Problem Solving – what fun it is! I had a great time in Atlanta, solving problems, investigating callenges and working with a variety of adults, children and teens…what could be more interesting and exciting!
This year CPSI, the Creative Problem Solving Institute, provided a wonderful background for seeing family and friends, making connections and having fun. I had the new responsibility of mentoring and guiding some very interesting and motivated teens in facilitating real world problems - what I thought would be work turned into joy as I saw how interested and present they were.
I worked with my buddies Suzanne Chamberlain and Gloria Rapport, presenting a day long “Jump into CPS” (Creative Problem Solving) with an exciting group of educators from Holland. We had a terrific, hard, long, interesting, fun filled day.
I slept with two cute girls from the Youth Wise Program, my granddaughters Isabel 9 and Talia 7. I got to know some of their friends and see the exciting things they were doing, including making the most fantastic posters to raffle off at the auction, and delicious cheese cake. Through their dad David, I was able to meet and enjoy other parents and friends.
I presented my workshop, developed to show creative coping skills presented in my memoir, Square One at 51. That was a highlight for me! I have presented this workshop for many years, to diverse audiences from grieving widows to young adults striving to move forward. The sharing, openness, humor and warmth from these participants was captivating.
And, oh yes! I am back at my BLOG because I told my class I wanted to write again – and they all supported the effort with their emails and best wishes. Thanks guys – here is the first installment!
CPSI is a magical place, where the opportunity for growth and development is expanded beyond expected possibilities. Hope to see you next June back in Atlanta!
Hi … wanted to fill you in on what is happening at Hedria Consulting …
I have become a snow bird! I remember when I was younger my grandparents and their older friends went to Florida for the winter. Well, I must have gotten older when I wasn’t looking. We are now the proud and excited owners of a condo in Sarasota.
Professionally I have been busy mentoring and coaching colleagues, friends and clients. Recently I presented How to Be Creative Without Breaking a Sweat for a local library and a Rotary group. I facilitated an opening organizational meeting and have presented my seminar on navigating change, based on my book Square One at 51 at You Rock Academy. It has been fun and interesting to help organize the meetings, interact with the participants and help the organizations move forward. In Sarasota I will be working again with the Women’s Resource Center, interacting with their clients. Let me know if your organization could use my services.
BLOGGING is my next adventure – so please join me in conversations, and let me know what you are interested in learning and hearing about.
Hello!
I hope your winter went well and you are as excited about spring and summer around the corner as I am. I have been away and wanted to share some thoughts with you that I had as I drove down to and back from Florida.
I took my first trip to Washington DC when I was 11 years old. My grandfather had died, and my mom packed me up with my school work to join her in driving to Florida to stay with grandma for the cold winter months… two things remain vivid in my mind from that time in 1950:
1. I was shocked and dismayed when we arrived at the capitol of our wonderful country and I witnessed segregation -- at the drinking fountains in Washington, DC! Colored fountain and White fountain!
2. I had the impression that the “snow birds” in Florida were very old people!
Move forward to 2009:
1. We have an African American residing in the white house as President of this wonderful country
2. I must now be very old, because I am a “snow bird”. How did that happen?
This snow bird had a great time in Sarasota, Florida. Besides the sun, friends, golf, beaches and family, I had a wonderful time doing my seminars. Kitty Heusner, my buddy from the Creative Education Foundation Board connected me with an exceptional organization, The Women’s Resource Center. I presented three seminars for widows, based on my book Square One at 51. I had never worked with this special audience before and found it heartwarming and poignant ... thanks for the opportunity. I also presented Navigating Change at the Florida Creativity weekend, established by Kitty and her cohorts, what a great time we all had. They have a wonderful association with the Girl Scouts there and many were at the weekend workshops.
The interesting thing for me is these activities helped me define my most current goal. I realized as I go forth I still want to be involved in the field of Creativity doing teaching, facilitating, presenting seminars, learning and sharing. Those who have attended my sessions, or read my book, know how important I feel about defining goals at every stage of ones growth to help know where you are and where to expend your energy.
This week I had the privilege of being a panel participant at Buffalo State College’s International School for Creativity and Innovation as part of the Alumni Creativity and Change Leadership Series Spring 2009. It was interesting and exciting to be able to share my story and make suggestions for their opportunities for continuing their involvement with creativity.
Please join us in Buffalo this May, as we celebrate Sid Parnes accomplishments. www.Sidparnestribute.com It is Sid and his colleagues Alex Osborn and Ruth Noller who had the foresight and drive to organize the Creative Studies Program where specialists in the field of creativity are trained and The Creative Education Foundation which presents the annual Creative Problem Solving Institute, CPSI. CPSI will be in Boston this June. www.cpsiconference.com
I am presenting at a wonderful new facility in Rochester May 6th … You Rock Academy. I will facilitate the seminar: Square One at 51. Please go to the site, learn more about this great place, sign in and join us if you can … it will an interesting, informative and creative experience for the participants. www.yourockacademy.com
If you are a NAWBO member, please join us May 7th for an interesting session on Creativity and How to be more creative in our personal and professional lives. www.nawborochester.org
On May 14th I will be working with several "grief" groups in Buffalo. www.mountcalvarycemetery.com
Wishing you a wonderful spring.
May you enjoy good health, joy and creativity in your lives.
Creatively yours, Hedria
In life, love, politics and creativity we talk about change.
This month, the day after the election in the USA or America as the Europeans say, I had the opportunity to “go abroad” to the UK: Scotland, Wales, and England. What an interesting and exciting experience to view my country through the eyes of others.
