for guest posting, Mary!

Skepticism is Healthy

On By ashleyfausIn Advertising, Selling, Work-Life Decisions1 Comment

I’ve been talking about my thoughts on several social issues and how they relate to marketing, and I wanted to focus on the role of skepticism. As I mentioned in the previous posts, I’m not trying to say that the causes are wrong or unworthy, or that brand awareness is not a valid goal. I am, however, saying that I think blind following without question is unhealthy, hence today’s title, “skepticism is healthy”. In addition to the social controversies of late, my husband asked me about my thoughts on how customer reviews will impact the marketing profession going forward, and I stated that I believe customer reviews are a win-win for companies and consumers. So, what do these conversations have in common?

First, I think we should all train ourselves to question everything before committing to a belief. At first glance, curing cancer and saving children seem like no-brainers to band together and shout support. Thus, the question is not, “Do I support cancer research and helping children,” but rather, “Does this method of support make sense? Is this organization the most effective at providing the solution?” For causes, the marketers are the organizations championing the issue, and the “customer reviews” are the people who Tweet, Like, and otherwise spread the message that supporting this cause, via this method, is the best option.

We don’t automatically take Microsoft’s word or Canon’s word that a product or experience is amazing, because we know they’re biased. They get something (in this case, monetary profit) by convincing us that they offer the best solution, so we turn to customer reviews, friends and family, or some other form of neutral 3rd party advice to determine if the claims made by the biased marketers are, in fact, true.

So, why is this an acceptable practice with for-profit organizations, but people bristle when non-profit organizations face the same scrutiny? Again, for most people, it’s not about whether computers or cameras are good or bad, it’s about whether Microsoft’s computer and Canon’s camera is the best option. No one thinks curing cancer is bad, or helping under-priveleged children is wrong, but are Komen and Invisible Children the best solution-providers available? In the case of non-profits, they DO receive a benefit from your support, albeit an intangible benefit related to satisfying their sense of altruism, spirituality, or general “feel good” mentality about their service to humanity. The reality is that de facto, EVERYONE that asks you for something does so because they will benefit from your choice to provide what they’ve asked for. So, it makes sense to question everything, no matter how reasonable it sounds on the surface.

You check out the customer reviews for an unbiased look at a company’s products, so it stands to reason that you should seek out some sort of “unbiased” information about the social causes that are headlining the news today. It’s not to say that the marketers’ claims aren’t ultimately true, but the grain of salt used with for-profit companies should be taken when considering non-profit marketing claims as well. They may have a great video, ad campaign, or t-shirt, but does the product perform?

When Marketing Masks the Message

On By ashleyfausIn Branding, Selling, Work-Life Decisions3 Comments

Man there’s been a lot of controversy around the interwebs lately, and it’s sparked a few posts for this week! I’ve got views on a lot of the issues, but this blog isn’t about touting my views, it’s about marketing and business and people. So, today’s post will dive into some marketing issues around a lot of the controversial subjects that we face in our society. No matter which side you’re on, I think we can all agree that lately, the marketing has started to mask the message for a lot of organizations. What do I mean by this? I mean that the heart of the issues is so lost in the hype that neither side can make real progress.

Take Susan G. Komen, an organization with the mission to find a cure for breast cancer. I think this organization started out with a strong purpose and vision, and effectively raised money and emotional support for those facing a battle with cancer. But, between the “Save the Tatas” bracelets, the Planned Parenthood funding controversy, and the general “bandwagon” mentality, the charity seems to be more focused on the marketing than the message. They want the cute t-shirts, the trending Twitter hashtags, and the “cool kids” more than they want to find a cure. Honestly, how many people actually donate to breast cancer research by doing something other than purchase the “I heart boobies” bands? When you spend more on branding, advertising, and merchandise than you do on your actual product (in this case, donations/grants for cancer research), the marketing has masked the message. Sure, everyone is more aware, and sure, they’re “donating” to the cause when they buy a $5 plastic wristband… but when it cost a dollar in materials, a dollar in advertising, a dollar in salaries, and a dollar in distribution, people would’ve been much better off to just donate $2 directly to a lab that focuses on cancer research! But, we don’t want to do that, because then no one will know that we heart boobs, no one will know that we’re cool and good because we donated, and no one will want to re-Tweet or Like our Facebook status for being an awesome human being.

