Another fantastic TED talk here… on innovation

Actually, I clicked on this talk hoping it’d play out like a Buzzfeed list of 365 ways to unlock my creative ballpoint bearing braininess that didn’t wanna come out and write today. Just to show what a “dur” state I was in (my coffee was still brewing; get off me) before I pressed play, I didn’t even make the obvious connection literally anyone else who’s learned the standard of accepted calendar time increments does when they see the number “365”. But when he went into his year long adventure of naked snow rolling and letting his daughter paint his toes red, it was effing delightful.

And all I wanted to do was, well, everything he did.


(Including those pants.)

Immediately Negative Nancy Neurosis chimed in with, “Yes, darling, but we can’t afford that.”

That’s when I launched into my ususal-for-this-time-of-day logical sparring sesh.

Enthusiastic Encephalitic Erin picked up her sword:

“Right, but this is about innovation – not copying this dude’s adventures verbatim.”

Without missing a beat, Neurotic Nancy scrolled down to the comment section. She was seeking any naysayer commentary she could latch onto, agree with, and subsequently drag her into the kind of hopelessness (that would look like all those opaque carbon copied polaroids the speaker talks about) for the remainder of my days spent shuffling the terrain of this bobbing glob of gravel in the sky.

And she found this one:

simple 18: Great story and speach. But time bending is not able to fit in many people’s lives. Me for example..I wake up at 5.00am every day and leave for work at 5.30. I work in construction which is a very physical and tiring job where finding time and new things is not possible to do during your day. Then comes home time which is roughly 18.00 and travel time on top of that then becomes 19.00. By the time I have sat down watched t.v and had my dinner it is 20.00 it is now time to get back in bed to prepare myself to fall asleep by 21.00 to enable me to get the 8 hours sleep i need to prepare me for the next tiring day. Therefore the chance of making new and exciting joys and thrills in my life not possible. Now people may say get a new job then…but it pays the bills and keeps a roof over my head.

Right, the no time excuse. You know what I don’t have time for?

’cause someone told me once that we all get “the same number of hours in our day.”

In fact he touches on that in his reply – defensively.

So, he’s just implying that he’s got no desire to change that. Which is fine.

But Enthusiastic Erin tried to chime in anyway and reply to him:

MissAshleyPants: You raise a good point – having bills paid and a roof over your head is a priority. I wonder – are there other jobs for which you’re qualified that could also meet those needs? Better paying maybe? Or closer? If not, I understand. Sometimes when I feel like time is tight, I try small things that require barely any extra time – like he mentioned – I’ll take a new route home, go for a quick jog as soon as I wake up before jumping in the shower, or even just try a new exotic food next time I’m at the grocery store. I suppose that’s what he means by bending time. Not so much forcing a wormhole into existence for extra time where there is none, but even just inviting innovation into that list of everyday stuff you’re already doing. I’m terrible about this myself, even though I understand I get the same 24 as everyone else. But when I do it, it’s a game-changer for the whole day!

And then she started a list of her own. (It’d be hypocritical to say all’a that and not try harder myself.)

Plus, the way I see it, it’s win win. There’s the innovation habit forming he talks about.

And even if time doesn’t bend, it’ll definitely break up the monotony.

(Also, I’m not kidding. Some neon pants are totes going on that list.)