Dear Creativity,

There’s no shortage of problems to solve in our lives, but the paths we take to find solutions are many and varied. I’ve noticed that the difference between the masses and creators/innovators often comes down to a choice: whether we dance around a problem… or face it head-on and ask for help.

Last year, a simple Kickstarter ad stirred something in me. It spotlighted a problem I had been quietly tolerating for years, working on the road with only a small laptop screen. You know this well, Creativity. My work has me traveling often, moving between conference rooms and hotel desks, trying to recreate the ease of my two-monitor setup at home.

For a while, I improvised. HDMI cords. Hotel TVs at awkward angles. Solutions that worked just enough to get by, but never quite felt right. I made do. I adapted. And I stopped there.

Then I saw that portable monitor and wondered why I hadn’t listened to your earlier nudges. Why had I accepted frustration as the cost of mobility instead of staying curious a little longer?

Now, that portable monitor travels with me everywhere. Teaching feels smoother. Work feels lighter. And instead of wrestling with my setup, I have more space to create and be focused on my work, instead of wishing I were at home.

You reminded me that solutions often appear when we’re willing to listen to your quiet taps on the shoulder instead of waiting until discomfort shouts.

This leaves me wondering:

What creative solutions might we discover if we stopped “sucking it up” and started paying attention to where you, Creativity, is already trying to help?

Innovatively yours,
Dr. Abigail 💛