Play By The Rules, Get Creative Within Them

When I was younger I liked to consider myself a ‘rebel.’ I always liked to ‘break the rules.’ Why? Well I didn’t want to fit in. I wanted to stand out! I wanted to show everyone I was a rebel.

Here’s the thing. Rules are put in place for a reason. They are there to make things WORK. A real rebel plays by the rules and gets creative within them. What do I mean? Let’s use cars on the road as an example.

There are the rules of the road. They didn’t invent red lights to annoy you, but to make it work so everyone could get through an intersection. Stop signs weren’t invented to slow you down, but rather to keep you safe. You are encouraged not to J-walk because it’s dangerous, not because they want to make you go to a light to cross ‘just to follow the rules.’ Oh and parking… don’t worry, I used to loathe the ticket guy as well, but when you think about it, his work helps traffic work. If people just pulled over and parked wherever they wanted then it would cause congestion as well as make it dangerous if a car has to go into the opposing traffic to get around that car. Rules are there for a reason, and as much as we don’t like them, they’re there to make things work.

Now imagine a car manufacturer tried to be ‘rebelious’ and break the rules. They make their car wider than the lanes, don’t add brakes so you never have to slow down, and make it in a way that is so light, there’s no protection if you get into a crash. Would you buy it? Probably not because it doesn’t work! So instead of ‘breaking the rules,’ car manufacturers get creative within them. They play by the rules of how a car and the roads work, and add their creative flare in the DESIGN of the car. As an example, above is the incredibly creative BMW i8 concept car I hope to get in 2013!

Moving back to life, the beauty of creativity truly lies in how you DESIGN your words, actions, and appearance within the rules of every situation. If you play by the rules, everything works, then when you get creative within them, you stand out from the crowd.

There are SOOOO many situation I can get into about playing by the rules and getting creative within them, but let’s hear some of yours! Comment on a time when you played by the rules and got creative within them…