A520.3.3.RB_SiegmundWayne

Constraints on Creative Problem Solving

     Creative problem solving is another way of saying to think outside the box. Some personalities are comfortable in doing this, while others are a little more conservative within their approach. Either way, we all can create a way to solve a problem, and we do so with an aim at comfort and convenience while trying to save time. What we do not normally see are the constraints we often  place on ourselves.

     In my work environment, there are typically A-type personalities that make up most of those working in my work-space, while a small handful we would refer to as 10lb brains. You can always tell them apart by the way they dress and behave. There are literally two cliques in our office space. Among the A-types, each stay among their peers as an act to preserve their appearance of belonging, whereas the 10lb brains can care less. In the military, they say perception is everything - primarily, your reputation. In preserving such a hard earned reputation, we tend to behave in accordance with what is expected and, or accepted. This constraint keeps me from 'free thinking' often as well as 'free behaving', if you will.

     Another constraint that may be even less obvious is that of assumption(s). In just about every circumstance where decisions are made, which is practically every moment, assumptions are made. Now some of these assumptions are what we would call 'safe' assumptions, while others claim to make an 'ass out of u and me'. So right off the bat, conforming and assumptions both are self-placed constraints. Fear would be a great constraint that we all fall victim to, to include myself. Fear can inhibit our ability to think. Finally, I would offer a lack of confidence would contribute to a self-placed constraint. Outside of assumptions, which can be derived from habits, previous knowledge, as well as a lack of understanding and awareness, I would say the other three constraints are all in one form, or another, a derivative of fear about something.

     During a video teleconference, it was suggested that those of us in the meeting provide some creative ideas on how to test somebody for a job we wanted them to perform without actually performing it just yet. While I was contemplating, my thoughts shifted to what someone else was saying, assuming that their idea would surely be better than mine. Now typically, I would naturally remain silent in order to hear and witness those around me, gathering information for myself before injecting myself into a discussion. However, in this case, I allowed myself to be constrained by a lack of self-confidence, fear that my idea may be less than desired, and the assumption that the others were judging me as so. I have come to realize that a fear of judgement is often a primary concern of many under similar circumstances.

     During that video teleconference, I could have planned ahead with potential way-aheads with respect to possible tests that could be performed. Doing so would have allowed me the confidence to share a well thought out idea, and possibly combine it with someone else's idea for a more robust test. If I plan to allocate time needed to be prepared for this kind of meeting, I can set myself up for success, allowing my thoughts and ideas to become more productive based on some recently thought of concepts I would like to share.

A520.2.3.RB_SiegmundWayne

10 Minutes a Day

     In times of stress, confusion, uncertainty and doubt, a time-out would do some of the most well-adjusted people some real good. This time-out provides immediate benefits for the here and now; a focused sense of calming oneself, and a lowering of heart and respiratory rate. When we deliberately take time to rest our minds from thinking, we open it to new opportunities through a renewed sense of self-awareness.

     When I was 14 years old, I decided to take martial arts to develop a stronger sense of discipline, as well as a more confident disposition to defend myself during high school. During training, we were required to take 5 minutes at the end of each class to sit quietly in the middle of the dojo to quiet our minds. Back then, I would focus on my breathing, go through a few form techniques in slow motion as a class review, and conduct some mental imagery of whatever came to mind that I felt was relaxing. I always left that dojo after every class feeling renewed, and refocused.

     In the past few days, I have realized that I am always thinking about something! I mean, I never realized how mentally active of a person I was. I never truly rest. Even when vacationing, and sunbathing on the beach, I am thinking about something; many things. After taking this time to rest the mind, at first, I found it quite difficult to not think. I literally had to focus on not thinking about anything, and just relax into being. By day two, I noticed my attention would get drawn to any little noise I was able to pick up. So in attempt to side step this issue, I used ear plugs. Now, I had to deal with the sound of silence, and ten minutes is a very long time. At the end, I mostly felt relaxed, but tired. On the third day, I wore the ear plugs again. This time, I decided to keep a rhythmic relaxed breathing pattern going while focusing on the interconnectedness of my physical, mental and spiritual aspects. That is to say, I was simply being aware that they were all interconnected for the whole 10 minutes. I found that when I 'came to', I was hyper-aware of my environment, had a certain clarity of thought, and was very deliberate when engaging in conversation with my spouse, as well as my children. 

     After further research on the matter, I found that Siegel (2009) proposed there were nine functions that were products of mental processes during what he called mindful awareness; body regulation, attuned communication, emotional balance, fear extinction or fear modulation, response flexibility, insight, empathy, morality and intuition. It was obvious I was able to experience a number of these functions after my third session.

