LESSONS LEARNED FROM MacGYVER ABOUT DEALING WITH THE CHALLENGES OF CHANGE

To date this month, we’ve been focusing on strategies which help us think differently in times of change and transition. We’ve covered irreverent thinking, a new style of thinking or thinking beyond the conventional, and innovative thinking. This week we shift focus to the quality of ingenuity (or the quality of being resourceful). But, because ingenuity often requires creative thinking, it provides a new transition strategy for the skills set we are developing for staying sane and positive amid change.

Ingenuity is defined as the quality of being clever, original, inventive, and resourceful. Ingenuity is a component in the process of applying ideas to solve problems or meet challenges (just what we need to be doing in times of change and transition).

Many of you will recall the television show MacGyver, about a guy whom I consider a model for ingenious solutions to challenging situations. He routinely disarmed bombs with paperclips and used gum wrappers to fix fuses. While most of what MacGyver did seems far-fetched, there is a lot to be said for his out-of-the-box, unconventional, divergent thinking.

How can the quality of ingenuity or being resourceful help in times of change? When things change, they become different. Some changes are so major that our world gets rocked and we lose our comfort zone. How things were done or accomplished prior to the change may not work in the new environment. Being ingenious, being resourceful means that we have the ability to approach the new, the changed in different ways; we can pursue solutions from more than one direction.

Resourcefulness is about optimizing what you have to work with. It is not just about creating something new; it also applies to making old things work better or work to your advantage. Imagination plays a HUGE role in being ingenious and resourceful. Imagination is the ability to form a mental image of something that is not perceived through the senses. It is the ability of the mind to build mental scenes, objects or events that do not exist, are not present or have happened in the past.

I had to be very ingenious and resourceful when I once lost one of my dad’s favorite fishing lures. When my parents retired, they did so to a small community in the NW corner of Pennsylvania. Close to their property was a fishing pond that everyone in the area could enjoy. After casting with my dad’s favorite lure, I sat back to await the tug of a fish on the line. Instead of a fish, I snagged a bunch of weeds and got the lure hopelessly tangled in the weeds. Not wanting to tell my dad what happened (although the veteran fisherman that he was, he would have understood), I decided to try and retrieve the lure. The lure was too far out for me to walk and get it (and the water was too cold to think about swimming for the lure). There wasn’t a rowboat in the area. BUT, there was an old mortar box near the lake. So, I turned the mortar box into a boat, used a stick as a paddle, and “rowed” on out to the weed patch and the lure.

It wasn’t long before I figured out that someone must have abandoned the mortar box – water was filling the bottom from numerous holes and cracks. I was persistent and continued to venture to the bunch of weeds where I did successfully retrieve the lure. I also had luck on my side as I made it back to shore (more wet than when I started) safely. And, I arrived back with the lure. Resourcefulness/ingenuity saved the day and my dad’s lure.

Imagination gives us the ability to look at any situation from a different point of view. A few hours each week, I work in the Scott Township Jazzercise Fitness Center’s child care room with young children. One day, I had several girls who wanted to be doctors. They were very resourceful in creating an environment for this.   Under a table served as the hospital emergency room. Chairs were lined up for the patients. A mat was placed on the floor and served as the bed. Items from the Craftsman work bench were transformed into medical supplies: Philips-head screw drivers were syringes; pliers became stethoscopes; the vice, a blood pressure device. (And when the goggles and tool belt went on when one of the girls was going to perform surgery, I had to stifle a hearty laugh!)

Imagination is a creative power that helps with doing just about anything. It is a creative power critical to tap into in times of change. In times of change, channeling our inner child and our MacGyver may propel us to satisfying solutions.

How can we develop MacGyver’s ingenuity or our inner child’s imagination? Try these techniques:

1.  Give yourself the “third degree.” Ask:

Is there another way to get what I want?

Is the desired result really the best result?

Who else has information that might help me?

What is something very similar to what I need that might also work?

Who is the expert in this area?

Is there more than one way to look at or deal with the issue?

What would someone I admire do in this same situation? (WWMD- What Would MacGyver Do?)

2.  Maintain an open mind. Being open minded about new possibilities is critical to implementing resourcefulness. Develop a curiosity about things. Expose yourself to new ideas and new experiences. 

3. Develop resourceful habits. Consider alternate uses for an object before throwing it out. Redecorate a room using things you already have. Recycle old calendar pages to create personalized cards.

4. Question tradition and habits. Sometimes the way something is always done (habits, traditions, learned rules) can be a “block” to being ingenious or resourceful. Sometimes creativity requires us to go beyond the conventional.

5. “Don’t worry…be happy”As the song says, “Don’t worry…be happy.” The more relaxed you are, the better you will be able to think creatively. Take the stress and pressure off yourself.

6. Don’t reinvent the wheel Look for a solution that someone else has already created. Start there and tweak what is out there to fit your needs.

7. Make your network work for you. Build and maintain a network of people you can call on for questions and support.

Being ingenious, being resourceful will help you avoid, as Einstein says, the insanity of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It will give you an edge in problem solving and in meeting challenges. It will be of particular help if you are “roaming the wilderness” (see the June 16 blog post).   If you haven’t used your imagination in a while, haven’t had to be resourceful, you might just surprise yourself with your actions and the outcome!