- Vincent Marsland
A Different Point of View

Recently I’ve found that my perspective has changed. Perhaps it is summer (finally) arriving here in the UK or maybe it is getting admitted into a great grad school for my MBA, whatever the cause I’m finding that I feel more optimistic than I have in a long time. I’m also finding that in conjunction with this wave of optimism I’m identifying opportunities and coming up with new ideas where recently I have struggled.
This recent change has gotten me thinking about the impact that stretching our focus has on our creativity and problem solving. Prior to this week I have had a very full schedule so far this year. This consisted of working full time, aiding a few start-ups, and grad school preparation (GMAT study and applying to schools) while also trying to enjoy being newly married and life in London. In essence I had a large number of balls in the air that I was attempting to juggle and likely due to this I found that my creativity and problem solving were being negatively affected.
I always tell the teams that I manage to see hurdles in life, not problems. If something is a problem it can be much more difficult to overcome, however hurdles are made to be overcome. While stretched to my limits I was finding it difficult to come up with the solutions needed to transcend the hurdles of my life. By reducing my workload, taking a deep breath, and refocusing I’ve found that solutions and ideas are free flowing now.
In essence my advice is this; if you are having difficulty making a decision or seeing a way past a current hurdle in your life, perhaps the answer is in reducing the number of balls you have in the air too free up your creative mind and overcome the hurdles in your life.
