Inventiveness is a person's ability to present. Ingenuity inventive. The ability to Create is inherent only to special people, geniuses

Studying literature at school is very exciting and educational. It is on this subject that we get acquainted with the work of great authors, with masterpieces of Russian and foreign literature. But there are also difficulties in studying. Teachers require you to learn poems, write essays, and others. Today we will look at what a statement is, learn how to write it correctly, and also look at some tricks that will make your work much easier.

Let's start with the very concept of what a presentation is. Let's give a real example of a fifth-grader's work and look at all the mistakes that should not be made. Let's try to write an ideal presentation, taking into account the teacher's corrections. We suggest you start immediately.

What is this?

So, what is one type of creative work in literature? Teachers very often use presentation to monitor students' knowledge. To get a high grade for a quarter, you need to try hard and bring the quality of your creative work to an ideal state.

What is the point of the presentation? You read, or have a short text read out to you, usually from classical literature. Next, you need to analyze what you read or heard and write a short retelling, preserving the main idea of ​​the work or its passage. There is also a type of work called oral presentation. What is it used for? Presentation (oral and written) allows you to develop spelling and stylistic skills, which are very necessary for survival in our society. After graduating from school, the student must be a formed personality who can express his thoughts beautifully and smoothly and has certain goals in life.

First, the teacher reads the text. The student’s task is to record the necessary data (numbers, names, sequence of events, and so on). The teacher gives some time to write a draft; the student must leave blank spaces where necessary (forgot something, did not have time to write it down). The text is then read again. This is the last chance to add something to your presentation. The draft version is supplemented, spelling, punctuation, and style are checked. The next stage is writing the final version.

This practice is often encountered: together with the presentation, it is necessary to complete a small creative task (title the text, write a detailed conclusion, that is, your attitude to the problem, supplement an unfinished thought, and so on).

Plan

When the teacher reads the text for the first time, it is necessary to make some sketches. It is very important at this stage to formulate a presentation plan. One part is a separate paragraph. It is necessary to listen carefully and divide the entire text into semantic parts. Write them down and you'll get a plan. It allows you to write a beautiful and harmonious text without getting confused in the sequence of events occurring in the text.

Writing

We’ve figured out what a statement is and why it’s used, and now let’s move on to a short reminder that will help you write a high-quality paper:

• Listen carefully to the text, identify the main problem.
• When reading for the first time, try to make small notes (outline, names, dates, vivid expressions that need to be included in the presentation).
• Ask your teacher for the meaning of words you don't understand.
• When re-reading, make a detailed plan.
• Next comes work on the text, remove points from the plan that do not carry a semantic load.
• Write a draft, check spelling, punctuation and style.
• Start writing the final draft.

Example

Let us give an example of a 5th grade presentation. Here we will also look at errors.

“They put a good new door in the hut, everyone praised it.”

That's right: a new door was installed in the hut.

“She did not miss the winter cold and summer heat, they stopped talking about her, because there was nothing to reproach her for.”

That's right: it closed and opened well, there was nothing to blame it for.

“But everyone talked a lot about the frames, and how could they not talk about them when they creaked, let in frost and swelled.”

That's right: everyone was talking about the frames because they were bad.

The principle of writing a concise summary is clear even in this short passage. It is necessary to exclude information that does not carry meaning, remove repetitions and descriptions.

Ingenuity as a personality quality is the ability to create new things, to find new, non-standard, useful solutions to problems and life difficulties, to show creativity, resourcefulness and ingenuity.

