Building Creativity Through Challenge and Self-Reflection

You can love Leftovers into something New. I love looking at fridge leftovers and thinking of what to make. I get joy from - considering each random bits’ potential, - imagining combinations - turning what seems like nothing much separately into something better collectively - serving it up for people to taste. Creativity is the art of seeing x making something out of what looks like nothing. We all need to create - especially in scarcity & stuckness You can feel like a leftover of life. Or that you’ve been given a bunch of leftovers by life. DESIRE You cannot be creative if you don’t start with Love for wherever you’re at. The mistake every creative makes at the beginning of their creative journey is to imagine they need something more, better, different before they can create well. When they cross that wall, they learn a creative truth: you can start creating with what we you have, wherever you are. In scarcity, within boundaries, you can often do your most creative work. But you have to desire to love where you are, love the process, love the challenge, love your self - not wait to be given more, achieve something big before you experience love. DARING It takes daring to put together what you’ve never done before, without anyone’s recipe to follow. Creating is making x mapping as you follow your own tastes, instincts, memories, experiences and goals. You may not dare to trust where you‘ll take you. You may feel ‘I only dare if it’s done before, if someone did it before…’ Nothing wrong with that. But it’s not your creativity you’re experiencing - it’s theirs. You can learn by mimicry at first but sooner or later, you must dare to follow your own unique threads of creativity. Only by daring to trust those threads of creativity can you integrate them into what makes you You. Seeing your uniqueness gives you desire to express it. You’ll dare to create despite anxieties & imperfections. DISCIPLINE The discipline is to regularly create as a daily, weekly or monthly practice - even in the minor things. Creativity is not a ‘designer/artist thing’. It’s a thing for every person created to see and expand the potential of all things to be new, different & better. At some point, we will face a creative challenge to take a redemptive, restorative, resurrecting approach to all we’ve been given - the good, bad & ugly. It’s discipline as it’s easier to not love, not dare, not discipline ourselves to make something from nothing. This weekend, Make something Good out of your leftovers. The bits and pieces lying around your life. Could be as small as the stuff in your fridge. Or scarier like the bottom of your bank account. Mix shreds of neglected friendships x scoops of time saved from leaving work behind. Start wherever you are, with whatever you have, with whoever shows up to taste what you dare to serve in love. You already are enough, have enough, know enough. Create - and Love your Leftovers.

I posted every day on Linkedin for 365 days. And I’m actually surprised by what I learned. A year ago today, I challenged myself: Post daily for a year with three goals in mind:  ▪ Share what’s on my mind—and offer something useful to others.  ▪ Let people get to know me as I grow my business.  ▪ Sharpen my writing skills. I second-guessed myself. I overthought every sentence. I worried what other people thought. Spoiler alert: Those feelings don’t go away. You just get better at handling them. There were a lot of pivots along the way. Finding my voice online felt like joining a new company—I knew my stuff, but I didn’t know the norms, the tone, and the audience. Eventually, like any new job, you start to find your rhythm. You test your style. You meet your people. And slowly, you find the way back to yourself. A year of posting led to a year of learning. Here are 5 of my favorite learnings from this past year: 1️⃣ Clarity comes from writing, not thinking No matter how clear an idea felt in my head, writing revealed the gaps—in my thinking, in my assumptions, and in my perspective. Writing daily helped me crystallize vague ideas into useful insights. My pen, not my mind, became the tool for clarity. 2️⃣ I became my own teacher Every post forced me to reflect, simplify, and explain something I’ve struggled with. I wrote the kind of advice I needed—and in doing so, it helped reinforce that advice for myself. 3️⃣ Creativity needs space I thought I wasn’t creative. Turns out, I didn’t have the space to create. My daily schedule was always packed, and my environment wasn’t conducive to creativity. Writing daily gave me breathing room—and creativity started showing up again. 4️⃣ Distractions are expensive Saying yes to every request pulled me off course, 1 degree at a time. That 'yes' may not have cost me money, but it cost you time—time to get back on course. Saying 'no' became a way to stay aligned toward my goal. 5️⃣Treat change like a tiny experiment Each time I made a big change, I clung to them for too long because I thought it had to work. When I started treating each change as a tiny experiment, I learned faster, adapted quicker, and stayed closer to the path I wanted. A year's worth of learning is exciting. But two years is enticing. I’m not sure where this next year will take me, but I’m in it for the ride. And the best part about it? The ride just started. I’ll keep sharing stories and insights about my experiences. Take what resonates. Test it out in your own life. If you give it an earnest effort, I’ll bet you’ll find a bit of clarity of your own. Here's to another year's worth of writing, learning, and creating. 🔌 Follow Rafael Villaruz to get daily insights and tips to make your work-life better. 

