- Hephaestus created beautiful objects and weapons in Greek mythology, including Achilles' shield which was an example of building aesthetics. Despite being born ugly and rejected, Hephaestus became skilled through his brokenness. - In an Indian story, the sage Narad transformed a dacoit named Ratnakar through creative thinking by getting him to question his actions, and Ratnakar became the sage Valmiki. - Creative thinking involves looking at things differently to find new solutions, and various techniques can improve this skill like applying models and sharing insights learned.

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Picture credit - ​Anthony van Dyck (1632)​ (Thetis Receiving the Weapons of Achilles from Hephaestus)
Day 63 - Creative Thinking
Skill
11 June 2020
Prabodh Sirur
sirurp@gmail.com
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My learning for the day
Today I want to summarise two stories from mythology on creative thinking
skills.
Story 1 - Hephaestus and Shield of Achilles (from Greek Mythology)
Source - ​Hephaestus​, ​Hephaestus in Greek Mythology
The shield of Achilles, famously described in Homer’s Iliad, is the shield that
Achilles used in his fight with Hector. Homer's description of the shield is the
first known example of ekphrasis (vivid description of or commentary on a
visual work of art).
The shield of Achilles is an example of how we should build esthetics and
beauty in anything we do.
Hephaestus was the god of the forge and fire and he created some of the
most beautiful objects, jewellery and weapons that appear in Greek
mythology. He built beautiful thrones and gold palaces for the gods
(including the golden gates at the entrance to Mount Olympus) and taught
human beings how to build art and beauty in whatever we do and its
importance in life.
Hephaestus was born ugly so his mother Hera (wife of Zeus, the King of
Gods) rejected him and threw him off Mount Olympus. Because of his fall
from the mountain, Hephaestus hurt his leg and became lame for life.
In spite of the rejection and ridicule, Hephaestus developed such expertise in
forging that he became one of the 12 Deities in Greek Mythology.
The learning
Source - ​Hephaestus and How Brokenness Contributes to Creativity​ by
Allison Stieger​, ​Hephaestus : The God of Design & Creativity​ by ​Gia Almuaili
- Our very brokenness (imperfections) is one of the strongest tools available
to us. Out of that brokenness the most beautiful art can grow
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- We can use all parts of ourselves, the broken and the whole to be
innovative and bring new and fresh ideas to this world
Story 2 - A dacoit and sage Narad (from Indian Mythology)
This is a story about how Narad (a Vedic sage, a travelling musician and
storyteller) demonstrated thinking-on-feet or speed thinking.
Ratnakar was a dacoit and a cruel hunter living in the forest near river
Ganges. One day, Ratnakar was hiding by the side of a forest pathway,
waiting for a victim. Narad was passing by the same route.
Ratnakar jumped out in front of him and demanded, "Hand over all you have
or else!"
Narad stopped, looked at him and asked him, “Why do you rob us?”.
Ratnakar answered, “I need money for my family.”
Narad said, “Do you know, when you steal people’s money and kill them, you
are committing a sin? Can you ask your family members if they are ready to
share your sins?” This question was a moment of transformation for
Ratnakar. He became Narad’s disciple and later became a sage himself.
This is the story of how the dacoit Ratnakar became sage Walmiki, the
composer of the epic ​Ramayan
The learning
- Speed-thinking helps in many ways in your career
- Many a time we are forced to respond or act under extreme stress. There
are many ​exercises​ that build our capacity to think faster
- There are a few ​techniques​ that can be used when you are forced to think
on your feet or when you are expected to do ​speed-thinking
- A great approach by Narad was that he saw an ​opportunity of
transforming​ someone; and what a great transformation - converting a
dacoit into a sage
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My learning so far on this topic
Day 3 post​ - 8 creative thinking techniques and tools
Day 13 post​ - An example of the Morphological matrix in action
Day 23 post​ - James Webb Young’s 5 step technique for producing ideas
Day 33 post​ - Two TED talks - Want to be more creative? Go for a walk & The
surprising habits of original thinkers
Day 43 post​ - Two books - Sur/petition: The New Business Formula to Help
You Stay Ahead of the Competition & Creativity: Flow and The Psychology of
Discovery and Invention
Day 53 post​ - Two movies - Abstract: The Art of Design & The Imitation Game
What is Creative Thinking Skill?
Creative thinking is the ability to look at things differently, and find new ways of
solving problems
How to improve this skill?
Set a goal to ​become a go-to person​ by mastering the art and science of ​creative
thinking​.
Follow the ​LAST model​ to build your personal brand as a Guru of ​creative
thinking​.
Learn​ - Invest time in learning different frameworks/ models/ techniques of
creative thinking
Apply​ -
Identify a model suitable to you
Create a template to document the flow of the process
Find opportunities to use the selected method/ template
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Maintain record/ process flow of every important activities you did with
respect to ​creative thinking
Maintain notes of your thoughts/ insights/ failures/ challenges…. to be used
for sharing/ training others
Share​ - Share the insights captured in step 2 above in a planned manner (social
media posts, blogs, videos, study notes…)
Train​ - Generate opportunities to train your peers and team members so that, over
time, your organization benefits from your efforts
Purpose of this document
I took a 66 day challenge​ to study Life Skills last year (10 April 2019). To my
astonishment, I succeeded in studying for 66 days one skill a day.
My objectives of learning these skills were - To strengthen my mind to face life’s
challenges with ease, To use these skills in my worklife for a better performance, To
use these skills in my personal life for enriching my relationships, To open new
possibilities to surprise myself.
This is my next 66 day challenge​ (from 10 April 2020) - To share my Life Skills
learning with my social media friends.
I pray that my toil helps you in your success journey.
What are Life Skills?
UNICEF​ defines Life skills as - ​psychosocial abilities​ for adaptive and positive
behaviour that enable individuals ​to deal effectively with the demands and
challenges of everyday life​. They are loosely grouped into three broad categories
of skills
- cognitive skills​ for analyzing and using information,
- personal skills​ for developing personal agency and managing oneself,
- inter-personal skills​ for communicating and interacting effectively with others.
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Which LifeSkills are covered?
The ​World Health Organisation​ identified these basic areas of life skills that are
relevant across cultures:
1. Decision-making
2. Problem-solving
3. Creative thinking
4. Critical thinking
5. Communication
6. Interpersonal skills
7. Self-awareness
8. Empathy
9. Coping with emotions
10. Coping with stress.
Some trivia
‘Life skills’ was never part of the school curriculum. WHO/ UNESCO mandated
academia to teach these skills in all schools across the globe in 1993.
Different countries educate their children in these skills with different objectives
- Zimbabwe and Thailand - prevention of HIV/AIDS
- Mexico - prevention of adolescent pregnancy
- United Kingdom - child abuse prevention
- USA - prevention of substance abuse and violence
- South Africa and Colombia - positive socialization of children.
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