Embracing Change Through Innovation
Happy New Year everyone! The beginning of the new year comes with a lot of hopes and new plans for the upcoming months. We start our year with lists of resolutions, plans to be healthier, to read more books, visit more places, grow our savings, among others. While perseverance is essential for making these come true, there is a key step to even bring this perseverance come to life: embracing change and transformation. To make a dream come true is to accept that you and your surroundings won’t be the same than what you’re used to. And sometimes that can be quite scary because we don’t know how that change is going to look like. Innovation, however, is the skills that helps us push through that fear and venture into our greatest potential.
For that reason, this first edition of the year will focus on innovation, the art of being inventive and embracing new changes to make our goals come true. In this edition you will find a short list of recommended articles and videos exploring the art of innovation and how to overcome the fear of change.
Enjoy!
READ: Innovation in Business: Importance, benefits, and examples
For companies willing to embrace innovation during uncertain times, the rewards can be transformative, both during a crisis and in its aftermath. This article demystifies the concept of business innovation, offering actionable steps and tangible examples to help ignite a culture of innovation within the organisation. It delves into the many benefits of embracing business innovation and draws inspiration from real-world examples where innovation has been a game changer.
READ: Fail Better: Empowering Everyday Innovation
Contrary to popular belief, innovation doesn’t come out of thin air. It’s the result of incremental changes to existing ideas – of tinkering, experimenting and combining parts of various solutions. This article explores the misconceptions around innovation and how the openness to learn from failure can lead to a strong innovation culture at work.
WATCH: How boredom can lead to your most brilliant ideas
Do you sometimes have your most creative ideas while folding laundry, washing dishes or doing nothing in particular? It's because when your body goes on autopilot, your brain gets busy forming new neural connections that connect ideas and solve problems. Learn to love being bored as Manoush Zomorodi explains the connection between spacing out and creativity.
WATCH: Ask dumb questions, embrace mistakes - and other lessons on innovation
To launch new initiatives within the confines of a large corporation, you'll need to work with the system, not against it, says "intrapreneur" Dave Raggio. He shares three lessons on innovation he learned the hard way — so you don't have to.
The Preserve: Dealing with the Pressure of New Year
Pressuring ourselves into being different and reaching a certain number of goals could have the opposite effect of beneficial change and instead bring up an unnecessary amount of exhaustion and other health issues. In line with this perspective, our Operations Executive Dawn has prepared a handy list of tips to be kind to yourself for the beginning of the new year.
Be kind to yourself in January
by Dawn Diamond
- Think of Some Aims, Rather Than Setting Goals
If you’re feeling a bit tired and worn out by post-festive-season, back-to-work life, then the idea of goal-setting can actually be quite discouraging rather than motivating. Instead, try setting some basic aims for the year (or even just the month) ahead.
2. Get Some Gentle Exercise and Take Your Vitamins
Don’t go from 0-60 on a new year’s exercise regime. This is not about running in the early-morning dark until you feel sick. If you need a starting point, start by trying to reach a certain number of steps each day, and gradually increase the number each week. Get up from your desk every 30 minutes. Anything to up your movement and lower your sitting time. Stretch. Breathe deeply
- Plan a Trip or Project
I think we all need to remind ourselves that brighter days are coming. Actively making lists of things you’re looking forward to, or researching a trip or project for later in the year, can be a real mood-boosting activity
- Allow Yourself to Hibernate
It’s ok to channel your inner bear at this time of year. Work and family commitments aside, don’t feel guilty about pulling up the drawbridge, bingeing on books or boxsets
- Get As Much Daylight As You Can
Even if you’re hibernating like Yogi & Booboo, try to get outside whenever you get the chance. Getting a decent amount of daylight will boost your mental health and help you sleep, so even if you just take a short daily walk it will always be worth it. Get daylight early in the day for the biggest beneficial effect.
- Eat Well, Not Restrictively
The unrestricted treats of Christmas might be over, but you still need to enjoy your food to make a healthy eating plan sustainable. Aim for simplicity: uncomplicated nutritious meals, eating seasonally, trying for 5 a day, drinking more water.
- Create Cosy Rituals
Try incorporating some small, comforting routines into your day: a favourite tea in the afternoon, a hot bath in the evening, or 20 minutes of reading before bed.
- Keep Some Light In The Darkness
Try a string of clear-cable fairy lights in a glass vase or jar, a battery-candle lantern, or some outdoor lights in a tree outside your window. Lighting up dark corners cheers up a space so much.
- Make Small Improvements To Your Environment
Post-Christmas winter tends to mean a lot of time spent at home, so take some time to make a few small adjustments to your space.
- Prioritise Some Self-Care Time
Again, this doesn’t need to take a lot of effort, it’s just about making the time for it – and recognising that you deserve that time.
Reading a book, taking a bath with a podcast playing, chatting with a friend, ditching the housework to get an early night – these things are all very much a good idea, especially if you’re struggling with seasonal low mood.
- Treat Yourself
Allow yourself – no, actively give yourself – some treats. Life can feel restricted enough at this time of year. So make sure you’re enjoying some indulgences.
READ: The Pressure of New Year
The New Year is upon us which means people are making resolutions. Save money, exercise more, follow a new life plan, drink less alcohol, contemplate a career change, save more money….the list goes on. There Is a temptation to spend January overwhelming yourself with thoughts of change, rules, regulations and also a tendency to lean towards restrictions and limitations.
As a society, we use the New Year period to look back on the year that has passed and look to the year ahead, pledging change for the better. However, while New Year’s resolutions might seem lighthearted and positive, sometimes they can end up doing more harm than good to our mental wellbeing.