By: Jennifer Quarrie
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Have
you ever hit one of those points in your life when you’re
ready to move in a healthier direction?
Whether its getting better sleep, moving more throughout the day or
walking away from junk food, the realization dawns that now is the
time. New Years’ resolutions come to mind. Well, not long ago I reached that point … and
what I learned on my journey towards wellness reflected many of the critical
tenets of creativity.
Pursuing wellness can be a beautiful, creative
process. Inviting new ideas into
your life often feels invigorating and meaningful. Yet since wellness is a holistic balance across many life
areas - physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, occupational,
financial, and environmental - achieving full wellness takes significant
attention in each individual area, in addition to the effort involved in balancing
all of them. It’s an investment, but the outcome is worth the effort.
I was motivated!
Not only did I want to improve bad habits (like not getting enough
sleep), I also wanted to improve even those I felt were pretty good (like nutrition). It was time for a whole new look at
what it meant to be well. Research
and insights abounded! My free
time was filled with everything from recipe searches to athletic classes to
insightful chats with friends about their own wellness journeys. I used Creative Problem Solving (CPS)
to identify, select, develop and implement new habits. I was on my way with immediate positive
results! Nothing could stop me
now!
Insight through Illness
“Let go or be dragged.” - Zen Proverb
Except … for illness. Only a few weeks in and my body called
a time out. Sidelined by a nasty
cold, I knew it was not just the fact that it was going around. Intuitively I understood my decisions
had played a role in compromising my immune system. How had I gone the opposite direction from my
intention? Had I failed at
wellness by getting sick? And so
soon at that?
Upon reflection, I realized that in the process of
attempting holistic wellness, I had diverged brilliantly, but had not held true
to the principles of convergence in CPS.
While I had converged on which new habits to add to my life, when it
came to implementing, I had not converged on which elements would stay in my
overall calendar. I had taken an
already busy schedule and added to it until there was not a moment free. I even
started cutting back on my already meager sleep schedule to fit it all in. And when my sleep habits faltered, not
even all of the other positive physical benefits of nutrition, exercise, and
meditation could compensate.
Luckily, in this instance being physically unwell did not
reduce my wellness in any other area; in fact, it fostered greater wellness in
certain ways. I had more time for
phone calls, increasing social wellness.
I spent more time reading and improving my intellectual wellness. The reduction in responsibilities
lowered my stress levels and increased emotional wellness. It was a fantastic insight to realize
that despite a rough cold I was really still mostly well!
Permission
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” - Lao Tzu
It was also surprising to realize that during my illness, I
treated myself far better than I did on any normal day, even during a
deliberate exploration of wellness behaviors. More startling still was the insight that illness is one of
the few socially acceptable reasons to throttle back in our modern, fast-paced
society. It takes significant
courage and insight to prioritize personal needs and values over social
expectations. This means saying ‘no’ even
when it might feel uncomfortable.
It was easy for me to diverge and say ‘yes’ to
all of the new wellness habits, but it was much more difficult to converge and
say ‘no’ and choose between the things
I valued. That kind of everyday
creativity takes courage. We are
accustomed to asking for permission when we go against expectations. ‘May
I please stay home from work for a few days because I am sick?’ ‘May
I please substitute another option in my meal? I have an allergy.’ Yet the truth is that we need
permission from ourselves to make self-supporting, affirmative choices - in any
area of creative problem solving, wellness or not.
Creating Space
“The music is not in the notes, but in the silence in between.” - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
In truth, we are only able to enjoy the things we create
when we have the time and space to do so.
Wellness practices do not create wellness if they exceed your available
resources. Experiences and
information do not provide as much value without the time to synthesize and
reflect on them. In wellness, as
in all creative change, we require space to rest, incubate, and simply be.
One of the most critical aspects of wellness and creative
change is building different types of free space. Space in schedules, space from demands, physical space,
personal space, social space, and even mental space where you are not required
to think about anything specific, or perhaps instead where you are required to deliberately
think of nothing at all.
Letting Go
“Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about
letting go of everything that isn't you - all of the expectations, all of the
beliefs - and becoming who you are.” - Rachel Naomi Remen
In order to make space in our lives, we must let go of some
things. As they say, we can have
it all, just not at the same time.
By embracing the power of the polarity between creating and letting go,
we are more likely to have a successful outcome. Wellness practices exemplify this concept.
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•
Meditation and sleep, two habits that
empower all areas of wellness, exemplify the fact that rest is productive in and
of itself, and is required to make waking hours productive.
•
In the realm of nutrition, fasting
(according to medical guidelines) is a very beneficial practice for the
metabolism and immune system.
•
Breathing, a critical practice to
physical and mental wellness, demonstrates that every inhalation requires a
balancing (and ideally longer) exhale.
•
In mindfulness, three primary pillars
are defusion (letting go of unhelpful thoughts), acceptance (making room for
uncomfortable feelings), and contact with the present moment in a curious and
open way.
Some wellness literature calls this type of letting go decluttering. While on the surface the concept of decluttering
might seem to pale in comparison to something like proper nutrition, the
greater mindset is critical to wellness in every realm because it helps to
create and protect space in life.
In the realm of creativity, we frequently refer to this idea as
convergence or prioritization. We
empower ourselves to succeed by providing the resources we need to do so.
As we journey toward self-actualization, becoming our
complete selves, fulfilling our true potentials, and letting go of the inauthentic
pieces of ourselves allows for space to accept and embrace our true
selves. As part of that greater
effort, we must discern why we are wedded to certain expectations and whether
they are worth retaining in our lives.
Creativity and wellness are important tools to assist in doing so.
It is here along my wellness journey that I’ve
hit one of those points yet again.
I made some space and healed from illness. I made some more space and was able to permanently institute
several new wellness practices. I
felt the power of letting go. The
impact of such simplification became apparent. Through it all, it became clearer that there is still more
to let go and now is the time to do so.
References:
Davis,
G. A. (1998). Creativity is forever. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.
Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new
psychology of success. New York, NY: Random House.
Wellness
model image source: http://www.fitnessforlifecoaching.com/Blank.html
Balloon
image source: http://theidproject.org/blog/nancy-thompson/2014/08/23/metta-month-i-cant-make-you-be-happy
Bio: Jennifer Quarrie is a dynamic innovation strategist and creativity expert with a visionary outlook and a knack for metacognition, facilitation and listening. With a BA in Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia and an MSc in Creative Studies from the International Center for Studies in Creativity (ICSC) at SUNY Buffalo State, she incorporates budding areas of mind and creativity research into all of her work. As a leader and speaker she inspires wellness, fosters transformation and emboldens self-actualization.
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