This morning I had the good fortune to interview the Deputy Director of Arts Corps for an impact profile I'm writing for my job at NPower and I woke up to the importance of fostering habits of mind. Habits that are creative and generative instead of all about outfoxing my inbox or living through the next meeting. Thank God for wake up calls like that!
At Arts Corps creative habits of mind include imagining possibilities, thinking critically, exercising persistence and discipline, courage and risk-taking, and reflection. In one class, students don special travel goggles that turn them into "imaginauts" and they close their eyes to visualize going through a door where they allow their imagination to run free. They absorb the colors, sights and sounds of their new surroundings and then they open their eyes and return to the classroom to sketch the details of their imagined worlds. That's it -- I'm taking goggles to the next management team meeting!
What habits of mind does your work routine foster and reinforce? Are they generative and creative? What small change can you make today to wake yourself up to new possibilities and habits?
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