Somewhere in the endless forests of Finland, there is one small forest road. It is noteworthy that there is a hatch in the middle of this road. The most ordinary hatch. It is not clear who built it. A Russian driver was driving along this road in his car. He saw the hatch, and an idea ripened in his inventive mind. Having opened the hatch, he deliberately drove into it. Naturally, one of the car's wheels broke off. The owner of the car sued the Finnish road service for material and moral damage, and after some time won a large sum. Returning to his homeland, he told his friend about the forest road, and the friend also decided to enrich himself a little at the expense of Finnish taxpayers. Which is what happened after some time. Soon all the relatives, friends and friends of the above-mentioned driver and his friend knew about the hatch on the forest road. The Finnish road service, having already paid the Russians a considerable amount through the court, decided to take extreme measures: weld the damned hatch to hell. About a month later, the service's management received a summons from the court: a Russian motorist on a forest road again drove into an open manhole and damaged his car. It turned out that this unfortunate Russian, seeing the welded hatch, went home to get a gas burner, cut off the hatch cover and drove into it. The road service, stupefied by the legal proceedings, agreed with the local traffic police to assign a guard to guard the ill-fated hatch. A booth was built next to the hatch, electricity, sewerage, and Internet were installed there for the convenience of the guard. There were no accidents for about six months. One day, about five hundred meters from the guard, two Russian cars collided. The accident was not serious, but the law enforcement officer had to record everything. After fumbling around these two cars for about ten minutes, the Finn returned to his place and was stunned: the hatch was open, and next to him stood a Russian nine, one of the wheels of which was quietly lying in the hatch.

Ingenuity is the ability to make a “candy” out of a negative situation. This character trait directly depends on the resourcefulness, intelligence, perseverance and perseverance of the individual. From any seemingly hopeless situation, she will squeeze out “all the juice” of usefulness and suitability. No wonder people say: “The need for invention is cunning.” Where an insecure person gives up and raises his hands, ingenuity looks for new, useful solutions with his inquisitive mind.

Ingenuity as a personality quality is most clearly manifested in unusual, emergency situations, when there is strong motivation, but the necessary, original solution does not occur to anyone. The lengths to which prisoners are willing to go to escape, hide a mobile phone or a weapon. The police detained a Mexican woman who, during her next visit, tried to smuggle her husband out of prison in a suitcase. Prison workers in Florida made an incredible discovery. While examining the inmate's rectum, they found 17 oxycodone pills, 1 cigarette, 6 matches, 1 syringe with a needle, 1 silicon lighter, 1 condom, 1 prescription and 1 lip gloss container. The 230-kilogram prisoner managed to sneak a 9mm pistol past the guards, taking advantage of his fatness. He hid it among his folds of fat. Three inmates and their lovers tried to smuggle drugs into a New Jersey prison. They tried to sell the drug subozone, previously dissolved in water and applied to children's coloring books.

Inventiveness presupposes quick thinking, an analytical mind, a penchant for creative activity, and the ability to think deeply and unconventionally. A big plus of ingenuity is the ability to see new opportunities in any problem and use them to benefit. The owner of this personality trait is usually self-confident, proactive, active and energetic. He clearly demonstrates the quality of independence.

Products of ingenuity sometimes shock with their unpredictability, and sometimes simply make you smile. In Moscow, a man stands at a busy intersection and hands out leaflets to all passersby. They take it, hide it in their pockets and quickly disappear. On the way, they cautiously take them out of their pockets to read them, but return back indignantly: “Why are you handing out blank sheets of paper?” Nothing is written here! - What should I write? And so everything is clear!

One guy was communicating with a girl via the Internet and kept wanting to send flowers to her home, but he couldn’t find out the apartment number... He only knew the number of the house in which she lives... So, one night, he sent her a video he made, in which there was nothing there was, in addition to the rapidly changing colors of the picture, and advised me to look at the full screen. She did everything as he asked. And at this time, his two friends stood on opposite sides of the house and watched in which window this “color music” would begin. Sent flowers. Now they are together.

It was late evening. Tired spouses were lying on the sofa. I already wanted to sleep and had no strength left for anything. The wife managed to take a shower before this, but the husband did not. She began to reprimand him about how he could go to bed with dirty feet. He still refused to go to the shower, but... he took large bags with handles, put them on his feet, tied them, and with the words “now I won’t rub my dirty feet on the sheet,” climbed under the blanket. All night his wife heard the rustling of his “shoes,” and in the morning they were awakened by a call from his mother. Jumping out from under the blanket, he splashed his shoe covers around the apartment for some time. Then they laughed together for a long time!!!

