You cannot operate in a bubble. Your connection to your peers, teachers, potential employers, potential clients, entrepreneurs is vital in deciding how you might make plans for your future.
Yet, among your immediate think group, you cannot expect that everyone you come in contact with will be curious, creative, analytical, and empathetic? That’s a lot to ask of people who have their own lives taking up head space. Consider expanding your network to tap into unique sources of information that can bring a different and valuable perspective to conversations.
Who do you know like that?
Do you have the ability to talk to people of different age groups, social classes, or cultures?
Are you able to really listen to understand people who think radically different from you?
When you are curious and pay attention to the world around you you might get a bright ideas through a news story, watching people at work or play, attending a workshop, reading a book, or any research you conduct in trying to find an answer to a question or solution to a problem. Wisdom is all around you; you just have to be open to it. Sometimes the most valuable thing you get from your connections or paying attention is not just an idea, but the inspiration or courage to explore something new, or the tenacy to persevere.
If you do have a career plan you can learn something new or at least keep current through industry group conferences, professional associations, trade journals and watch the organizations that compete in your field of interest. Inspiration can come from many sources outside your immediate industry, too.
One of the reasons that resourceful people are so adept at finding solutions is that they have a strong network of professionals and advisors in their field to lean on. Start by making a list of the top ten people you would speak to about your career plans, or any new idea you have about your future. Examine your list and assess the diversity of your think group with questions such as:
Do you have a strong network upon which you can seek feedback?
Are serious discussions rare among your social network?
Do you get together frequently with one or two people to bounce ideas around?
How often do you assemble as a think group to exchange ideas or engage in a serious discussion about your ideas or your career plans?
Do you pay attention and absorb their feedback?
If you do not currently engage in discussions with the people in your network, can you change how and when you get together?
There are specific actions you can take to improve your chances of generating novel ideas. One of the first things you should assess how much time you spend with a social group that offers no real opportunity to engage in serious discussions. Can you be more selection to socially interact with people where there is an exchange of ideas among people from different ages, social groups, and interests in different activities. Look at groups at your college or university or in your community to make new connections.
Join Groups and Volunteer
You can volunteer with sports, art, or community groups that expose you to a variety of people. You can take extra classes. You can join local business organizations that have networking events.
When you volunteer your time you establish a different type of rapport with people who get to know you apart from being a student.
You want to become acquainted with different disciplines of interest and get to know experts and generalists, people of varied background, experiences, and expertise in diverse fields, because they can make connections where others may not see a link. Diversity strengthens your ability to zero in on the new ideas that spark your interest or advance your thinking in a different direction.
Organize Brainstorming Sessions, Join a Think Tank or Start your Own
There is no better way to create something unique and wonderful, achieve the impossible, envision new perceptions or breakthroughs, or solve any problem, than through brainstorming. It is an organized gathering of minds, who generate ideas, energize each other, and inspire other gatherings and new rounds of thinking and exchanging ideas.
Consider expanding your network to tap into unique sources of information. Invite keen minds to join in group discussions about interesting topics that are of mutual interest. In building your discovery network, aim for perspectives and diversity, not just numbers. You want to intersect with different ages, cultures, and interests. Your engagement with any group starts with being attentive to other people’s opinions, challenges and needs. When you attend such discussions, you will not build a quality relationship when you are there strictly to promote yourself or your career plans You have to offer value to others.
Change the Range of your Magazine Choices
Magazines give you diverse perspectives to gain fresh ways of seeing the world. Read two or three magazines that are the exact opposite of what you might typically read to actively seek out knowledge across a broad range of other fields. Change it up every month.
Attend Conferences, Workshops, Watch TED Talks
Aim to delve more into subjects completely unrelated to your field of interest or expertise. Watching an online platform such as Ted Talks give you a wide range of subjects to explore.
Ask More Questions:
Not one or two! Ask ten or 100 times more questions. Be like a child that asks 300 or more questions a day. Translate statements into questions. Read and ask questions. Keep a questions notebook - log the questions you make, and review periodically to see what types of questions work best (What if? Why? Why not? How might?).
Get Out of Your Bubble
Schedule regular excursions to observe different public, social or work environments. Observe people and their activities. Look for opportunities to engage in random conversations about about random events or activities that you see. Learn more about how people actively participate in their communities, civic affairs,or workplace.
Connect with People Around the World
We often look for inspiration, ideas, or solutions to come from education, a professional, mentor, or a business in our field of interest, but with organizations around the world sharing their practices and ideas, you can tap into their diverse expertise and learn from them as well. Even if people think radically different from you, it is still an opportunity for you to learn, be inspired and also be a sounding board or inspiration to others. You may not be able to physically visit differen cities or other countries to delve into their issues and challenges but its so easy to virtually engage with other people who are willing to share their perspectives.
Don't Forget the Give and Take
Connecting, networking, or brainstorming effectively is about give and take, which means you need to reciprocate. Be generous with your thoughts, ideas, and attentive to how you can support others in generating new ideas.
Apart from the obvious benefits of expanding your connections you will also find it personally motivating and energizing.
You may have to experiment with different avenues of enlarging your discovery network. You may find that two or three work to your advantage.
Flourishing is like supercharging your well-being to achieve a state of happiness. When you are flourishing you think more clearly and perform better because you are tuned
into your core desires and character strengths. How tuned in are you?
Research helps us answer our most burning questions and find solutions to problems. Do you know how to acquire credible information? Can you scrutinize, evaluate, organize and clarify the details of your research into intelligence that can be used?
Ready to launch your career, Applying for admission to a specialty program. Your activity on social media leaves digital footprints that can affect how another person judges your candidacy. What kind of trail have you left through social media?
If you are prone to procrastination, it may be difficult to finish your studies or launch a career. Here is a super easy-to-implement strategy that will set the tone for an excellent day, everyday.
Take heed! People tend to pay attention and are more impressed by the information they receive through your non-verbal communication cues than your words. Your body stirs, moves and sway in sync with your words and emotions. It continues to relay messages even when you stay quiet.
You have a diversity of smarts and strengths that you employ so sinuously and with a kind of concealed deliberation you may take them for granted, and neglect to nurture them or use them in ways that your brain works best. You may not be developing untapped smarts and strengths.
