One of the obstacles for innovation and creation is the voice of fear within.
The voice of fear has many names and serves a purpose worth listening to and asking more about from where the fear is coming from, but for the purpose of innovation and creation often gets in the way. In short, it will often look like a list of reasons why to not begin, or why to not proceed with what inspiration might have come.
I have found one process to be very empowering towards encouraging innovation and creation at least for a spell without allowing fear to be the determining factor. I use these questions and answers in meetings where I want to foster innovation as well as nearly daily in my own life for fear is also always looming nearby to tell me its concerns regarding the creating and innovating I might proceed to do.
First, I ask that we allow for fear and recognize the fears that might come up before we even start the innovation. This may seem backward at first, and yet with these fears identified, we can then form the innovating and creating questions formed around the fears themselves that likely have some sort of merit. The goal of listing the fears without the innovations is to recognize them for what they are and then we will use the proceeding questions accordingly to create and innovate.
More often then not I have heard these fears to be combined into three types:
- Money – needing money to do what might be asked to innovate or create
- Time – needing more time than is available to innovate or create
- Ability – lack of knowledge or current abilities to be able to innovate or create
It is sometimes worth prioritizing these in order of which they are feared just to assist later on with the enabling and innovative practices.
Now with these in mind, I would suggest we can work with whatever fears might come up based on these concepts or any other that might take their perspective places. Always remember, you’re likely doing better than you think you are because it brought about whatever inspirations may come.
Second, we can now take any of those valid fears and revolve our innovations or creations around them.
I always like to start with the perceived hardest fear that is often money. So the first question for the meeting or the day might be:
If money were no obstacle, what would I want to create or innovate today?
I recommend writing these down wherever is appropriate. They could be a notebook or if in a meeting, on a whiteboard. I always love what comes from these ideas and creations.
Now, because our fears are valid, the second part is where we get to some really interesting and perhaps the best part of innovating and creating.
Because money is an obstacle, what can we do today towards our creations or innovations?
This takes a lot of practice and often it might revolve around the fears themselves. To give an example of this, let’s use an example of a friend I recently went through this with. They suggested money as the determining highest priority fear. Then as if money were no object they wanted to start a company towards innovating upon easier ways to deliver healthy foods as quickly and easily as other foods appear to be and might just be. I love this idea of course, as well as other innovative and creative solutions that might come.
Now because money is an obstacle (for now?) what can be done today towards that creation and innovation. In this case, we identified a number of options including one that for now became the very fun next steps. We can work with the materials we have on hand in our own kitchens towards creating prototypes that interest us.
So with this new empowerment in hand, the innovation and creation can begin and have in the illustrated case. Fun right?
You can and I have followed this same process with the rest of the fears and obstacles and in the end, arrive at options for this day towards creating truly novel and incredible innovations that you are exactly the right person to bring into this world.
As for turning these ideas, creations, and innovations into companies. There is a lot of advice out there, and you will find yourself very empowered to present and offer what you have uniquely created and innovated from that perspective. If I can offer any help or support for your creating and innovating, reach out and ask!