When it comes to classic inventions, the undisputed king of ingenuity was Thomas Edison. The outstanding physicist, engineer, inventor Nikola Tesla spoke about this man in the following way: “If Edison had to find a needle in a haystack, he would not waste time determining its most likely location. On the contrary, he would immediately, with the feverish diligence of a bee, begin to examine straw after straw until he found what he was looking for.” This world-famous American inventor is the official author of 1,093 inventions confirmed by the US Patent Office (which is an absolute record in the history of science). He received about three thousand more patents for his inventions in other countries of the world. Thomas Edison had an amazing capacity for work and determination; he perceived every failure in his experiments and research solely as a step that brought him closer to success. In such cases, he liked to say: “I have found 2,000 wrong ways, I only have to find one, the right way,” or “I have not suffered defeats. I just found 10,000 ways that don't work."

Ingenuity is an amazing personality trait. It can manifest itself in the most unexpected areas of life and under a variety of circumstances. Russian students rented a house in New Jersey. The owner of the house was terribly tight-fisted; in winter, when it was cold, he didn’t want to set the temperature to more than +18, he showed them the relevant legislative act from some shaggy 1920 that he was not obliged to do this by law. And they were really cold. And so that we wouldn’t have to tinker with the heater ourselves, I locked it in a plastic box with holes through which the air passed (so that the temperature was recorded), but the fingers did not (so that they couldn’t change the settings). Russian students turned on their ingenuity. They simply placed a glass of ice on top of this box. The sensor naturally thought that it was terribly cold in the house, and the heater worked all winter with all its heart. After each receipt of an electricity bill, the owner came to them with wide-open eyes, and they made innocent faces and said: Yes, we have +18, look - the sensor is not touched, everything is in order, but we don’t know why such bills come.

Here's another example of everyday ingenuity. A young, single neighbor came in, in broad daylight, to see an equally young, single neighbor. Having asked how things were going, he immediately got down to business, in an excited and exciting voice, he began: “Irinka, this happened to me, you have no idea, I’ll tell you now, you’ll be stunned!” - Yes, what happened to you in the end? - Listen, do you have potatoes, lard, cucumbers? - There are potatoes, lard, but no cucumbers? What for? - Yes, I have a bottle, but nothing to snack on. So, give me a bottle, give you a snack, collect your belongings and go to the common table in the yard, and grab some glasses. Irinka collected a basket with a snack, instead of the missing cucumbers, she put eggs and tomatoes in the basket. I went out into the yard, my neighbor Volodka was sitting at the common table, he smiled and looked around. Irinka began to set the table; the bottle was neither on the table nor in his hands. Volodka asked: “Did you take the glasses to wash them down?” - Oh, no, I forgot. I will bring it now. Irinka brought several more disposable glasses to the table and noticed her neighbor Lena walking towards the table, holding a bottle of vodka in her hands. She immediately asked: “Why are you here?” - Yes, Vovik invited me. “He invited me too, he comes and says: “Lenka, you have a bottle, otherwise I have such potatoes, such lard.” So, three neighbors drank their first glass to the inventive neighbor Vovik, who gathered them together.

Peter Kovalev

Chapter 8. Three Laws of Ingenuity

Prosperity lives easily and joyfully in the real world, whether you have money or not.

Jerry Gillies

Resourcefulness is a trait we must develop if we want to take control of our work lives. Whether we want to create our own business or simply retire early in order to engage exclusively in hobbies, to combine the “ideal” lifestyle or place of residence with a job that we like, invented innovations will always be necessary allies. If you examine the meaning of the word "ingenuity", you will find that it is little more than "creativity". This is the ability to create something that does not exist, the talent of resolving any situation.

A person who does what he loves is usually highly inventive. This is the type of innovator who dares to try new things while others do not support him, even when he has responsibilities for others (such as providing for his family).

At the heart of resourcefulness are character traits associated with high self-esteem: a feeling that gives a person the confidence and ability to figure out how to do something without technical instructions or expert advice.