Then there’s the KONY2012 video that went viral last week. My first exposure to it was a photo in my news feed from my 8th grade cousin, showing her and three friends with “KONY2012” markered onto their hands with cute exclamation points and bright, multi-colored font. I figured it was some club they were in, not a movement against a warlord. Then I started seeing the critics of KONY2012, and I have to admit, I felt like the marketing had masked the message. It’s like the directors were so worried about winning an award for their video, going viral, or “raising awareness” that they hurt their message to help those in Uganda. Great, you watched and shared a video… but did you actually donate? Did you sign up to go on a mission trip? Did you take any action other than the flying leap onto the bandwagon?

What about charity galas, where everyone is willing to pay $5,000 for a little 8×10 inch picture of some horror around the world, and they’re “generous” because the picture was really only worth $5, and they had chicken instead of steak for their dinner? Or the charity events where everyone gets together to hoop and holler about how the cause is so worthy, but they’ve spent all their money throwing the event to improve “community”. Don’t get me wrong, humans need community and support systems, but when the advertisement focuses so much on the fun, convenience, excitement, whatever of the event, instead of the reason behind the event, we have a problem. The celebration of accomplishment is necessary for morale, awareness, and solidarity, but we can’t lose sight of the reason for the gathering.

In these cases, it’s not that the message is bad, wrong, or otherwise unworthy. It’s that the people with the egos have gotten involved and twisted it into something that’s selfish. It’s about saying, “I had millions of hits on YouTube. My cause is superior to your cause. My fancy charity work is way better than your behind-the-scenes work.” How many people go to Africa to dig wells for clean water? How many people go to Vietnam to volunteer in an orphanage? How many people are willing to donate their time, money or their bodies to medical research? Very few, relative to the amount that will write on their hands or buy the t-shirt. And the few that go or give rarely receive recognition. Because for them, it’s about the message, not about the marketing. It’s not about being in the humanity club, where we’re all supposed to care about each other, so we pretend to care by adding to our fashion collection or our social calendar. There’s a lot that’s wrong in this world, and marketers can help make us aware of ways that we can help find or provide a solution. But don’t get confused… it’s not about the marketing.

Social Media: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

On By ashleyfausIn Social Media, Work-Life Decisions1 Comment

Social media connects our society in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago. You can literally stay connected to friends, family, and perfect strangers around the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It’s incredible that we live in a time when people have so much access to information at such a low cost. But, with great power comes great responsibility, and I’ve been thinking about some of the unfortunate side effects of this connectivity.

Social media has a lot of positive aspects for marketers and society at large. We can use it to improve our bottom line via data mining, “engaging in conversation”, and monitoring and measuring the buzz about our brand in the market place. Facebook marketers are working to use information on your profile to display ads tailored specifically for you. The informal days of Gallup Polls are becoming obsolete, since we can just check out the hashtags on Twitter for a quick read on the pulse of politics. You’ve got several social media platforms influencing human rights around the world. In short, we’re connected, informed, and using the vast network to our advantage, and I believe that’s largely a good thing.

However, what happens when our lives online pose risks to our lives in real life? How bad can it get when our most private selves are “outed” online, and our deepest fears realized after “help” from social media? For example, this woman’s attacker showed up on her doorstep… several times. The author questions whether he found her via a profile on Spokeo, a site that aggregates all your online data into an easily accessible profile (note that she states this information is not available online, but the premise of the site is that it uses information from the internet). What happens when governments punish those who criticize them on social media platforms? At what point do we question whether everyone knowing our every move is healthy? What about cyber bullying (the many cases of teen suicide reported as a result of Facebook posts), streaming illicit content to thousands of people (the case of suicide and reputations ruined after being unknowingly taped during a compromising situation), or tweeting unfounded complaints to a million followers (threatening business to give in to your demands or suffer the consequences of a blow to their brand).

Then there’s the ugly, literally. This Forbes article talks about girls posting videos on YouTube to ask if they are fat, ugly, or pretty. Have we really turned into a society that forces us to seek validation from perfect strangers? Do our youth have such low self-esteem that they must take to social media to connect with their “friends”? Is a high Klout score really all there is to achieve in life? There are real concerns that people becoming so obsessed with connecting online, that they’re forgoing or harming connections in real life.

I think all of the benefits and concerns about social media need to be addressed, and I think it’s fascinating how quickly and completely social media has altered our relationships, both professional and personal. How do we go about making laws, relationships, and business plans with all the complex issues that connectivity brings to light? How do we continue to ensure that our progress is doing more good than harm?

