It is becoming more frequent in my conversations with people of all kinds and walks of life. You probably hear it often as well — a version of either “I want to do more” or “I want to be better at what I do.”

Ironically, the expectations that we have of ourselves as we constantly compare our insides with the outsides of the rest of the world proudly displayed in social networks (and everywhere else it seems) often keep us stuck.

Because this is one of the major themes that underscores my work in helping businesses and brands via the people who work there, I have returned to creativity to become more effective at what I do.

One of the hypotheses I am testing for why we feel stuck is that despite being surrounded by talk of doing, we are mostly still immersed in thinking and talking. We are so far removed from making stuff, especially making the whole thing and not just a part, that we have not trained our brains to know what it feels like making — an important part of the creative process.

Seung Chan Lim (Slim) tells two stories from research he conducted at the Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University on:

• what it means to make something
• how it works as a creative process, and
• why it matters to our lives

His stories are consistent with those of Sir Ken Robinson and my experience — we need to involve more of our senses in learning to do and experiencing the world.

Watch this short video:

Then consider: 1) what is it that you don't know and how you are going about figuring it out and 2) what kind of experience do you want to create and how you are going to deliver it.