What are your thoughts when I say “creativity”? Do you think is just for artists? Do you have a glimpse of when was last time you felt creative? Are you a creative person? Can we be creative in our busy lives? Are we born with creativity or is something we can improve and grow? These were a part of my questions before I joined the PPL workshop The joy of creativity.
The opportunity to participate in the workshop was a very inspiring experience for me and it allowed me to learn more about creativity while having fun. And even more, I learnt that creativity and joy are related and that it can bring many benefits to my life.
Through playful games, with all the participants, we explored, on the one hand, the source of our creativity and, on the other hand, the elements that could block our creativity. At first sight, it was easy for me to find the source of my creativity but it was difficult to understand what could block it. However, it was followed by a meditation exercise where we had to visualize the source of our creativity, and then strong feelings and images arose. It helped me to have some insights about what could foster and block my creativity. As I regularly practice meditation, I was surprised by this experience… This shared meditation moment allowed us to continue the workshop even more relaxed. Also, in my point of view, the possibility to exchange with the other participants during the workshop was particularly interesting. Indeed, I believe that interactions are very enriching, because they help us expand our view of the world and see different life experiences.
Then, practical exercises that can easily be implemented in daily life were presented. For example, you can try to experience something new every day or take time to reflect on things that inspire you.
For me, a better vision of creativity can be summarized by « creative living ». Everybody can develop creativity in daily life, also through activities such as cooking, home decoration, hobbies. For anyone who is reading, I would be grateful to share the message delivered during the workshop: allowing creativity in everyday life can bring many benefits, including an increase in life satisfaction, in quality of experience and in positive emotions. I’ve heard many people in my surroundings saying : « me? I am not creative at all » or « creativity is only for artists ». I wish they would have joined this workshop to help them realize that these beliefs are wrong.
Personally I am looking forward to attending the next workshops. Every month, they focus on a different positive emotion and I am curious to know about practical exercises that I could implement in my daily routine. And you? Are you also curious to know more about positive emotions? Do you want to share an enriching online experience? Do you want to know concretely what you can do in your daily life to increase your wellbeing?
Article written by:
Dephine Dethis Student at Master of Social & Organisational Psychology – Université de Lorraine (Metz) certified Positive Psychology (Coursera).