Better Mouse Traps

A story about creativity loving iteration and focus

One of my favorite stories on iteration comes from the Dr. Laura radio program. It's been many years since I heard this, so I'm retelling it here to the best of my abilities. She talked about someone's experience interviewing several disabled workers who did the same task every day over and over again. However, the most interesting story came from the person that had been there the longest. He was asked, "don't you find this boring?" Surprisingly he was the only one to reply, "No, I don't."

"Why not?"

"Because I see it as self-improvement. You see those guys over there with the clipboards. They thought we could only complete our assigned process 100 times daily. I figured out how to do it 105 times in a day. I've turned it into a game, and it's fun. I don't want to be seen as limited by what others think. I want to prove them wrong."

This is an example of someone creative, focusing on self-improvement with a healthy perspective.

We can do the same task every day and not reflect on it. We can choose to find ways to improve with careful reflection and time. It can be challenging as time passes; diminishing returns may occur.

This story illustrates that most processes can continually be improved with iteration with the right attitude. There is always room for improvement if we allow for that perspective. Creativity loves limitations, so there will always be a better mouse trap as long as we wish there to be one.