Character Development: Creativity And Affirmations
In this episode of the Character Strengths Affirmation Series, we explore the strength of Creativity, which falls under the virtue of Wisdom. Creativity is the art of living with originality, resourcefulness, and the courage to imagine new possibilities. My hope is that this episode offers you insight into the depth of creativity—not just as a talent, but as a way of living with curiosity, originality, and courageous self-expression. Through discussion and affirmations, we will nurture our capacity to think expansively, solve challenges with ingenuity, and bring forth the unique spark that lives within each of us. Peace and Blessings, Hannah
Transcript
In a world that often focuses so much on what we lack,
It's easy to overlook the incredible internal strengths that each of us possess.
Grounded in ancient philosophy and modern science,
This series invites you to reconnect with the innate strengths that make you who you are,
Promoting balance and harmony in everyday life.
Whether you're looking to boost your confidence,
Overcome negative self-talk,
Deepen your relationships,
Or simply invite a greater sense of well-being,
My hope is that this series offers a practical and uplifting path to personal growth.
All right,
Hello,
Beautiful people,
And welcome back to our Character Strengths Affirmation Series.
In each session,
We explore one of the 24 character strengths identified by positive psychology,
All of which fall under the virtues of courage,
Humanity,
Wisdom,
Justice,
Temperance,
Or transcendence.
These traits are universal,
And we can use intention and practice to strengthen them and balance them in our everyday lives.
I am super excited about today because we are beginning to explore the virtue of wisdom,
Which the VIA Institute defines as strengths that help us gather and apply knowledge in ways that promote insight and growth and perspective.
The first character strength that we'll be working with under the umbrella of wisdom is creativity.
Now,
If you're anything like me,
You hear the word creativity and you immediately think of like second grade art class,
And like paintbrushes and crafts,
Or maybe like Pinterest boards.
Yeah,
That's what I think of when I think of creativity.
And those things are amazing.
That's great.
But creativity is so much more than just our artistic ability.
It's a way of being.
It's how we navigate life with imagination and problem solve with originality and express who we are in our day to day existence.
You don't have to be a poet or a painter to be creative.
It shows up and how we organize our time,
How we raise children,
How we ask questions,
How we find a new route when the GPS fails.
Creativity,
According to the VIA Institute,
Which again,
Is the framework that we're utilizing to have a breakdown for character.
They define creativity as thinking of novel and productive ways to do things.
And this involves originality,
Ingenuity and adaptive thinking.
Originality is about bringing forth ideas that are new and unique and unconventional.
It's that little spark that says,
Oh,
What if we tried this way instead?
It doesn't mean creating a masterpiece,
It could be reimagining how you structure your day.
It could be writing an email,
It could be decorating a space in a way that reflects your inner world.
It's about coloring outside the lines of habit.
Ingenuity is where creativity meets practicality.
It's the resourceful,
Clever way we solve problems,
Especially when there's no clear path forward.
So you know those moments when you're missing an ingredient,
But somehow whip up like the best meal of your life.
Yeah,
That's ingenuity.
Adaptive thinking refers to the flexibility of our minds,
Our ability to shift perspectives,
Adjust strategies,
And come up with new approaches when things don't go as planned.
It's not about having ideas,
It's about staying mentally agile,
Especially when life throws us curveballs.
And she does.
She will throw them.
They will get thrown at us from all directions.
And we have to be agile.
So this is where I want to introduce a concept I first learned in Psych 101.
Shout out to John Riccardi,
My teacher from high school,
Who really like instilled within me a passion for psychology.
And the term is functional fixedness.
I'll say it again.
Functional fixedness.
It basically means seeing things only in terms of their traditional or intended use.
So like if you're camping and you forget a hammer or a mallet,
And you're like,
Bummer,
Can't put the tent up.
And then somebody's like,
We could use a rock.
That person does not have high,
They have low functional fixedness.
So you don't want to have too rigid of functional fixedness.
You don't want to be fixed in your functionality.
So that's adaptive thinking.
It's the flexibility to say,
What else could I use?
What else could I be?
What else could,
How else might I solve this problem?
And I'll say this concept has always stuck with me because it's not just about objects,
It's about life.
