LAURIE PARMA, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE ENGAGEMENT, CREATIVITY, PASSION AND FLOW

LAURIE PARMA, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE ENGAGEMENT, CREATIVITY, PASSION AND FLOW

WHAT DOES PASSION, FLOW, CREATIVITY AND ENGAGEMENT REPRESENT IN YOUR LIFE? CAN YOU IDENTIFY CORRESPONDING ACTIVITIES? WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN ABOUT IT? HOW COULD IT BE BENEFICIAL TO YOUR LIFE TO KNOW MORE? GETTING READY

PART 1 - ENGAGEMENT PART 2 - CREATIVITY PART 3 - PASSION PART 4 - FLOW

LET S GO BACK TO THE DEFINITION OF WELL- BEING

HEDONIC & EUDAEMONIC WELL-BEING Seligman defines happiness as the combination of: Pleasure, engagement and meaning (Seligman 2002), 1) identifying pleasure as the hedonic component 2) engagement and meaning as the eudaimonic components.

PART 1 - ENGAGEMENT

THE PUZZLE OF ENGAGEMENT

THE PUZZLE OF ENGAGEMENT MOTIVATION BACKFIRE Simple task Problem solving

INTRINSIC MOTIVATION: ENGAGEMENT WITHOUT EFFORT EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION INTRINSIC MOTIVATION EUDAEMONIA

THE PUZZLE OF ENGAGEMENT Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the copy machine? Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the copy machine because I m in a rush? Excuse I have 5 pages. May I use the copy machine because I have to make some copies? 60% SAID YES 94% SAID YES 93% SAID YES

THE PUZZLE OF ENGAGEMENT

SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY, MODEL FOR AN ENGAGED LIFE the urge to get better, or develop and master skills RELATEDNESS the desire to direct our own lives AUTONOMY COMPETENCE the universal want to interact, be connected to, and experience caring for others

SKETCHING PURPOSE WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACHIEVE OR WHAT CAUSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO IN THE COURSE OF YOUR LIFE?? ACTIVITY 1

PART 2 CREATIVITY

REFLECTION LOG - WHAT IS CREATIVITY? WHEN DO YOU EXPERIENCE IT? ACTIVITY 2

CREATIVITY DIFFERENT TYPES OF THINKING

CREATIVITY DIFFERENT TYPES OF CREATIVITY

CREATIVITY TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE How many types of intelligence are there? What are they?

CREATIVITY ASSUMPTION CLEAN UP

CREATIVITY THE CREATIVE PROCESS What are the different steps of the creative process? Can you guess how it occurs in the brain?

CREATIVITY THE CREATIVE PROCESS The entire creative process from preparation to incubation to illumination to verification-- consists of many interacting cognitive processes (both conscious and unconscious) and emotions. Depending on the stage of the creative process, and what you re actually attempting to create, different brain regions are recruited to handle the task.

CREATIVITY PHYSIOLOGY OF CREATIVITY Do you think there is a brain region associated with creativity? If so which one?

CREATIVITY PHYSIOLOGY OF CREATIVE PROCESS The Dorsal Attention / Visuospatial Network The Language Network

CREATIVITY CREATIVE COGNITION Three large-scale brain networks are critical to understanding the neuroscience of creativity: Network 1: The Executive Attention Network Network 2: The Imagination Network Network 3: The Salience Network The key to understanding the neuroscience of creativity lies not only in knowledge of large-scale networks, but in recognizing that different patterns of neural activations and deactivations are important at different stages of the creative process. Sometimes, it's helpful for the networks to work with each other, and sometimes such cooperation can impede the creative process. When you want to loosen your associations, allow your mind to roam free, imagine new possibilities, and silence the inner critic, it's good to reduce activation of the Executive Attention Network (a bit, but not completely) and increase activation of the Imagination and Salience Networks.

