Stepping out of the box!!

I was reminded of how much creatures of habit we are as I taught this past week. One of the students was having trouble 'seeing' what it was I was trying to say and I had to rethink how I was approaching the lesson. This is a good excercise for all of us to do now and again. To stop and think about what we're doing and why we are doing it a certain way. Is it because it's the only way we know how, or because we've done it so often that we don't even think of trying another route??

If you think this doesn't apply to you , stop and think about the millions of things you do without 'thinking'. Do you always drive the same way to work, the library, the grocery store? Do you favor one style of book or magazine over another? Do you do just one craft to the exclusion of all others? Do you think there is only 'one' right way to do things? If you really want to shake things up , watch children who don't know enough yet to know there is only one right way to do things. They approach problems in a variety of ways - they'll try and put that round peg in the square hole.......and sometimes they succeed.

Many inventions have come about because someone questioned why things were as they were or were trying to find a better to way to do things. One of my favorites for quilting is the rotary cutter! Wow!! Has that ever changed the face of quilting - accuracy and speed have increased - sometimes to the detriment of the whole process. Just because you can make a quilt faster doesn't necessarily mean that you should. Sometimes it's the journey that brings the most pleasure and not the final destination.

And in a long winded way , what I'm trying to say here is - stop now and again and re-evaluate what you're doing and why you're doing it. Consider new ways to do things, whether it's teaching, learning or just living!

Step out of the box!!