Sometimes we get so fixed in how we think something is supposed to go that we miss the creative possibilities right in front of us.
We might assume that there's only one right way to grieve,
Or to parent,
Or to succeed,
Or to be spiritual or mindful.
When in reality,
There are infinite paths.
Creativity helps us unhook from those mental ruts.
And when we lean into that kind of thinking,
We start to rewire the way we relate to ourselves,
To our relationships,
And to the world.
Creativity becomes a way of life,
Not just something we do,
But something we are.
Something else I want to recognize is that there's a beautiful connection between creativity and mindfulness and spirituality.
Some of you may know I'm in graduate school,
And I work and I'm trying to develop new ideas and do research.
And so my mind is going all over the place all the time.
And so much of the time,
I'll be like ruminating on something and really trying to figure something out and really trying to understand the intricacies of some topic or new idea that I've stumbled upon.
And I can't tell you how many times the idea and the perspective comes after I've stopped trying.
I'll be engaging in my meditation,
Sitting quietly,
And suddenly something arrives.
Not from effort,
But because I've achieved a certain level of spaciousness within my mind and within my being.
I've come to see these moments as gifts,
Not from me,
Not from my ego,
But from something bigger that flows through me when I make myself available.
A teacher,
A mentor of mine very close to me,
He once said,
All I've done,
He's talking about himself,
All I've done is earn the trust to listen.
Meaning,
I'm not,
I can't take credit for what I've been able to do in the world or the ideas that I've had.
The only credit that I can take is the will that it takes to quiet myself and listen as the wisdom comes to me from a greater source from all around me.
And that really stuck with me.
And it takes practice,
Right?
Like I have a,
I have to have a daily meditation.
Listen,
I'm not enlightened.
I say that hopefully every episode.
I am certainly not enlightened,
Very human over here.
I get distracted.
I have all kinds of things that that come at me from all directions and keep me from being grounded.
And it is through my mindfulness practice that I'm able to come back to baseline and regulate myself enough so that I can operate with a creativity that is genuine.
So I find that when I show up consistently with intention and openness,
Creativity actually starts to trust me.
I hope that that makes sense.
I wanted to share that.
Okay,
So enough of the woo.
We'll get into our conversation about balance.
So if this is your first time with us,
In every episode,
We acknowledge that virtue exists as the middle line between two vices,
That of deficiency and that of access.
So what we're seeking is not just virtue for the sake of virtue,
But a sense of balance.
When creativity is underused,
Life can feel rigid,
And dull,
And overly controlled.
We might avoid new approaches or feel like we're not the creative type.
Maybe we suppress our ideas out of fear of judgment or failure.
I know I've been there,
Writing something and instantly judging it or hesitating to share a perspective because it felt too out there.
But I've learned that when I give myself permission to just try,
Even in small ways,
A spark returns.
Whether it's trying a new recipe or changing up my routine in some small way,
Even if it's just taking a different route on my evening walk,
Or journaling for five minutes without editing myself,
That spark matters.
It's rewiring those neural networks,
It's achieving a sense of novelty,
It's allowing us to experience a sense of openness about our own minds and the potential.
On the flip side,
When creativity is overused or unchecked,
It can sometimes manifest as chaos.
So maybe you have too many ideas without being grounded.
Maybe you're avoiding,
Maybe,
Let me include myself in that,
Maybe we're avoiding structure altogether or constantly starting things without following through.
There's also the risk of using creativity as a way to avoid vulnerability by staying in the realm of abstraction and never actually sharing what's real.
That one hits home.
Just staying in the intellect and not actually coming back down to the human experience.
So it's almost used as a means of staying in the imagination without grounding ourselves in reality,
Which can disconnect us not only from ourselves,
But from others.
The sweet spot,
As always,
Lies in the dance between inspiration and action,
Between play and purpose.
As with a lot of these character strengths,
There's another important nuance,
Which is that creativity involves risk.
There's vulnerability and putting something new into the world.
Whether that's a business idea or a poem,
Even just an honest conversation.
Y'all,
I have given speeches in front of hundreds of people.
I have spoken to people I've idolized for years.