Such a person is my friend Paul, who opened his own architecture firm after graduating from college. He worked part-time for various architecture firms while studying, but felt he should start his own business.

I was completely disappointed that it was not me who was getting recognition for my projects, but others. While I felt I was capable of creating something at a higher level. It made me say to myself, "Listen, it's time to do this."

Somewhere in the depths of my soul, I must have always known that I would have my own business: I had a special attitude towards studying disciplines related to small business, collecting catalogs and, probably, subconsciously thinking about all the details and details of running my own company.

Something controls me from within. I don't know whether to call it fate or something else. But when I need something, I just go and do it. Or I think about it in such a way and for so long that it eventually comes to me on its own.

Paul didn't expect financial difficulties and delays. Although he had savings, they soon ran out.

In an effort to get my business off the ground, I completely changed my lifestyle. I re-evaluated all my spending habits. First of all, I don't eat in restaurants anymore. I can't buy expensive clothes. I moved into a small apartment that rarely has hot water.

I get by with far less than I ever thought I could, and I've even found joy in the simple life. It is difficult, but in some ways it is also blessed. It allowed me to fully focus on the main goal: developing good projects that can get this business back on its feet. I would add that I still don't dream of "big" financial success. I just want to give way to my projects and create beautiful architecture.

Paul also admits that he likes to work alone.

I've learned not to wait for others to understand what I'm talking about. I am quicker than most of my friends and deliberately restrain myself in relationships with people. On their part there is no response or understanding of the subject I want to talk about. Most often they are not as passionate about architecture as I am. The most wonderful thing is that I can solve all problems on my own.

Resourcefulness refers to the ability to deal with any situation, but is based on a person's belief in solving problems on his own. As we can see, people who feel competent and strong are confident that their minds are capable of unraveling life's complex puzzles. Many even prefer difficulties, since it is a kind of test of themselves.

Resourcefulness comes from a person's ability to solve their problems. Moreover, ingenuity requires problem-solving experience to develop. The three "laws" or characteristics of this important quality are significant. First: a person must believe in his ability to solve problems. It doesn’t matter what we call this quality: self-confidence or high self-esteem. The important thing is that a person learns to rely on himself to solve problems. Second: it requires independent thinking and decision-making, which exposes a person to a certain risk if he does not solve his own problems. The third “law” is determination: a person must firmly decide to himself that he will definitely unravel any puzzle.

The septuagenarian general contractor, photographer, husband, father, grandfather, and self-made man has a lot to teach us about two of these three “laws”: determination and belief in one's abilities. This man (I'll call him Wayne) was born in America in 1911. At the age of six, he learned to hunt with a trap to feed his starving family. Wayne ran away from home at age nine after a serious misunderstanding with his father. Even though Wayne only learned to read a few years ago, he has a lot to teach. And especially corporate workers who believe that a title, a pension agreement and a respectable appearance are necessary to achieve any success.

At seventeen, at the beginning of the Great Depression, he sat and watched the burning logs in the stove. He was considering what to do with his own life.

I laid out my own life before me. I have no education, no support, no connections. The young people around me were drinking, gambling, hanging around, and I decided that I needed something different. And then I decided that I would make something out of myself to spite my past, poverty and loneliness. And I achieved all this.

Wayne has extraordinary powers of persuasion that inspire others. He lived his life the way he wanted. Wayne explains his ability to make a good living without worrying about where the work will come from: "I've never worked somewhere I didn't like. I listened carefully to what my client wanted because he had to be satisfied. I was recently offered a job where I needed act outside the rules and cut off a couple of sharp corners. I quickly refuse this kind of work..."

During the Great Depression, Wayne worked. He believes to this day that a person does not need to worry about work or lack of money:

I've always been able to make money. And not because I know how to build. During the Depression, when there were twenty people per job, I worked. I simply came and convinced that I could provide excellent services. They paid me, and they also fed me. I saw a man die of grief who could not feed his family. This is how far it can go. But unemployment is not to blame, but people. I made a hundred dollars a day during the height of the Depression cleaning roofs. It doesn't matter that I knew how to build, what matters is that I worked.