The New York Times offered an incredible five-day Creativity Challenge that perfectly illustrates ideas I teach about constraints, curiosity & deliberate practice: Day 1: Ten-Circle Doodles → Classic divergent-thinking warm-up. Flood the page with possibilities before judgment kicks in; fluency precedes originality. Day 2: Rule-Bound Poetry → My research shows that sometimes tight choice constraints (think Dr. Seuss’s 50-word limit) help steer us, avoiding decision paralysis when encountering too many options. Day 3: Intentional Daydreaming → Incubation matters. A mundane walk or dish-washing break lets subconscious networks recombine ideas in surprising ways. Day 4: The “10 Percent More” Rule → In class I push students to find 100 uses for a toothpick, then insist on 10 percent more after they think they’re done. That extra stretch reliably unveils the most inventive answers. Day 5: One New Thing → Even a tiny detour (new route to work, unfamiliar dish) expands our mental “parts bin,” enriching future idea combinations. Takeaway: Creativity isn’t lightning from the gods; it’s a muscle—strengthened by structured constraints, strategic pauses, and just a bit more effort than feels comfortable. Did you try the challenge? If not, check it out here: https://lnkd.in/e8eJtq82

Are Your Students Evolving into Their Creative Potential? A few years ago, my 12-year-old daughter hopped into the car after a long day at theatre camp. “How was your day?” I asked. “It was okay,” she replied, clearly unimpressed. “Just okay? Tell me more.” “I just don’t feel like I’m evolving.” I had to stifle my laughter—“evolving” seemed like an ambitious word for a 12-year-old. But as we talked, I realized she expressed something we all feel: a desire to grow and fulfill our potential. She knew she could do more; she just wasn’t sure how to get there. This conversation reminded me how important it is to intentionally nurture creativity in our students. They crave opportunities to grow, just as we do. As educators, parents, and mentors, we can help them evolve by: 1. Asking Open-Ended Questions: Spark curiosity with questions like, “What’s a new way we could approach this?” or “What are three different solutions you could try?” 2. Create a Safe Space for Failure: Celebrate effort, experimentation, and “mistakes” as valuable learning experiences. When students feel safe to take risks, creativity flourishes. 3. Encouraging self-reflection: Regularly prompt students to assess their own growth. Ask, “What are you most proud of this week?” or “What’s one area you want to improve?” 4. Provide Constructive Feedback: Give students specific, actionable areas to improve and empower them to take the lead on their growth. For example, you might say, “Here’s something I noticed. How do you think you could approach it differently next time?” This puts the focus on their agency and problem-solving skills. What strategies have worked for you to help your students evolve into their creative potential? Share your thoughts below—I’d love to hear them! #creativity #education

The Secret Weapon of Growth? A System for Creative Breakthroughs. Recently, I led a workshop for a powerhouse collective of women leaders on applying Creative Problem Solving to illuminate old challenges. We didn’t just chase ideas—we built a repeatable muscle for clarity and momentum. Here are 3 takeaways: 🔍 1. Frame It Before You Fix It You’ve heard the quote "A Problem Well Stated is Half Solved." Most teams rush to address symptoms. We slow down and stretch the problem definition itself. Ask: Why is this an issue? What is the fundamental barrier? Reframing unlocks a new universe of possibilities. 💡 2. Split Your Thinking to Sharpen Your Impact Your brain thrives in two modes: Divergence (wild ideas) and Convergence (focused decisions). Mixing them muddies both. Generate without judgment, then judge without generating. That separation fuels breakthroughs. 🚀 3. Make Discomfort a Habit New ideas feel risky—your brain prefers the familiar, even when it’s failing. Bravery isn’t a feeling; it’s a practice. Lean into the butterflies. Build routines that stretch your comfort zone and spark creative leaps. Here’s what Amy L. Halford, Chief Growth Officer of Thrive Petcare had to say: "I was stuck on a complex challenge, and Joan’s session completely changed the way I approached it. Her process helped me think differently, get unstuck, and uncover new perspectives that became the springboard for my team’s next phase of work." 👉 DM me or reach out to joan@thecreativeconservancy.com to discuss customizing this session for your biggest Q4 challenge. 

How often do you pause to reflect on your own thinking? In today's fast-changing world, L&D professionals need more than just new skills – we need to be constantly shifting our thinking. But what does that really mean? In the latest Elevate episode, I spoke with Dr Cathryn Lloyd, founder of Maverick Minds, about how shifting thinking is at the core of adaptability, creativity, and problem-solving. Cathryn shared her own journey of transformation and how stepping into new environments and perspectives helped her reshape the way she sees the world. One of the tools Cathryn has developed is her "Shift Your Thinking" image cards. I’ve used these as a participant in a conference session facilitated by Cathryn and also for personal reflection. This has given me firsthand experience of how they helped me access new ways of seeing challenges and opportunities. They tap into the power of metaphor, imagery and storytelling - essential tools for deeper reflection and thinking differently. This episode is a must-listen for L&D professionals looking to develop learning agility, shift their own thinking and take fresh approaches to facilitation to help others shift their thinking. Thank you, Cathryn, for sharing your insights and experiences. Listen now on your favourite podcast app or visit the episode landing page to access additional resources: https://lnkd.in/eZ5-HSCT #LearningUncut #Creativity #ReflectivePractice #LearningandDevelopment #Facilitation