I have mediated conflict between gang members,
But nothing,
I'm telling you,
Nothing has made me more nervous than reading my poetry out loud.
I will shake like a leaf.
I will,
It'll,
It's,
Wow,
It's unlike anything else.
It's raw,
But it's also,
It's so liberating.
It's real.
It's honest.
It's me saying,
Like,
Here is this deep part of my heart,
And I am unabashed and unafraid to just say,
You get to look at it.
It's incredibly freeing.
That's the paradox,
I think.
Creativity asks us to step out of our comfort zone,
Not because we're guaranteed applause,
But because the act itself is transformational.
As we said at the start of this episode,
Don't let a narrow definition of creative keep you from expressing what's already alive inside of you.
James Clear once asked,
How long will you put off what you're capable of doing just to continue what you're comfortable doing?
I'll add,
How will you ever know what you're capable of creating if you never give yourself the chance to begin?
You don't have to share your creativity publicly for it to matter.
You'll feel it in your being,
And how you move through the world and how you relate to yourself.
And if you do decide to share it in any form,
Know that your willingness to show up messy and imperfect and real can open the doors for others to do the same.
Your courage with your creativity gives other people permission to be creative as well.
And that's,
That's beautiful.
We love that.
Okay,
Before we move into the affirmations,
We'll pause for a blessing.
May we be blessed with the courage to express our unique vision and the freedom to explore without fear.
May we embrace the boundless possibilities of imagination and the grace to trust the process.
As we play and create and innovate,
May we remember that creativity is not a performance,
But a way of connecting to joy,
To truth,
To others,
And to ourselves.
May our ideas bring light,
Our risks bring growth,
And our creations bring beauty to a world in need of wonder.
I will read each statement twice,
Pausing in between to give you a chance to repeat them out loud to yourself,
And I do recommend saying them out loud.
The statements that are easy to embrace,
Savor them,
Appreciate them,
Stand like a mountain in their truth.
The statements that feel not so good,
That feel uncomfortable,
Or foreign,
Or like straight-up lies,
Go ahead and say them anyway.
This is where we are doing the work,
Rewiring those neural networks.
This is also where we gain insight into unhealed wounds,
Limiting beliefs,
And ingrained biases or judgments toward ourselves or toward a particular way of being.
It's great material for journaling or discussing with a counselor or trusted friend,
Maybe even someone doing this series with you.
Whether you're just waking up,
Walking your dog,
On your commute,
Or getting ready for bed,
I hope these affirmations serve your deepest,
Greatest,
Highest self.
Let's begin.
I am creative.
I am creative.
I am constantly inspired by the world around me.
I am constantly inspired by the world around me.
My mind is full of brilliant ideas.
My mind is full of brilliant ideas.
I embrace my creative potential.
I embrace my creative potential.
Creativity flows through me effortlessly.
Creativity flows through me effortlessly.
I turn challenges into creative opportunities.
I turn challenges into creative opportunities.
I see beauty and possibility all around me.
I see beauty and possibility all around me.
I am open to new and innovative ideas.
I am open to new and innovative ideas.
I trust my creative intuition.
I trust my creative intuition.
My creativity is a force for positive change.
My creativity is a force for positive change.
I allow myself to play and experiment freely.
I allow myself to play and experiment freely.
My originality shines in everything I do.
My originality shines in everything I do.
I enjoy discovering new ways of thinking.
I enjoy discovering new ways of thinking.
I create without fear of judgment.
I create without fear of judgment.
I release attachment to outcomes and trust the process.
I release attachment to outcomes and trust the process.
My imagination is boundless.
My imagination is boundless.
I am resourceful and inventive.
I am resourceful and inventive.
I am inspired by the creativity of others.
I am inspired by the creativity of others.
My work brings joy and inspiration to others.
My work brings joy and inspiration to others.
My work brings joy and inspiration to others.
My work brings joy and inspiration to others.
My work brings joy and inspiration to others.
My work brings joy and inspiration to others.
My work brings joy and inspiration to others.
My work brings joy and inspiration to others.
My work brings joy and inspiration to others.
My work brings joy and inspiration to others.
Peace and many blessings.
I will see you next time.
Bye.
