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Moving from vision to action
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BRYNNA LESLIE
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Capital Muse another, ripping stuff is fun. (Just ask any preschooler). But if the point of enhancing creativity is to trigger one to create something, I’m not sure the board has done its job. According to my vision, I’d like to eat penne salad with feta, live in a log cabin and own a red purse. There’s also a really neat cocktail recipe pinned to the side, but I chalk that up to a recent dry spell on the alcohol front. Although I have this pretty collage up on my office wall, it has failed in its purpose to help me initiate something different in my life. See, the thing about vision boards is that they’re kind of fluffy. But without some kind of action plan associated with it, the vision board will exist as a pretty piece of wall art. A blog by Dr. Neil Farber on the Psychology Today website helped me realize what I really need is an action board, something that has a few clearly defined goals with measurable targets along the way. While pop psychology tells us if we think optimistically about things long enough they will happen, Farber says this is tripe. He cites at least one study that suggests the opposite. In the study, a group of students
were divided – one group was asked to study for the upcoming standardized tests while imagining a really great outcome. A second group was asked to visualize where and how they would study. The third group was asked to study while at the same time thinking about how they would avoid failing. The second group performed best on the tests. Why? They mapped out what they had to do to achieve their goals – as a result, they studied harder and were ultimately better prepared. If it’s my goal to have my “best body” as the vision board suggests, it’s not enough to paste pictures around the house of skinny and muscular women. I have to map out precisely what I’m going to do to achieve that goal. Perhaps more importantly, I have to include hurdles in that map – things that will get in the way of my goal – and think about ways I will overcome those challenges. I’m not going to throw out the vision board just yet. If nothing else, it’s helped me get a sense of my decorating style. But I have discounted its ability to trigger anything on the creative front, with the exception, perhaps, of this column.
CLOSE-OUT AUCTION SALE Belisle Chevrolet Cadillac – 444 Montreal Rd, Ottawa Friday, March 1 9:00 a.m. Vehicles: Approximately 20 used cars and trucks, various makes, ranging from 2012 units with low mileage to older vehicles with high mileage. Full details at www.rideauauctions.com. Mechanical Equipment: 18 hoists (various makes – 7000 to 12,000 lbs); 2 alignment machines; diagnostic machine; AC 2000 recovery & charger; CT2 Trans coolant machine; engine oil flush; leak tamers; 20+ retractable exhaust, oil and air hose reels; engine crane; E-test machine; workbenches and vises; trolley jacks; jack stands; 125 cases of GM specialty tools; compressed air dryers and air compressors; fuel injector testers; electric pressure washer; wheel balance machines; tire changers; several coolant and fluid exchangers; coil spring compressor; on-car brake lathe; GM PDI machine; large quantity of hand, power and air tools Paint/Body Shop: downdraft paint booth; 2 hydraulic body frame spreaders; 2 welders (Lincoln SPI40T and Miller 210); frame pullers; air jack; Curemaster super lights; P2050 diagnostic system; sandblaster pot; portable air filtration system; masking racks; anchoring systems; tram gauges; paint mixer; paint gun washer Parts Department: approx. 50 sections of shelving; belt conveyor (70’); plastic bins; pallet racking Misc: cardboard compactor; electric pallet truck; hand pallet truck; approx. 25 wall cabinets; 5 bathroom stall partitions; 64 lockers; 5 Kinnear roll-up doors – various sizes Tires: Approx. 80 lots of 4 tires, various sizes and condition Office Equipment: phone system; TVs; office chairs; waiting chairs; boardroom tables; file and storage cabinets; 30 work stations; printers; photocopiers; executive office suites Restaurant: 2 Foster Commando 2-door coolers; MKE grill, 2 burners & oven; deep fryer; 4’ display cooler; 4’ counter with sink; triple sink; café tables & chairs; bar tables & stools Many other items -- see www.rideauauctions.com for full listing.
