You know you are being innovative when you feel uncomfortable. It should make you squirm in your seat or want to run out the door. If you are in your comfort zone you are not being innovative. Sounds harsh, but it’s true. Part of what makes it uncomfortable is that it often breaks down our assumptions of what is possible and what is true.
Don’t you think people thought Blake Mycoskie of Tom’s Shoes was out of his mind when he told them he wanted to give a pair of shoes away for every pair of shoes sold? How about the founders of Twitter? 140 characters sent out into the universe to people you don’t know? Both probably sounded meshuganah in the beginning. I have no doubt they sent a lot of people running for the door. But what these great entrepreneurs did was get uncomfortable with themselves. When you are uncomfortable you are stretching the boundaries and paving new paths.
It’s hard to get uncomfortable. In many of my innovation training programs we start by getting warmed up and ready to stretch our minds and ignite our imaginations. In order to do that we have to get comfortable getting uncomfortable. These exercises make you feel awkward and help you realize that the place outside your comfort zones isn’t so bad once you get there.
If you are trying to stretch to new places start by squirming in your seat. Here are a few of my favorite training exercises for getting uncomfortable and igniting the imagination.
1. Draw a stranger: Sitting at a café or conference? Give yourself 3 minutes to draw a stranger. Once your 3 minutes are up, show them your drawing. Often when I do this in training programs I hear comments like, “sorry, I’m no artist,” or “you are much prettier than that.” It goes to show you that putting your creativity out into the world can be scary. It feels like a personal reflection on ourselves. But, here is the cool part, the person you are showing the drawing to typically loves it. Remember, it’s not about the product, it’s about the process. This uncomfortable exercises gets you over the hurdle of putting your creativity out into the world.
2. Talking Circle: Get a group of 6 to 8 people together. Stand in a circle. Take one minute turns in the center of the circle. When it’s your turn in the circle you have to move and talk about whatever comes to mind. No reciting a poem or thinking ahead of time of what to say. When you are on the outside of the circle your role is to listen and that’s it. The great part about this exercise is that people tend to find it very freeing to just talk. No rules, no judgment. In the last training program I did at the DaVinci Institute, one successful entrepreneur told me it felt really satisfying to talk knowing that no one was judging his every word. It feels awkward to be in the circle but it shows you how to get OK with free flowing ideas.
3. Talk To A Stranger at Grocery Store: Nothing is more uncomfortable than engaging with strangers. The next time you are at the grocery store ask the person in front of you about the products in their shopping cart. Ask questions like, “are those good?” or “do you prefer those to xxxxx (fill in competitive brand here).” Sometimes people get annoyed and sometimes they don’t. Either way, it gets you some experience with rejection and success, both uncomfortable feelings.
Share your favorite ways to get uncomfortable in the comments section below!
Ready to get uncomfortable? Join us tomorrow, May 10th for IdeaJam Denver. You bring the burning question and we’ll smash it with proven brainstorming techniques and entrepreneurial minds. For more info click here: http://imaginibbles.com/events-media/public-events/
Companies like General Mills, WhiteWave Food, Procter and Gamble and Elsevier hire Imaginibbles because they are looking to unleash a culture of innovation during drought and downpour. To learn more about my programs, go to http://imaginibbles.com/events-media/
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