Wayne's determination may exceed his confidence and self-esteem, but he developed his extreme resourcefulness and abilities in the first ten years of his life. The skills to solve acquired problems, the need to independently make his way in life without education, family and a roof over his head taught him to find opportunities for survival where others are lost. This is the ability to find options, which I mentioned in the first chapters.

Many people say they are “too old” to do what they really want, or they can’t find the right job and move to another position because it’s too late. Wayne responds with his story:

My wife once bought me ten dollars worth of tropical fish as a Christmas present. Within a year, in addition to my regular job, I was earning seven hundred dollars a month selling tropical fish. Later I sold this business to one of my friends. He is a former pilot who had heart problems. Therefore, he was worried that he would not be able to work anymore. I showed him what to do, and now he is the biggest tropical fish dealer in the area. I recently met a man who was partially paralyzed and was walking around the block simply because he needed to do something. He thinks he can't work, but I suggest he try something. I'm going to put him into a business, maybe related to tropical fish. Or I’ll teach you how to carve toys from wood. He can do this at home and earn as much as he wants. All you have to do is see the need for service or production and then adapt. But first you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and start using your brain. That's about all.

I consider myself extremely lucky that I did not study anywhere. What happens to children when they go to school? All these years, being under the influence of the school system, they lose their individuality. The only thing that keeps me going is my individuality. If there is ever a maverick, it's me. There are many like me... but there is no other like me.

Similar to Wayne, only about fifty years younger, my architect friend Paul does not feel any resistance in himself that could slow down the progress of his business:

I feel no internal resistance in my feelings, words, or actions towards the work I am striving to complete. I'm just tired of those who whine: "I want this, I want that." But they themselves do nothing. Do it, for God's sake, or stop wanting to!

This type of attitude makes ingenuity possible. A resourceful, active person like Paul feels that if he doesn't take risks, he'll never get anything. On the other hand, a blocked person with low self-esteem feels that if he doesn't try anything new, he won't fail. Therefore, there is at least one difference between people with strong and weak internal resources - their level of self-confidence. A resourceful person believes that by risking an experiment to solve at least part of the problem, he will already achieve something good. He trusts his own mind based on past experiences. (In later paragraphs we will see how a person who had no experience in solving problems and taking risky actions managed to gain confidence in himself.)

Dr. William Glasser, a Los Angeles psychiatrist whose work is important to me, conducted a study of long-term meditators and long-distance runners—people who discipline themselves to some degree. In Positive Addiction, Glasser concludes that many who did personal, solitary, regular self-improvement work one hour a day for several months experienced great psychological benefits. Resourcefulness has also increased. Glasser says creativity "is about strength, not weakness." The strength that Glasser mentions is what I call high self-esteem. His research has shown that people who feel internally empowered to achieve their goals are more resilient to challenges and have an easier time dealing with anxiety.

"Unlike the weak, the strong do not retreat, do not panic and do not do stupid things. He does not like pain as much as anyone, but is not willing to settle for any short-term relief if it means limiting his options... Although Most of their strength comes from learning to deal with difficult situations, and they have the ability to take care of themselves in situations where they have no experience or support, and they have the strength to figure out what to do in a new and completely unfamiliar situation. “that this strength has its source in unconditional faith in the power of one’s mind.”

Glasser explains in detail why only regular discipline helps build inner strength. In my first book, Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics, I also trace the factors that are inherent in the growth of individuality and strength. At the same time, suffice it to say that you can, regardless of age, learn to become resourceful. But such learning, unlike the advice offered in many self-help guides, is not “immediate.” Ingenuity is understandable because the human mind is capable of learning methods to solve problems, including difficult ones. But the mind learns to solve problems only by solving problems. What makes such studies unattractive is that it does not produce immediate results. In other words, if we want to become more resourceful, we need real problems to train our brains on. Success breeds other success, and the more often we see ourselves solving the most important issues and getting what we need, the more we will believe in ourselves and become more resourceful.

