I love connecting seemingly unconnected things. Finding inspiration in disparate arenas has always fascinated me. I even thought of having that be my MA Creative Thinking dissertation topic, but I couldn’t figure out exactly how to approach it.

None-the-less, being open to finding inspiration in unexpected places, and actually doing so, serves me well. It is especially helpful when a more straightfoward or common answer is eluding me. Here’s a great example.

My foil squad qualified for our State Championships. I knew they needed some mental training to help them relax, believe, enter the fight, and fence their best. But, at 3:30pm as I was driving from school to coaching, I was still at a loss as to what we should do. As I drove I thought of many things. Most resulted in a resounding “Ugh! That’s not it.”

Then, thank goodness, my creativity loving brain saved the day. I had a bit of a eureka moment. My brain connected two seemingly unconnected things.

Jimmy Fallon’s Games with Guests – particularly the whisper challenge – rarely fail to crack me up! Here’s an example.

I’ve always wanted to play the whisper challenge. That would be the mental training exercise!

When I got to practice I wrote down various positive affirmations. I included ones we had used throughout the season, and ones I wanted them to hear. I explained the game to any who were unfamiliar, and we started.

My fencers exhibited behavior they would need at the championships. They laughed. They struggled. They worked together in order to succeed. They never gave up. And, they repeatedly told each other positive phrases. It was AWESOME!

Now I have my brain working on how to do the whisper challenge in Kindergarten!