I smile every time I work on my Wreck This Journal pages because they always put me in a situation where I never imagined myself. Or have me doing something I never thought myself capable of completing. For instance, who would have thought a book lover would fling a book across the room? When we challenge ourselves to do the unexpected, we open ourselves up to a world where anything is possible. This is where innovation lives, just waiting for us to break free and find it.
This week’s page was a golden ticket to innovation in that it asked me to do something so ridiculous I was wondering if there was a punch line hiding on the next page. I had to find a way to wear my journal! The most obvious idea was to wear it as a hat, but I can’t balance a book on my head to save my life. My pockets weren’t big enough to hold the journal and I didn’t have any yarn handy to tie it to my foot as a shoe. There was only one option left:
I should preface this by mentioning, I have a “thing” for hoodies. My closet is full of them, in almost every color, weight, fit/cut, and fabric. As far as I’m concerned there’s a hoodie for every occasion, so I usually wear them every day. A fashionista I am not, but I am a sucker for comfort. As luck would have it, I was wearing a zip up hoodie that had some room where I could tuck my journal. One quick yank of the zipper pull and my journal was secure and visible as part of my outfit. I wore it for a good hour while I memorialized my hoodie accessory with a drawing on my journal page.
This very simple exercise had me considering options that were really quite nonsensical, but the point is it got me thinking about those possibilities in the first place. The ability to break out of what’s considered normal or expected is what allows for creativity. As a writer, this skill is critical if I want to write original stories. I can’t be afraid to try something weird or consider an option that makes no sense. Even if an idea doesn’t work, I still consider it a stepping stone to one that will.
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For previous Wreck This Journal posts, please visit my sidebar or tag cloud.
c.b. 2012
I like what you gleaned from this journal-as-fashion-accessory exercise. The being alive to possibilities is essential to creativity, and is something I’m working on myself. It’s good to realize that an option doesn’t have to make sense to be wonderful!
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This journal broke me of always playing it safe when it comes to art, creativity, and writing. Instead of shying away from things that aren’t perfect or are beyond reason, I find myself purposely seeking out everything anything that can be considered a possibility (and sometimes not!). 🙂
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you’ve both inspired me. when I’m done with my January small stones I’m gonna WRECK that journal!
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YES! 🙂
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I laughed reading this, too funny.
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Leave it to me to make a hoodie and journal funny. 😀
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I saw something recently in which clothes were made from pages. How about a Hoodie Journal?
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Cool!!! 😀 That idea reminds me of the paper dresses that were a bit of a fad during the 60s.
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I am enjoying your WTJ post as I was contemplating this very page over the weekend! I haven’t completed the task just yet as my nature is to over think everything and as a fellow purveyor of hoodies (last count I had 38 in my closet) my hang up is which would become my “WTJ hoodie”? I had decided to tuck it into the hood and carry it around for a day. Ah, the things we do in the name of creativity!
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Nice! Wreck This Journalers think alike! 🙂 I’m loving how you decided to use the hood as a place to keep the journal – why didn’t I think of that!
I haven’t counted my hoodies in a while, but I’m sure the number is right up there. I almost don’t want to know. 😉
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“Options that are nonsensical”. I like that. In this dusk of the Industrial Age, I have feared what I did today. I’ve heard from my parents and well-meaning friends. I followed through on a dream and I am now acting on faith that everything will be okay. I told my principal that I am resigning at the end of the year. She was fine with it. Nearly everyone else in my life, not so much. “Nonsensical”. Quitting a “perfectly good job” and “in this economy”? Yes. For I believe that my life (my options I didn’t think of, my creativity) depend on it. Thanks for your words!!
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I admire you so much for making a decision to follow your heart. It makes no sense to stay at a job that robs you of your spirit and stands in the way of your creativity. There is something to be said for following your instincts and doing what is right for you and no one else. Bravo, my friend. 🙂
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Yes!!! A fellow hoodie addict!!! Do you cut holes in the pocket for headphones?
Andrea
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Hey, hoodie sister! 🙂 I usually thread my headphones up through the neck – I keep my iPod in my jeans pocket. Though, I’m tempted to try your way! That’s pretty ingenious.
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Going outside the box, or in this case “the Journal”, seeing possiblities, you are keeping those pathways open and receptive.
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I hope so. 🙂 Otherwise, my muse would be far too silent.
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I have a Wreck this Journal and I still haven’t started this. I actually have hid it under my bed so it stops looking at me. It’s just such a daunting task! AH!
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Daunting, yes. But only if you let it scare you. Once you get started you won’t want to stop. Every page offers a new insight and a new way to be free. 🙂
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I have four hoodies. Well, I have three, having lent one to an offspring and never got it back. I guess I’m just a middle-aged dyke at heart. 🙂
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The only time I lend out a hoodie is if that person never leaves my sight. And then I get it back before they leave. I’m a little weird about my hoodies!! And I’m sure I’ll be wearing them when I’m 80 – you’re never too old for for a hood! 🙂
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I was in the bookstore the other day, and saw one I thought you might enjoy. It was called Wreck This Hoodie. It was all about letting go, and trying nonsensical options. 😉
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I would give just about anything for that hoodie! Did it come with tomato sauce and ink? 🙂
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CBW…Look at all your lovely responses here!! Thank you for the journals that I covet. Thank you for the posts that I covet just as much. Thank you for your continuing friendship. And thank you for liking hoodies…I’m with you there, too!
Lynn
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Thank you for always leaving such lovely comments and thoughts. I’m always so thankful for your presence. 🙂
I think we have enough people on this post to start a “Hoodie Brigade.” 😉
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I love this hoodie journal! your willingness to throw yourself completely into the creative soup is refreshing and inspiring and sometimes just plain funny!
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This journal has taught me a lot in terms of liberation and creativity, but it has also reminded me of the famous saying, “Those who can laugh at themselves shall never cease to be amused.” 🙂
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I just gave someone a copy of Wreck this Journal, and I told her all about your blog posts – I’m hoping she finds as much inspiration as you continue to do!
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Ooo, how fun! I hope she has fun with it and finds inspiration! 🙂
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