     Experiencing this type of self modulation, I find great value in 'stealing' 10 minutes a day to reset myself, or even gain a 'leg up' under certain circumstances, such as just prior to a meeting, or an interview. The truth is, I find so much personal power that can be had through this practice, I would naturally want to share this with others, and will. I am just curious what my perception of these 10 minute opportunities will look like to me over time. How will I feel about it, and what will I gain? Practicing this mindfulness, directly places you in the awareness of now. If your time is spent focusing on the now, then anything that may have been considered stressful is no longer in your awareness, and therefore, in a way, no longer exists. The same goes for anything that you may deem stressful in the future. The moment of now can also provide you the opportunity to let go of any fears you may have previously been plagued with. Davis and Hayes (2011) state that more research is needed to better understand how the benefits of meditation practice accumulate over time.

 

References:

Davis, D. M., & Hayes, J. A. (2011). What are the benefits of mindfulness? A practice review of             psychotherapy-related research. Psychotherapy (APA), 48(2), 198-208. DOI:10.1037/a0022062

Siegel, D. J. (2009). Mindfulness awareness, mindsight and neural integration. The humanistic             psychologist, 37(2), 137-158. Http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08873260902892220

 

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Self-Awareness II

     Prior to the MSLD Program, I was typically involved with 'on the surface' self-awareness that involved how I felt, emotionally and physically, my reactions to those around me (family and co-workers), how others are perceiving me based on how I look, how I carry myself, the tone in my voice, voice fluctuations, facial expressions, behavioral reactions, and general attitude. I also tend to judge myself quite harshly, now that I think of it. I feel I do so in order to keep up a level of attitude that I feel serves me at times.
     Case and point: I have not Military Free Falled in many years, and not doing so changed my attitude and desire surrounding it. However, as a military requirement, it must be undertaken for purposes of currency. When realizing I needed to start jumping again, I felt a fear about it; a feeling that once was one of exhilaration, but now upset me. How could I have let this happen? It doesn't serve me. Identifying this non-supportive attitude, I decided to remember all the things about jumping that was fun and easy. This, for the most part, helped relax me. This Emotional Intelligence (Whetten, 2016) provided me with a sense of renewed self-confidence that I had once lost. In fact, even as I write this, it is helping me reassure the sense of confidence that I will benefit from the next time I jump. I've learned if I can mentally stay involved with things I have less time to get physically involved in, my attitude would be much better when getting reacquainted with it.
     Nowadays, I try to incorporate a sense of self-realization; meaning, I question my judgements, so that I can evaluate how I came to that conclusion. If I recognize an old pattern, I apply the Elements of Reasoning, and to a lesser degree, the Standards of Critical Thinking (Nosich, 2012). In this process, I reassess my values and determine what they ought to be now based on a new self-realization about how I think and feel about having owned those values.
     Similarly, my marriage has been the perfect playground to test new ideas, and theories that require change. However, my attitude towards this change (Whetten, 2016, p. 61) was reluctance. It's that whole, "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus" (Gray, 1992) understanding. The problem was I did not speak Venetian, and therefore, my logical Martian perspective would have to prevail as a truth for any one particular discussion. Thankfully, instead of learning Venetian, at this time, I opted to not argue my Martian perspective, but simply state it, and let it lie. In turn, my beautiful Venetian does not feel threatened, and can express her feelings without any rebuttal. I felt this was a strong adaptation in an area I felt I should take some responsibility. It works, because I had learned that it takes my spouse some time to process all the information that gets presented within a discussion.
     I suppose my Learning Style and Core Self-Evaluation are tied relatively close together in the sense that my understanding and that awareness of having high self-esteem, strong emotional stability with an internal locus of control lends proportionately to how I approach, identify, process, test and evaluate through cognitive learning, of which I would attribute 40% knowing, 50% planning and 10% creating to my learning style (Whetten, 2016, p. 59). These percentages are merely a general figure that captures a self-assessment with respect to work, friends and family. With that said, I am trying to be more open to creativity.
     Reflecting back, it excites me to know there are changes occurring with respect to what have been learning since beginning the MSLD Program. I look forward to seeing what other aspects of learning I will apply to the different aspects of my life.

References:

Gray, J. (1992). Men are from mars, women are from venus: The definitive guide to relationships.           Hammersmith, London: Element.

Nosich, G. M. (2012). Learning to think things through: A guide to critical thinking across the                 curriculum. Boston, MA.: Pearson.

Whetton, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills. (9th Ed.). Boston, MA.:         Pearson.