Probably everyone felt the ability to experiment, using their natural abilities. These things usually happen when we feel strong, healthy and attractive. On these truly “good days” we even try something new: different clothes, talking to a stranger (just because we liked him), lunch at an unfamiliar restaurant. In other words, our ability to “play” with situations and people, to try something non-standard on such days increases, because we are filled with internal energy and the feeling that “I am fine, and everything around me is good.”

People with high self-esteem almost always have this ability, even when they are afraid or anxious. Despite the dangerous situation, they act as if they are in a strong position. Before learning this behavior, it would have been helpful to listen to another successful businesswoman who shared with me her ways of solving problems.

This woman - now in her forties - began her career as a secretary. She forged her way to financial independence through a series of assertive, inventive steps. Each step was planned as a movement towards financial freedom and greater opportunities for organizing a new business - the main goal of her life. She now owns a secretarial executive service and rents out offices and secretarial equipment.

The woman, who I will call Gail, is a genius at bringing different businesses together based on one idea. She owes her success entirely to herself and is the perfect role model for anyone who has hopes of becoming financially independent but doesn't have a plan of their own. Gail grew up in a large, impoverished family and had no support to pursue her goals. She became successful on her own. She says about herself:

My skills are mainly in secretarial and administrative areas. I am a secretary who has “grown” into an administrator. When I arrived in California, I realized that I didn’t want to work for anyone else. Therefore, I began to ask myself: “What can I do? What do I like to do?” At first I thought of opening a clothing store because I really love clothes. But I wanted to have a business that would give me some free time. When I thought about servicing offices, I began to do some research: nothing special, I just talked with business friends, people related to marketing. I needed to know the field of future activity.

I also knew that with this type of service I already had support, i.e. clients. When several computer marketing consultants I knew were interested in my proposal, I decided that the time was perfect: I did everything on time. My company has been in this building for nine years. When I first started, I had four offices ready for rent. A year later there were already eight offices, and then we expanded to fifteen to twenty within a year. Four years later I doubled that size. And at the same time, during this time, I started another business, built it, made it profitable, and then sold it.

Gail's ingenuity is demonstrated everywhere: both in the initial period and throughout her career. She refused the support of her husband and the loans he could get, and decided from the very beginning (even though this was before the women's liberation movement, which inspired banks to give large loans to women) to come to the bank and tell her what she was going to do.

You have to be persistent, and I was like that. After all, people need confidence in you to lend you money or offer their services when you're starting out. For example, the bank would never have given me a loan if I had not arranged it myself: I wanted them to know me, not my husband. Therefore, two years before starting my business, I came to the bank and met the management. I kept my own savings in this bank and met with management several times. A year later, I came there myself and said that I needed a loan, although I had no business advantages for this. So they gave me a small loan. And now, if necessary, I can go and get a large amount of money simply with my signature.

I am also still involved in the furniture business that I was involved in when I started. These people were great, they gave me a chance, they took a risk.

I went into every store and made connections with people. I went to IBM to buy typewriters - I needed them. The people who worked there were fantastic. They said they liked to see a woman in business and really helped me. They even provided me with literature on secretarial matters. I used it when organizing the company's staff. They eventually got my business so they knew what they were doing.

The main obstacle is that at that time business was truly a man's world. When I needed to introduce our secretarial companies to other firms to get additional work, or distribute advertisements in residential areas to find office space, the men usually asked to finish our business "over lunch." I was not naive, but I believed people. I went to these dinners a couple of times, and it turned out to be a big mistake. It was awkward and uncomfortable. At first I was angry with men. I wanted to reprimand them, tell them to forget about our business. Then I just wanted to leave. But I soon learned to act in such a way that I made the necessary deal even before lunch was offered. Today I may have a drink with someone, but I know how to keep such a situation under control.

