A Creator in My Team
"I am not a big fan of Agile" - One of the youngest scrum team members told me during a retrospective meeting, a few years ago. Having worked with the "Waterfall Model" for 5 years and around 10 years into "Agile", I keep praising agile at every given opportunity. My belief is that any framework, built on human values and result orientation is here to stay. In spite of being on the other side of the river, I was thrilled to hear that comment from my young team member. I wanted to discuss further with him, but the agenda of the meeting did not allow me to do so. I could only tell him, "The moment you start questioning the existing system, you are more likely to create your own. You never know...You might end up creating a new framework better than the 'Agile'." I could sense giggles in the conference room, though that team member listened carefully and nodded.
Are Creators Super Humans?
I wondered, "Why were there giggles when I spoke about creating a new framework?"
After a lot of analysis, I concluded, it is because we believe that everyone cannot be a creator. Right from our school days, we were never taught to question the existing system. The inventors, creators, and scientists were always thought of, as superhumans with extraordinary capabilities. The expectation from the students was always to understand the theories of great people and present them in their exams. But I firmly believe that the creators were also ordinary humans with a lot of passion to create something new. They spent more time on their research when the rest of the world focused on other worldly things.
Are We Trained to Create?
As a school kid, I hated to write the "definitions" word by word from the textbook. I ended up losing marks because I wrote them in my own words. I still remember the teachers criticizing me, "This is not your theory. It is Einstein's. I want it word by word here". Though the educational system has evolved over all these years, we still have a long way to go. I strongly feel that, while it is important to understand and appreciate the existing theories, it is also important to question them and create our own.
Just imagine if Aristotle did not question the existing system, we would still have thought that the "Earth is Flat". If Copernicus settled with the theory of Earth being at the center of the solar system our understanding of the universe would have been several centuries backward. Creating more creators will take our society, country, and the human race as a whole to the next level of civilization.
Why Should We Create?
There are two main benefits of being creators.
1. The Feeling you get when you create something new cannot be explained in words.
2. Being a creator, we leave a mark before we leave the world. Our meme will stay forever in the minds of the generations to come.
The GB Moment
When I play Ilayaraja's (Music Director) music on my Veena I feel a sense of tranquility and peace. But when I write my own musical notes and play them on my Veena, I feel goosebumps and I cannot explain the feeling I experience, in words. In fact, there are no words in the dictionary that can explain this feeling. I call this the GB (Goosebumps) moment. My tune may not be a masterpiece, but it is still mine. It is unique and I am the creator of it.
When I read an insightful blog post I feel satisfied that I had learned something new for the day. However, when I write my own blog and my meme reaches hundreds of people to bring a small change in their lives, then that is when I feel my GB moment.
The Urge
Can you believe, that all these thoughts were running in my mind at 2:45 AM? Why am I not sleeping? Why is this urge to "create" and "create more creators" developing strongly in my mind these days? Is it true that you tend to think too much when you are nearing your 40s? ;)
I could relate to this urge with another one a few years ago. When I was 8 months pregnant with my second baby, I had a crazy urge to clean the house. I usually hate cleaning. I do it only when it is absolutely necessary. But I ended up standing for hours together cleaning the house carrying a big tummy. During my doctor's visit, I hesitantly revealed my "urge to clean" to my gynecologist. She smiled and said that it is very common and is called "Nesting". When I did some research on this it was fascinating to know how nature prepares us for different phases of life. Nature is full of secrets and is extremely magnificent and there are lots of secrets yet to be discovered. Isn't it?
Spread the Meme
Coming back to my agile team member, I am quite sure that he is going to be a creator one day. In spite of growing up in an educational system that doesn't go with the philosophy of creating creators and questioning the existing system, he was able to question and express it. I was impressed but felt bad that he looked unconventional to the rest. Isn't it important to spread the meme of "creating creators" and make it more conventional? Won't this meme help us move to the next levels of civilization and make many of us leave a mark before we leave?
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