Exploring Innovation!

When I told the girls in the office that I wanted to write about innovation this week they were not so sure. Innovation? Sounds like a tech thing! Well yes, I’m obsessed with tech and think about innovation all the time. But you don’t have to write code or work in technology to be an innovator. Anyone that is willing to think differently, try new things and take chances is pushing innovation in my book. I see innovation as a critical part of the creative process. To Innovate: To begin or introduce something new or for the first time. This speaks to the artistic part of my soul! Dedicate yourself fully to who you are and what you feel you were meant to do, and innovation (and happiness!) should flow naturally. We all have different strengths and gifts to share with the world. It’s about being original and being 100% you. What does this mean on a personal level? Getting comfortable with the thought that personal change can be good! Challenging yourself is even better! All of us can use the principles of innovation to tackle personal or professional goals. Innovation isn’t just about ideas it’s about actions. It takes courage and hard work to break habits, introduce new behavior and take a treasured idea or goal and make it into a reality, no matter how large or small it is. Whether you want to lose 5 or 50 lbs, find ways to better manage stress, get healthier, or completely revamp your career, status quo may not be enough to get you there. I used to suffer terribly from the, “I’ll start_____(insert goal here) tomorrow…on Monday…after the holidays this year…”. Now I realize that putting things off and waiting for my life to be perfect to tackle change doesn’t solve anything. In fact it generally makes me feel worse. My advice is to tune out the instinct to procrastinate and jump in and start making small steps to reach your goals! Is it scary? Sure. But to me, there is no emotion scarier than regret. Happy innovating! Love! xoxoMH