Risk-averse people may find it difficult to be creative because they avoid the very problems they could train their brains on. A creative response to a problem is necessary, but this is precisely what some people fail to demonstrate because all problems scare them. A woman in her thirties - I'll call her Beth - told me her amazing story of how she learned to overcome the fears that dominated her - in this case, the fear of poverty, and at the same time achieve a high sense of self-worth.

Beth realized she needed the help of a therapist during a painful divorce from her husband. Not only did she experience severe bouts of depression and grief, but she also experienced overwhelming anxiety. Upon entering therapy, Beth "remembered" that her decision to get married was not based on deep love, but rather on a deep need for financial care.

At the age of twelve, her father died and her mother was hospitalized with a mental disorder. Although it took a lot of emotional stress, Beth managed to take care of herself. But she was so traumatized by the sudden and unbearable independence for her age that all she worried about was money. She didn't realize that she was gaining extraordinary resourcefulness by taking care of herself. She showed heroism, earning money through temporary work, negotiating with her relatives to send her to a boarding school, preparing for admission and entering a wonderful college at the age of sixteen.

Beth's main thought at the time, however, was to find a man to replace her father, and she did this shortly after graduating from college. In her heart, the only thing that mattered to her was her desperate need for a strong, protective, financially stable comrade. Of course, over time, the relationship changed radically, because it was based on logical motives. Both Beth and her husband realized that their marriage would not last.

Of course, the anxiety Beth faced during her divorce was the same grief and anxiety she felt when her father died. These were the feelings that she hid deeply within herself when she decided not to rely on her own strengths and talents, but to marry for protection and financial support.

Her therapist, a true dissident and rebel in his field, believed that “you have to kick someone who’s lying down.” What he meant was that the best time to push people to stand up and see themselves is to use their habitual pattern of dodging difficulties. Using his "tough love" method, he gave Beth guidance that led her out of the labyrinth of helplessness.

He asked her to go away for the weekend to a place where she didn't know anyone, somewhere at least a hundred miles from home, with nothing but ten cents to call him in case of an emergency. She had to use nothing but her own intuition, her natural skills of "ingenuity" to survive. He said that he thought she was as resourceful a person as he had ever met, and that her only job was to open her eyes wider and believe in her own worth and ability to take care of herself.

My doctor said that I should understand that I have endless reserves of creative mind. Even my decision to get married was a victorious decision given to me by my past. At that time I thought he was crazy. But I agreed to do what he asked because I trusted him completely.

The unusual Sunday trip came with one more condition: Beth wasn't allowed to do anything illegal to help herself "get by," and she was required to call a therapist if she ended up in jail or worse.

When I left the doctor, I was shocked by the agreement to such an adventure. It was like crazy. And although all my hidden fears arose - the horror of being alone, without a penny, in a gloomy, squalid environment - I was also intrigued. I knew it would be fun because it was all meant to be a game. And also, deep down, I was sure that I could control myself. This amazing feeling was the biggest surprise: I liked the idea of ​​​​deciding for myself what to do!

That evening, on the way home, I realized that the basis of my feelings was not fear, but excitement. For the first time in a long time, my mind was focused not on my catastrophic fears, but on solving a specific problem. I experienced an incomprehensible revival. First, when I returned home, I began feverishly planning my trip. I decided to move to San Diego, where I don’t know anyone. I made a few phone calls and found out where the youth hostel was located. I wrote down the exact data so as not to get lost and not waste fuel. According to the conditions, there should only be enough gasoline for the trip there and back. And I made sure my therapist knew where I was going, so that at least someone would know where I was in case I got into trouble.

I noticed that I was acting responsibly and carefully without any help, and this observation gave rise to something new that filled me with self-esteem.

When I got to the youth hostel, I learned to my horror that it cost fifty cents a night. I only had ten. I saw myself asking a fellow Canadian tourist for money, and he lent me fifty cents. And another neighbor took pity and gave another fifty. I became rich!

