I am almost finished reading Ken Robinson’s The Element and I thought this would be a good time to write my first blog post on the book. I wanted to write one before I finish so that I can later discuss how my perspective changed pre-and post-reading the book.
Robinson’s whole focus is, as the title implies, finding your Element—“the meeting point between natural aptitude and personal passion” (21). My favorite quote in the book describes what people are like when they have found their element, “…they connect with something fundamental to their sense of identity, purpose, and well-being. Being there provides a sense of self-revelation, of defining who they really are and what they’re really meant to be doing with their lives.” (21) His book is full of people who have found what they love to do and have made it part of their life. Each of these people has found ways to cultivate their passions and become experts at whatever that passion is. Often times, they face hardship to get to their focus and put in thousands of hours to become the expert that they are.
I was reading an article the other day about a girl who creates dresses out of paper and how her mother helps to cultivate her daughter’s interest and build the creations. While reading this article, I immediately thought back to The Element because this girl is working on what her passion is and being creative at the same time. Unlike some of the people in Robinson’s book, this young girl’s mother is supportive and encouraging towards her daughter’s interest, helping her actually create her passion. Some of the dresses that they make together are absolutely gorgeous and capture the beauty of the high-end dresses they are copying. It is amazing that this four year old girl has the ability to take paper and turn it into something so magnificent or to even dream of this. It really shows how creativity is lost after a certain age and how, as Robinson argues, the school system tends to strip children away from their passions. If this girl one day becomes a famous fashion designer, I can only imagine that she would have been included in Robinson’s description of people who have found their Element at a young age. She seems to be on the road to discovering her Element and cultivating it, very much like Gillian Lynne and how she began dancing at a young age. I think what really connects this story to Robinson is how this four year old girl knows what she is passionate about and is making it happen. It does not mean that she has to do this forever but she is putting her time and energy into something that is creative, out of the ordinary, and what she loves. Here is a link to the article on buzzfeed about the girl:http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/this-4-year-old-and-her-mom-make-incredible-paper-versions-o
Even if she does not become a fashion designer, the Element does not need to be your career. Robinson talks about people who realized that they were not going to be able to make a living with their Element or, for some other reason, decided to have a career other than in their Element. However, these same people spent countless hours developing and practicing their passions outside of work. One in particular is Gabriel Trop, an academic scholar. He plays the cello and is a member of the University of California Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. Trop says, “To call this a hobby,…,would be ridiculous. Music is elemental in his life, and in music, he has found his element.” (209) His Element in music is far beyond a hobby because of the amount of time he dedicates to it and the depth in which it influences his life. While he does not make a living through music, Trop has found a way to become immersed in his Element outside of his career path.
I found this idea to be absolutely amazing. People often say that you should work in the field that you enjoy the most. While I believe that you should work in something that you enjoy-not dread going into work every day-I also see how it is not always realistic to choose a career path within your Element. I feel as though Robinson’s stories discussed the rare people who were actually able to make their passion their career; not everyone who wants to drop out of school and become a singer can, no matter how hard they work for it. Certain circumstances played a large role in the lives of the people Robinson talked about. For example, the Beatles just happened to be playing a lot at one place when they were discovered. If they had never found the place that gave them their break, they probably would not have been as successful. Maybe this is the pessimist in me, or maybe it is just me being jealous because I haven’t found my Element, but I feel that Robinson’s examples were just rare instances of people finding fame and success.
This being said, reading the stories did inspire me to want to get off the couch and do something. I have decided that I am going to practice the harmonica like I have never practiced before. Do I expect to become a harmonica virtuoso? No, but it is inspiring that Robinson says you are never too old to find your Element and you can be in your Element without it being your career.
I truly loved reading this book and I think Robinson is definitely onto something when it comes to our school system taking away our ability to find our Element, or at least not encouraging us to find it. Many of the stories revolved around students who disliked school, were bored with it, or not “book-smart” and wanted to do something more creative. However, I will save this for my next blog post—Robinson’s discussion of IQ measurements.
