‘Sputnik Moment’: Urgent Need to Learn and Teach Creative Thinking Skills

by Marcus Conyers

Part Two in a Six-Part Series

“The problem is that there are only 1.2 billion full-time, formal jobs in the world. This is a potentially devastating global shortfall of about 1.8 billion good jobs. It means that global unemployment for those seeking a formal good job with a paycheck and 30+hours of steady work approaches a staggering 50%.”—Jim Clifton, The Coming Jobs War (2011, p. 2).

In That Used to Be Us, Friedman and Mandelbaum (2011) make the case that for organizations to survive and individuals to thrive, each of us must harness the power of imagination and enhance our capacity for creativity and innovation to deliver that necessary something “extra.”

We can better prepare students for that uncertain future through explicit instruction on how and when to use cognitive skills that are the everyday tools of innovators and entrepreneurs so that they may take their place in what Richard Florida (2014) calls the creative class. At the core of the creative class are people whose “chief economic function is to create new ideas, new technology, and new creative content.”

Why We Need To Cultivate Innovating Minds

by Marcus Conyers

Part One in a Six-Part Series

“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you, and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.”—Steve Jobs; inventor; 1955–2011

“We are convinced the world will increasingly be divided between high imagination-enabled countries, which encourage and enable the imagination and extras of their people, and low imagination-enabling countries, which suppress or simply fail to develop their people’s creative capacities and abilities to spark new ideas, start up new industries and their own ‘extra.’
—Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum; That Used to Be Us (2011)

The present and future envisioned in these two quotes sound both a challenge and an opportunity. The words of Steve Jobs in particular capture the essence of the skills we will need for the future in a world where automation and outsourcing of routine work are transforming the landscape and career prospects.

Positively Smarter Launches in the U.S.

Our latest book, Positively Smarter: Science and Strategies for Increasing Happiness, Achievement, and Well-Being has launched in the U.S. and is currently available in hard cover, paperback and Kindle editions.

In this pioneering book, Donna Wilson and I bring together brings together seven principles for connecting the science of neuroplasticity to practical strategies for enhancing the synergy of happiness, achievement, and physical well-being. Moving beyond common myths and misconceptions that these three areas of life are largely driven by innate talent, genes, and external circumstances, the text builds an evidence-based paradigm so that readers can take practical steps to improve cognitive function.

Interval Training

In our most recent book, Positively Smarter: Science and Strategies for Increasing Happiness, Achievement, and Well-being, we include chapters discussing science and strategies for reaping the benefits of exercise for the Body-Brain System. Once a good foundation of fitness is in place, interval training is one route to increasing fitness and for burning more calories.

In my training for half marathons, I usually run longer distances at a steady heart rate of around 180 beats per minute minus my age, which means I am jogging at a rate of between 128 and 130 beats per minute. In addition, I do some days of interval training when I run harder for 30 seconds and then slower for around the same amount of time.

WebMD has a good article on this subject, with great information on how interval training can take your fitness to the next level.

'Living a Brain-Healthy Lifestyle' Presentation

I was pleased to have the opportunity to present some key concepts from our new book, Positively Smarter: Science and Strategies for Increasing Happiness, Achievement and Well-being, as part of the Rollins Health Forum Series. The topic of the presentation, which took place May 17 at Rollins College, was: "Living a Brain-Healthy Lifestyle."

My presentation focused on how to achieve and support optimal cognitive performance across the lifespan through the application of seven practical lifestyle strategies—lifelong learning, aerobic exercise, strength training, healthy nutrition, adequate sleep, practical optimism, and positive social connections.

Positively Smarter Debuts in UK

Donna and I are proud to announce that our latest book, Positively Smarter: Science and Strategies for Increasing Happiness, Achievement, and Well-Being, has launched in the UK and is also available on Kindle worldwide.

In the book, Donna and I discuss seven principles for connecting the science of neuroplasticity to practical strategies for enhancing the synergy of happiness, achievement, and physical well-being. Moving beyond common myths and misconceptions that these three areas of life are largely driven by innate talent, genes, and external circumstances, the text builds an evidence-based paradigm that guides readers toward practical steps to improve their cognitive function.

The research we explore in the book comes from a broad range of fields, with emphasis on the big ideas that can have a positive influence on—and even transform—our lives by focusing on practical learning strategies. The text provides the science, structures, and strategies for creating a more effective system, so that learners are equipped to achieve goals and realize more of their unique potential across the learning life span.

Smarter Stretching

In our most recent book, Positively Smarter: Science and Strategies for Increasing Happiness, Achievement, and Well-being, Donna Wilson and I include chapters discussing the science and strategies for reaping the benefits of exercise for the Body-Brain System. Another important topic in physical wellbeing is that of when and how to stretch. While the common assumption is that stretching before exercising prevents injury, research does not support this claim. Rather, warming up—for instance, by walking or slow jogging before a run—is beneficial in terms of increasing blood flow and warming up the muscles. The time to stretch is after exercise, when you are more flexible and can achieve greater benefits.

This article in WebMD has a useful guide to smarter approaches to stretching, making the excellent point that stretching should be a regular part of your exercise routine.