Abe Lincoln Chopping Wood + Picture chain

Abe Lincoln Chopping Wood
It was amazing how some people could see the hidden object while others could not.
Most of us "cheated" by doing it together and we managed to find almost all the items listed.
My group consisted of Ram and Muar, and we found everything except the axe and fork. Not bad for a first time!

Picture Chain
Our team of 6 finished 3rd!! We did it quickly by adding adjectives to the item in the picture or by calling it by differently. However, we were rather rigid in our definition of a chain and hence we only made one that is laterally connected.

So what lessons can I take back from these activities?
A creative person
1. has the ability to view different perspectives
2. is able to convince people to follow him
3. has no issues with asking for help
4. has a rough idea of what they want and yet still fluid in their approach and open to adapting
5. is rather comfortable with contradictions

Self-Awareness, Creativity and Me

I used to be creative, and it was a long time ago; when I was young and not-risk adverse.

However, after so many years of education, I've grown to follow the 'to-do list' and hence have neglected my creative side. My creative gene have been neglected to the extend that now, I need a 'to-do list' even to function per normal. I am afraid to follow my intuition and rely on advices based on someones' past experiences.

But I am not alone.

I guess, we Singaporeans are simply too afraid to lose and have grown to become a nation full of Kiasus. It could be because we as a society have advanced too fast and we still carry with us our 3rd world mentality of risk; making us a 1st world nation with a 3rd world mindset.

Our parents made us practice past year papers and answer the questions as close as to the sample answer. Our teachers in school, taught us specific methods in solving mathematical questions (eg. model drawing for ratio and fraction) and would reprimand us if we deviate from the proposed standard of answering. And even at university level, we are told how to dress, walk, talk, for the corporate world (Finishing Touch-module), hence restricting creativity.

We pursue the course that we think will be economically viable and by doing so, we have set aside the human need for creativity; embracing the homogeneous factory-sation of ourselves.

I view creativity as something that only those with the time and money can indulge in. I cannot afford to paint a painting (even though I would like to do so), the time could be spent on studying for a module, or giving tuition to earn some extra cash.

I would love to draw and paint but I am just afraid that in doing so, I might slow down and be overtaken by the masses.

However, I also do acknowledge that deep down inside me, there lingers a monster that craves to savour and produce creative peieces, be it painting, photography, webdesigning, recording of embient noise, recording/producing a documentary say on the stray cats of Tampines. But, I may end up fighting this monster for the rest of my alive, afraid that the monster might eat me alive.

Tipping point & The difficult red block

Tipping point

I am really fascinated by the unveiling of the term "Tipping point".
I think my tipping point came when I was on my death bed after being diagnosed with Chronic Myloid Leukaemia. It was a time when my body was failing but my mind grew stronger. But my "strength" only came about when I decided to reflect on my life and what I have done right and wrong. I told myself that, the pain is inevitable so I got to stop feeling scared as its not going to help me in anyway and that worked! I was able to withstand the mental trauma of being wheeled into the surgery room for my bone marrow aspiration and I could hold myself together through for the painful chemotherapy sessions.

So, now I know the proper noun for that life changing moment, its perfectly coined as 'Tipping Point'. And also realise how important is it to be self-aware, or in CT terms, to have high intra-personal intelligence.

Difficult Block

I have never 'played' with a block puzzle before and today's encounter with it has made me hungry for more of such puzzles. It was not only a fun experience but an enriching one as well.
I discovered that, to solve a complex problem, its easier to first figure where the Difficult Block fits in your desired picture and work from there. It easy when you follow this method.

Cheers!