Robinson’s whole focus is, as the title implies, finding your Element—“the meeting point between natural aptitude and personal passion” (21). My favorite quote in the book describes what people are like when they have found their element, “…they connect with something fundamental to their sense of identity, purpose, and well-being. Being there provides a sense of self-revelation, of defining who they really are and what they’re really meant to be doing with their lives.” (21) His book is full of people who have found what they love to do and have made it part of their life. Each of these people has found ways to cultivate their passions and become experts at whatever that passion is. Often times, they face hardship to get to their focus and put in thousands of hours to become the expert that they are.
I was reading an article the other day about a girl who creates dresses out of paper and how her mother helps to cultivate her daughter’s interest and build the creations. While reading this article, I immediately thought back to The Element because this girl is working on what her passion is and being creative at the same time. Unlike some of the people in Robinson’s book, this young girl’s mother is supportive and encouraging towards her daughter’s interest, helping her actually create her passion. Some of the dresses that they make together are absolutely gorgeous and capture the beauty of the high-end dresses they are copying. It is amazing that this four year old girl has the ability to take paper and turn it into something so magnificent or to even dream of this. It really shows how creativity is lost after a certain age and how, as Robinson argues, the school system tends to strip children away from their passions. If this girl one day becomes a famous fashion designer, I can only imagine that she would have been included in Robinson’s description of people who have found their Element at a young age. She seems to be on the road to discovering her Element and cultivating it, very much like Gillian Lynne and how she began dancing at a young age. I think what really connects this story to Robinson is how this four year old girl knows what she is passionate about and is making it happen. It does not mean that she has to do this forever but she is putting her time and energy into something that is creative, out of the ordinary, and what she loves. Here is a link to the article on buzzfeed about the girl:http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/this-4-year-old-and-her-mom-make-incredible-paper-versions-o
Even if she does not become a fashion designer, the Element does not need to be your career. Robinson talks about people who realized that they were not going to be able to make a living with their Element or, for some other reason, decided to have a career other than in their Element. However, these same people spent countless hours developing and practicing their passions outside of work. One in particular is Gabriel Trop, an academic scholar. He plays the cello and is a member of the University of California Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. Trop says, “To call this a hobby,…,would be ridiculous. Music is elemental in his life, and in music, he has found his element.” (209) His Element in music is far beyond a hobby because of the amount of time he dedicates to it and the depth in which it influences his life. While he does not make a living through music, Trop has found a way to become immersed in his Element outside of his career path.
I found this idea to be absolutely amazing. People often say that you should work in the field that you enjoy the most. While I believe that you should work in something that you enjoy-not dread going into work every day-I also see how it is not always realistic to choose a career path within your Element. I feel as though Robinson’s stories discussed the rare people who were actually able to make their passion their career; not everyone who wants to drop out of school and become a singer can, no matter how hard they work for it. Certain circumstances played a large role in the lives of the people Robinson talked about. For example, the Beatles just happened to be playing a lot at one place when they were discovered. If they had never found the place that gave them their break, they probably would not have been as successful. Maybe this is the pessimist in me, or maybe it is just me being jealous because I haven’t found my Element, but I feel that Robinson’s examples were just rare instances of people finding fame and success.
This being said, reading the stories did inspire me to want to get off the couch and do something. I have decided that I am going to practice the harmonica like I have never practiced before. Do I expect to become a harmonica virtuoso? No, but it is inspiring that Robinson says you are never too old to find your Element and you can be in your Element without it being your career.
I truly loved reading this book and I think Robinson is definitely onto something when it comes to our school system taking away our ability to find our Element, or at least not encouraging us to find it. Many of the stories revolved around students who disliked school, were bored with it, or not “book-smart” and wanted to do something more creative. However, I will save this for my next blog post—Robinson’s discussion of IQ measurements.