Reflection 1: My thoughts about my thoughts

My name is Megan, and I think. Admittedly, after a particularly unimpressive sentence slips through my lips, the previous statement can be questioned. Perhaps I should I add a disclaimer: My name is Megan, and I think*.

*Void in situations involving the need to impress people, including, but not limited to, professors, potential employers, celebrities, and/or the President of the United States.

Although I haven’t actually had to attend a party attend by the people listed above, I’m sure if I did, the first sentence out of my mouth would not be one that impressed my poise and charisma upon my avid listeners. They, however, might walk away with the belief that I learned the majority of my English from a particularly flighty goldfish.
Ignoring these minor relapses, however, I am proud to say that I have hundreds of thoughts racing through my head at any given moment. Since, in my more introspective moments, my thoughts seem chaotic and random, I greatly looked forward to the opportunity to read through Lockwood, Pink, and Martin’s thoughts on thoughts. In those pages, I expected to find a definition of a process of thinking that would pack my brain and its contents into a simple, neat box, ready with tools to maximize my brainpower at optimal times.

My "thought box"

Everything was going swimmingly when I read the definition of divergent thinking. Creative, with lots of ideas bouncing around, can be used to find unique solutions-it seemed as if the authors read my mind! After struggling through some of the more technical pre-requisite courses in Sauder my first two years (I’m fairly certain I still get an uncontrollable twitch when I hear the word “accounting”), this definition finally explained this aversion to the unarguable “right answer” type of problems required for these classes. My thriving interest in my current marketing classes makes sense, with the rowdy class brainstorms and creative brainstorming sessions I thoroughly enjoy. “A divergent thinker,” I said to myself, pleased to have discovered my neat little segment in the world so easily. I may have even whipped out an on the spot dance of joy that put most football touchdown celebrations to shame (luckily, I caught myself before I used my computer as the football tossed ecstatically on the ground).

Probably should've just Tebowed

Then, I skipped forward to the definition of convergent thinker. Suddenly, my joy quickly disappeared. Logical, step-by-step processing, usually towards one correct answer. Although I shunned such thought processes in my accounting class, my mind quickly flooded with snapshots of my daily life. Starting the morning in an unchanging ritual. Methodically working through Suduko puzzles. Enjoying using Excel for data management and processes for my job. Even the sense of peace I feel when working through an algebra problem, with the different formulas that will lead you to the right answer every time. I didn’t understand-how could I fit the definitions for both a divergent and convergent thinker? My neat little box now lay on the follow in ruins, trampled by two opposing definitions that both applied to my thought process.
However, after I let this information sink in, I started to understand this apparent discrepancy. The mind is an infinitely complex system. How could mere definitions encompass everything about the central nervous system of my body? Shouldn’t the mind be able to think both ways? Can’t it be trained to think in both divergent and convergent ways, when the time is right? I believe the ability to think in both ways is one of the most valuable assets in life. Training my mind to excel in a creative brainstorming session, then to take the ideas generated and form them into one truly great and unique idea would add enormous value to my future career in marketing, as well as my personal life. Acknowledging the existence of my opposing ways of thinking is the first step. Through the d-Studio, I hope to gain the tools to develop both my divergent and convergent thinking strategies, and gain a deeper understand on how to mesh the two together to the optimal extent… and, who knows? Maybe then I’ll finally be able to captivate the attention of Brad Pitt and President Obama with a witty anecdote about my childhood shenanigans.