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s a writer, I’m naturally drawn to exercises that seek to enhance creativity. I’ve tried various one-minute meditations. (They often turn into half-hour naps). I’ve reorganized my work space so I’m standing up or looking out the window (for hours). I’ve called my grandmother to ask her stories about her childhood. (I really should write a book about Granny). In other words, I’m quite good at procrastinating. Recently, however, I was looking less for something to get me over a bout of writer’s block than I was something to get me over a sort of life-encompassing creativity slump. (Let’s call it the February blahs). So I decided to create a vision board. For those who don’t know, a vision board is a postersized collage of images and words one has ripped out of consumer magazines. The idea is to flip through pages of old magazines and tear out anything that instinctively appeals to you. If there’s even a niggling doubt, you leave the page intact. But if your gut says yes, stick it on your poster. According to proponents of vision boards, the exercise is meant to help you better understand the direction in which you’d like to take your life. And of course, it should make you feel more innovative and action-oriented. Admittedly, I had great fun doing this exercise. For one thing, it gave me something to do other than meet an imminent writing deadline. For
Solution down to trying harder: Chernushenko
“The good news is the city and the university have come to a tentative agreement on a different location,” Chernushenko said. The new plan, which still needs approval from the university’s board of directors, would put around 150 permanent parking spaces on a slice of city land adjacent to the university’s 200 Lees Ave. campus. The councillor credited the community outcry for prompting the change. “It was very clear, they made their case very strongly and very effectively, my office worked hard and city staff, and I’m sure the University of Ottawa people did, as well, to find a creative solution, which, in the end, will be better for everyone. “This tentative resolution says, if you try hard enough, you can find a better solution,” Chernushenko said. “We’re really happy that they did listen to the community,” said John Dance, president of the Old Ottawa East Community Association. He thanked Chernushenko, Mayor Jim Watson, city staff and the university for their cooperation on the issue. The triangular site at 193 Lees Ave., bounded by Lees
u w r o o f y y Add he Cit
t e v o m help
The City of Ottawa is currently recruiting: • One (1) volunteer to serve as a citizen representative on its Transit Commission, which is responsible for ensuring the development of a safe, efficient, accessible and client-focused transit system and for providing overall guidance and direction to the Transit Services Department; and • One (1) volunteer to serve as its representative on the Mohr’s Landing/Quyon Port Authority. Transit Commission meetings are generally held at City Hall on the third Wednesday of each month, beginning at 9:30 a.m. whereas Port Authority meetings are generally held in Kinburn twice a month, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The City can benefit greatly from your expertise, enthusiasm and civic pride. Get involved and play an active role.
Applications must be received before 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 7, 2013.
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cost more than building a temporary lot at 160 Lees, which was vaguely estimated at $2 million, not to mention tearing it down and rehabilitating the land. City staff said the university’s legal team is also looking into whether the university staff could be given delegated authority to sign off on the change without the need for a university board vote. The plan already has support from university staff and the Chernushenko said he was confident it will gain the university’s support. A spokesman for the University of Ottawa, Patrick Charette, declined to discuss the details of the new proposal, but he acknowledged the university and the city have been working as partners to come up with a solution to the impact of the city’s need to expropriate the university’s parking lot. Charette wouldn’t comment on details of the new proposal or why this arrangement hadn’t been considered in the first place. He said the idea to build a parking lot at 160 Lees came from the city, not the university, as a way to compensate uOttawa for loss of parking as dictated in a memorandum of understanding between the city and university.
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Avenue and Highway 417, already has about 30 spaces, Dance estimated. He was fine with the land transaction. The land is zoned for major institutional use, which includes a parking lot or parking garage. The city would need to approve the transfer of the land to the university and that is expected to happen in March if the plan is approved. The permanent parking lot at 193 Lees would be supplemented by extending the period that university staff can use the Sandy Hill Arena parking lot during the day to 26 months, from 2016 to 2018. After 5 p.m., the lot would be available to arena users. Deputy city manager Nancy Schepers declined to comment on the new proposal until the university had signed off on it. Residents had expressed confusion and concern that the lot at 160 Lees was proposed to contain 56 per cent more parking spaces than the lot being taken over by construction at the heart of the university’s campus. The new proposal would mean a smaller number of new – but permanent – parking spaces will be built. The city was not prepared to reveal how much it would cost to expand the parking lot. Dance said it would be unlikely that the project could
Please consult the City of Ottawa website at ottawa.ca or contact Diane Blais at 613-580-2424, ext. 28091, (TTY: 613-580-2401) or by e-mail at committees@ottawa.ca. R0011926813-0221
Ottawa-East EMC - Thursday, February 21, 2013
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