I thought
about different moments and contexts after reading some posts on creativity and
variables affecting it. It seems (see links below) that those we are surrounded
by affect us....i.e. if they’re creative and productive, we’ll be prone to be
creative and productive as well (I guess it might not really work well with
those with a lazy nature and no interest in creativity...I guess). It happens
for sure too with motivation.
I have many
good memories from the years working as consultant. I felt lucky to be working
in teams with productive and motivated people. The atmosphere in general was
very positive and we were eager to help each other. I couldn’t really (still I can't) understand when friends and relatives told me about bad atmospheres and
relationships at their workplaces....why do some "enjoy" acting in conflictive and lazy ways
and having negative attitudes?
Unfortunately we can’t really choose the places we end up working at nor
the people we’ll share many hours with. But what if we try to be the positive
variable, the positive influence (the motivator, the enthusiast, the creative
one)...no matter if we end up being some kind of outsider or the odd one out? I firmly believe in what the articles I read
say and I believe in positive features and attitudes being contagious. Besides, if I feel I'm doing something right, social acceptance is secondary. It should be something secondary if we're acting towards improvement for all.
Personal
relationships....
Many kinds
of relationships and many people come to my mind. Some people remained
somewhere in the past, some other relationships changed, some others came back.
Nothing is mathematical when it comes to personal relationships and it makes
little sense (or none?) to rationalise them, since emotions lie on their basis. I’ve
always preferred quality over number and those who know me know that I wouldn’t
be a facebook enthusiast nor would boast about how many contacts-friends or
whatever I might have.
Back to the
influence of those among us in our productivity and creativity, I’m really sure
that I’d rather avoid those who might bring me to stagnation, to “plain” and “shallow”
conversations, who are full of prejudices or who just don’t “think forward” and
ask themselves questions. It might sound
like I’m a demanding and picky person but I just know that those sort of
personalities would do no good to me. They are likely to make me feel bad
(emptied, useless, numb, lethargic) and sad (somehow, as the consequence of
those feelings I just mentioned). I need challenges, getting the most of the
short term and learning always new things, and questioning things and that
applies also to my personal relationships. And sometimes I end up feeling ok
after some people fade away in the past or some relationships change just because
it means that some negative effect goes away. Ah...and it’s not related with being a well educated
person....it’s all matter of attitude. I
admired one of my grandfathers, who had always a particular sense of humour,
thought about possibilities and improvement, accepted challenges, and so on. He
just didn’t go to university but was an intelligent and clever person who
managed to grasp reality in a particular way. ..and spread something positive
affecting other people’s attitude, motivation, productivity.
It's good to be positively picky. Yes.
--Being
Around Smart People Makes Us More Innovative | Psychology Today
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/finding-the-next-einstein/201309/being-around-smart-people-makes-us-more-innovative
--Why Your
Friends Shape Your Happiness, Creativity, And Career | Fast Company | Business
+ Innovation
http://www.fastcompany.com/3021184/leadership-now/why-your-friends-shape-your-happiness-creativity-and-career
--Why Our
Creativity Depends On Who Surrounds Us | The Creativity Post
http://www.creativitypost.com/business/why_our_creativity_depends_on_who_surrounds_us
