“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” – GEORGE S. PATTON
Have you surprised yourself with your own ingenuity lately? If the answer is “yes”, then maybe someone gave you a task, but did not tell you how to get it done. Maybe you created the task for yourself, without a clue as to how you were going to accomplish it, but succeed you did…and WOW that feels good.
So what keeps us from hopping on the ingenuity wagon and giving something a “go”? As a community college professor I have the pleasure of teaching “returning students” (some would say that is a nice way of saying students who didn’t get it right the first time, so they are back for another pass through). Gee-wiz, do these people floor me with their ingenuity. Most of my students are women because the courses I teach are pre-requisites to get into health programs, like nursing….and well, while much has changed in the workplace, it is still true that mostly women choose these hands-on, caring fields of work.
A recent group of students showed me their study “art”, cartoons they had created to help them learn the course material. This was following a class in which I had just returned their last test grade to them, and clearly their inventiveness had paid off; their scores had all improved from test #1. You see “necessity being the mother of invention”, these ladies chose to work together and come up with creative ways to learn the material for the upcoming exam. The impetus behind the creativity was the motivation to get a better grade than the dismal one they received on the last exam. There was no moaning and groaning, but instead, nervous excitement about the chance to do better….and possibly reach their more distant goal of earning a coveted spot in a health program. I am so proud of their courage, and even more elated that they seemed to enjoy learning even more, as they were forced to use ingenuity to get the job done.
So think on this, have you overcome the thoughts of “how in the world will I get this done today…this week…this year?” and instead, found originality and perspective to be the tools you need to surprise yourself and get the job done? And well, I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just want to show those around me that I “can” do it, and have a lot of fun innovatively going for it!
It is time to use that wealth of ingenuity, waiting to be shared. And if your first…second…or third idea doesn’t work, just look at the nearest light bulb and remember Thomas Edison who said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 1,000 ways that won’t work.”
Posted by:Julie Hendriksen