The UK papers were full of the election and the changes they were expecting from our government. They expressed great hope for the new president elect Barack Obama, and for the USA, as did our friends and the people we met in the hotels. A Welsh woman made a point of coming over to our breakfast table and saying “We are so excited …how America goes we go.”
In addition to awareness of the results of the long fought and intense political scene from the United States, and the concerns over the falling market, it was a poignant time. It was the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War II. WWII ended the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month when the armistice went into effect. I was not aware that a truce had been agreed upon hours before, but the fighting and killing continued until the ceasefire was called on that11th hour of that infamous day. The Armistice Day ceremonies included the remembrance of WWI and three veterans, each over a 100 years old, from Scotland, Wales and England who served in that war, was there in person to take part in the memorial day remembrance service!
Observing the people in the streets of the UK, seeing them queue up for the bus, walking and shopping for daily supplies brought to mind the stories I have read and the history of these strong dedicated people and a remembrance of my uncles who joined the USA army and air force to put an end to the war of all wars. They looked hearty and purposeful and proud, and it was my delight to be among them. Thinking of the significance of the 11’s, reminded me of our infamous 11th: September 11 when the USA was faced with our own vulnerability.
There have been so many changes in four decades I have been fortunate to travel abroad: the advertisements, the Cell phones, internet, BBC’s 24/7 news, closing global markets, MacDonald’s and other imports bringing us closer together serving as a leveling agent for the man and woman in the street, reminding us of the similarities we all share. We share much in history, wars, treaties, politics and financial strengths and recessions. Witnessing news reports of the world leaders gathering in Washington D.C. for a Summit meeting while I was in England made a startling reality to the books and articles we read and continue to read about the Holocaust, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan,
Change yes, there are many changes, and still more to come, Let us learn from our shared pasts, learning from our mistakes and face the new challenges and changes with new hope for a better world. May our new leaders seek the right advice, make the right choices, look for creative solutions and find the changes necessary for America to continue to be a strong beacon of hope for ourselves and the world that looks to us.
This is Hedria writing to you from her plane returning home to the USA.
It's my pleasure to announce that I will be at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Niagara Falls on September 17th for a workshop and book signing. I'd love to see you there.
Do you believe in coincidence? When the same thing happens three times in 24 hours, I tend to pay attention. One day, I had lunch with a gentlemen I hadn't seen in years. He commented that his mother had always believed that being alert to your surroundings depended on slowing down enough to see them.
Later, when I arrived home the cover of my favorite business magazine had the headline "Work Less...You Might Do More." In the article, one sentence leaped out: "There is no correlation at all between success and hours worked."
That evening I turned on a television show and heard someone commenting on how busy our lives are and how important balance is.
The convergence of these messages confirmed what I've known for years. "Do less, accomplish more." It means taking the time to do nothing.
For many years, I had confused this "doing nothing" with taking the time to plan, think, and do. Yoga fans, however, understand the concept of letting the mind go free. When you're able to do this, to be a quiet listener, many things become clear. Truly slowing down is simply the act of sitting back, relaxing, and letting go.
I have always been motivated, consistently busy, and a workaholic. As I moved through many changes in the last dozen years, I plunged ahead, making my agendas, "to do" lists, writing project descriptions and developing detailed plans of action. I surged ahead, dotting all the "i's" and crossing all the "t's" in my personal and professional lives. I am sure you've done the same.
In our busy lives we can choose to rush ahead filling out our invitation lists, buying supplies and doing our shopping at a full speed ahead pace, or we can choose to STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN to ourselves and decide how we want to handle all activity, before it takes over. It might be beneficial to take an evening, or set aside some special time to think about what and who is important. Don't make a list yet, think about your goals for the year.
Achieving balance, letting go, and taking time to breathe freely are important. It is time to pay attention to lessons learned about balance. Developing a vision where you want to go and what you want to be is important, so is taking the time to slow down, to define what you're all about and how you'll reach your destinations. Taking time to do less will be the first step in moving forward with less effort.
Here are some suggestions for doing less to accomplish more:
Doing less to accomplish more is simply taking time to think, contemplate, and allow one's senses to soak in the environment. Then we can set paths that help us accomplish more not only in the moment but also in the future.
I have taught creativity classes and explained non-judgmental behavior to thousands of people over the past decade. How we judge things--the daily events in our lives, the movies we attend, conversations with friends and relatives--effect everything we do.
A few years ago, I was presenting at a creativity center in Istanbul, Turkey. About 12 presenters gathered on the first night to discuss where to go for dinner. One of my colleagues suggested Chinese food. As soon as he said it, I replied, "You've got to be kidding. Who wants to go for Chinese in Istanbul?"
"I do," he laughed. "I thought you taught non-judgmental behavior!"
I hadn't realized how quickly I dismissed his idea. But, did I learn a lesson? Nope. Later that week, he mentioned buying something as a present for his wife that he could have easily purchased at home. Once again, I added my unwanted comments. "Why bring her back that when this fabulous city has so many exotic items?"
He looked at me, shook his head and said, "There she goes again."
That trip and those encounters, have replayed in my mind many times. While I teach people how to be non-judgmental, I have a comfort zone from which I judge. We all do.
Our past forms our perspective. So do our expectations. These things make up our comfort zone. If we only judge things from our comfort zone, we're missing the opportunity to grow, to learn, to see things from exciting new perspectives that will open our lives to more creative ways to doing things.
Our comfort zone is important to consider when experiencing new events. Is this fitting into what we know or is there too big a stretch. Some people love change--they rearrange their furniture periodically, try new restaurants, or are the first to get the new styles. Others like things stable and unchanging, everything very familiar, not "rocking the boat." Change presents different obstacles to different people.
Consider trying some of these "comfort zone smashers" to open up new possibilities in your professional and personal life: