Creativity Exercise: What's Wrong With This Picture?

My daughter Mary is on the drill team at her high school. The day this dance was choreographed, Mary came home from school, dropped her 2,000-pound backpack at the door, sighed and said:

"They needed someone who could do a backbend. Everyone can do a backbend."

Here's your exercise: Tell me what creativity boo-boo that statement represents. La-dee-da-dee-dah. (I'm waiting, patiently, for your answer.)

Yes. That's right. Mary fails to appreciate her own talents! We all do it. The other day, even ego-maniacal me made the mistake of responding to a rush writing request by saying, "Sure, that's easy."

You know what? It's not easy -- for everyone -- to write great copy really, really fast. It's not easy -- for everyone -- to do a backbend. It's not easy -- for everyone -- to sew or parent or volunteer or garden. We need to appreciate our own talents. It's the first step in gaining appreciation from others.

(Your second creativity exercise? Come up with a caption for the photo.)

P.S. I know I'm her mom, but that's a darn good-looking backbend.