Be Prolific

On By ashleyfausIn Work-Life DecisionsLeave a comment

I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire, and sometimes I wonder if I would be better served by just focusing on one thing, devoting my life to the pursuit of perfection of that one true passion, skill, or idea. Then I remember that I’m me, and if I’m not running in ten different directions at once, I get bored, unproductive, and restless, so a single pursuit would probably drive me mad.

I started thinking about all the great writers, inventors, composers, and innovators, and thinking that they were successful because they had a single pursuit in life. But, I think this is the wrong way to think about them, at least in the sense that “putting notes on a page” or “combining chemicals in a test tube” was their life’s work. Rather, their single pursuit was to explore all that their craft had to offer. You see composers invent new rules to write music, Edisons and Einsteins failing and failing and failing, until one day, they discover the invention of the century, or the equation that shapes modern math. These people weren’t about one small aspect of their skill set, they were about the depths of what their skills could produce.

It’s probably time for me to re-read the Medici Effect, as I’ve been hitting a mental wall lately. The book talks about allowing time to fail, and allowing people in organizations to make mistakes. Basically, just keep producing and learning from your failures until you produce something worthwhile. Everyone thinks there’s some kind of genius or magic to being great, but I think the most influential producers just took so many shots that they were bound to make one of them. I think sometimes I’m so worried about meticulously crafting the most strategic approach to a successful life, that I forget to be prolific. I forget to take time to expand my skills, I don’t allow time to fail for the purpose of learning, and I don’t open my mind to the possibilities and creativity that the world offers. I feel like I’m being prolific by constantly being busy, but production and busyness aren’t the same thing. Sometimes you have to be still in your body and your schedule to let your mind be busy.

So, here’s to being prolific with a purpose. Here’s to intentional stillness and thought, not just busyness to pretend like you’ve accomplished something that day. And, here’s to breaking through the wall!

Brain Explosion

On By ashleyfausIn Work-Life DecisionsLeave a comment

Every time I write a post about being uninspired, something happens that just makes my brain go crazy with ideas. I LOVE when that happens! Last night I attended my negotiation class and then headed to choir rehearsal. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why last night made my brain explode:

Exchanging ideas. The group presentation in last night’s class focused on how ethics influence negotiation, and opened up a wonderfully complex discussion about how ethics differ across cultures, ethics vs. legality, and whether retailers using discounts is actually a deceptive practice. Hearing everyone’s perspective forced me to consider the issues from several angles, formulate arguments on the fly, and reach across all the knowledge in my brain to reconcile different scenarios that were mentioned. I had a great side conversation with one of my team mates about retail marketing strategy, which spawned several blog post ideas for the retail space. It was a Medici Effect kind of class.

Flow. In The Happy Movie, they talk about the concept of flow, which is basically being “in the zone”. It’s when your whole being is focused on a task, and you’re re-charged by completing that task, even if it’s physically or mentally difficult. I had flow from 4:30 pm to 9 pm last night, with the energy of my class leading directly into my energy in choir. We’re rehearsing very technically difficult music for Easter, so I’m having to reach back into my knowledge of theory, sight-reading, and ear training. Singing is a very physical, mental, and often, emotionally taxing hobby, but when the harmonies mesh into a tight dissonance and resolve, it’s the most incredible sense of stress, relief, and accomplishment in just a few short minutes. Flow means that you’re getting satisfaction from just doing the activity for the sake of the activity. There’s no end goal, no purpose for the accomplishment, just pure food for the soul.

Additional action necessary. After a quick chat with my professor after class, I told her I’d send her some articles that related to our discussion. So, this morning, I headed out to the web to dig up the most relevant and interesting articles, which made mind go into a whole second set of connections and discussions. I also emailed our director about a few notes for the music, and it made me start thinking about two absolutely gorgeous pieces. I love when activities or events just push you to go further, instead of feeling satisfied that you’ve gleaned all you can from the experience. Last night’s class and rehearsal forced my brain to keep making connections, keep asking questions, and keep replaying the notes.

So this morning, I’m thoroughly energized and ready to kick some marketing butt! I’m also kind of jittery with anticipation for tonight’s finance exam, which is still a source of stress running in the background. My busy schedule alternates between invigorating and overwhelming, but I’d say last night re-charged me and hyped me up for a productive end to the week (and when that’s combined with the high from boot camp on Friday night? I can’t wait!). Have you had a brain explosion recently?