I observed myself, assessing the inhabitants of the shelter. Some were drug addicts, others were students traveling for adventure. I was so tactful that I made friends with both groups, but decided to sleep next to the students who were located on the beds and on the floor in sleeping bags. There was one alarming episode when the police showed up in the middle of the night looking for a young woman matching my description. She was suspected of murder! My breathing stopped, and I tried to live up to the image of a good citizen. The police bought my story and left without further questioning.

The next day I began to realize how enterprising I was, trying to donate blood (while being ten pounds underweight) and driving people to the blood drive for fifty cents (there were six people in my car, so I got three dollars ). Now I had about four dollars. Then I went to Saks on Fifth Avenue, where I knew there were clean bathrooms (the dorms were terrible and I couldn't use them), washed my face and put on fresh makeup, and then went to HR to look for a job. Don’t ask me how, but I managed to quickly complete the paperwork. I think they just urgently needed an assistant, and I had experience selling cosmetics, and I said that I could start on Monday morning. And although my weekend was not over, I realized that I had accomplished everything on my own. I had a job, a refuge, and a way to “survive.” I learned that I don't have to get married for someone to care about me. I myself have the ability to do this. If I marry again, it will be for other, more fundamental reasons.

After that, I went back to graduate school and started dating someone I really care about, someone who is my best friend, my tender and romantic love. My feelings for him have nothing to do with money or the need to take care of me. I just love being around him.

Periods of anxiety are times when you need to pull yourself together. At this time, we need to understand that we shape circumstances as if it were a sculpture: first we see the ideal result, then we imagine how we would feel if we handled the situation well, then it’s time to take the right actions. Actions that result from such subjective ideas and emotions are usually spontaneous actions that bring about a desired solution. By conquering our fears one by one, and learning how to stand up for ourselves, how to make decisions, we learn how to rely on ourselves. We learn that what is within us gives us everything we need to be truly safe in a long-term, real sense. We learn that this type of security has little to do with money. We have already discussed this issue in the early chapters: we must believe in ourselves, knowing that we have all the necessary skills, intelligence and ingenuity to meet any need.

For some people, using their skills means facing financial difficulties. For others, it is the science of asking others for help and making friends.

Many, unable to cope with unexpected circumstances, experience imaginary loneliness and try to find external support systems (for example, money in the bank; necessary connections; secure work; social contacts) that are not needed if they could honestly open up to the people they really love and respect.

Others realize that their mental abilities function even in stressful situations, that their minds - even if they are not very gifted - are designed for survival and happiness. All of these lessons can be learned if one accepts responsibility for effective functioning every day, regardless of feelings that say: “I can’t work, I don’t know how, I’m too scared, too old, too sick...”

That doesn't mean we're not wrong, that everyone should run off for a weekend of adventure with just a dime in their pocket and see how creative they can be in a strange city. Beth was an exception and was under the supervision of a therapist. Although she felt like a novice in these matters, she was in fact a professional. And this is the meaning of her adventure. This is certainly not a recipe for everyone! The fortunate minority learn at a young age to function effectively and resourcefully despite obstacles or the feeling that they "can't." But anyone can learn the art of "skillful techniques" at any age.

The term "skilled techniques" are the words of Tarthang Tulku, a lama from Eastern Tibet, and are used to describe the spontaneous flowing energy that always helps us meet any problem and any goal. He says, "By using skilled techniques to enrich our lives and bring creativity into all our endeavors, we can penetrate to the heart of our true nature. We can gain an understanding of the fundamental purpose in life and appreciate the joy of using our precious time and energy well."

Ingenuity and skilled techniques are actually one and the same thing. We can trust in the power of our own minds and talents to carry us through life. We can practice this faith in ourselves and in independent thinking/action as we face the demands and complexities of life, only occasionally stopping and asking, “What does my thinking say about the action ahead?” or “What would the people I admire do if they were me?”

When we are determined to accomplish life's challenges, we begin to see all problems as opportunities for creative growth and new answers. And we open to ourselves the source of knowledge within us, which helps us overcome and surpass all difficulties, and in practice leads us to the people, places and things that we need. In this way, we will eventually become resourceful and move away from the false idea that we cannot live fruitfully.