PART 3 - PASSION

PASSION DIFFERENT TYPES OF PASSION HARMONIOUS PASSION OBSESSIVE PASSION Intrinsic Joy feel in control of the work feel good about themselves during the activity in harmony with other activities Unstable and negative self concept Uncontrollable urge to engage conflict with other activities

PASSION PERFORMANCE What happens in the mind of artists who choke? What s the difference with those who, with similar abilities go to out perform themselves? How would you feel faced with an unsympathetic crowd? What if, just before performing, you feel that the tasks demands more than you can give? or are capable of giving?

PASSION THE CHALLENGE VS THREAT MODEL CHALLENGE THREAT Evaluations Resources > Demands Resources < Demands Emotions Pride/ self-esteem/anger Shame/anxiety/ self-esteem Autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity Behavior Recovery CO (cardiac output) VC (ventricle contractility) TPR (total peripheral resistance) Open posture, leaning toward approach Quick sympathetic nervous No change in CO VC TPR Rigid, freeze, withdraw, closed posture, moving away from stimulus, defeat Slow SNS, PNS & cortisol recovery

PASSION FACTORS INFLUENCING STATE factors that influence the evaluated demands resources in a motivated performance DANGER UNCERTAINTY NOVELTY REQUIRED EFFORT DISPOSITIONS KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES EXTERNAL SUPPORT

PASSION DEFEND - DISCOVER AXIS DEFEND DISCOVER survival circuit, Fight or flight Physiological relaxation Looking for threats Looking fro treats and pleasure Imprecise Contemplative Off-lines the deliberate system Keep deliberate system online

PART 4 - FLOW

1) WHAT IS AN OPTIMAL EXPERIENCE? 2) WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU WORK TOWARDS YOUR PURPOSE? ACTIVITY 3

FLOW AND ENGAGEMENT WHAT IS FLOW? flow the optimal mental state of being completely present and fully immersed in a task. A peak state where you feel your best and perform your best.

FLOW AND ENGAGEMENT WHAT IS FLOW? flow the optimal mental state of being completely present and fully immersed in a task. A peak state where you feel your best and perform your best.

FLOW AND ENGAGEMENT STER Selflessness (sense of self disappears) Timelessness (hours seem like minutes, or microseconds can be seen in vivid detail) Effortlessness (your tasks/mission seems much easier) Richness (we gain insight and information in vivid detail)

FLOW AND ENGAGEMENT COGNITIVE AND WELL-BEING BENEFITS Increased Happiness Increased positive emotions Better coping Better performance 400% increase in motivation and creativity

FLOW AND ENGAGEMENT CAN YOU MEASURE? CAN YOU TRIGGER FLOW? Psychological triggers intensely focused attention Challenge skill ration Immediate feedback Environmental triggers High consequences Rich environment Deep embodiment Social triggers shared, clear goals Familiarity Good communication Creative triggers Pattern recognition Risk taking

WHERE DO YOU GET FULFILMENT? HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM SUCCESS? ACTIVITY 4

THE ART OF FULFILMENT DISTINCTION: SUCCESS VS FULFILMENT Success = hit the target. Get the things you want. Fulfillment = a feeling of satisfaction. is about Gratitude, Celebration and Contribution

NO PASSION YOU SAY?? TRIANGULATING TO FIND YOU PASSION ACTIVITY 5

PASSION TRIANGULATING METHOD Step One: Make A List of 25 things you re curious about. Curious? And by curious, all I really mean is that if you had a spare weekend, you d be interested in reading a couple books on the topic and maybe having a conversation or two with an expert. Be as absolutely specific as possible. EG food, football and punk-rock music are too vague.

PASSION TRIANGULATING METHOD Step Two: Hunt for Intersections Now look for places where these 25 ideas intersect. Curiosity alone is not enough to create true passion. There s just not enough energy there. Not enough focus or commitment. Instead, you want to look for places where three or four items on your curiosity list intersect.

PASSION TRIANGULATING METHOD Step Three: Play Devote 10 or 20 minutes a day to listening to lectures, watching videos, reading articles, books, whatever, on the topic. Feed those curiosities a little bit at a time, but feed them on a daily basis.

PASSION TRIANGULATING METHOD Step 4: go public Why? For starters, positive feedback from others. Thus, once you re at this point in the process take things public. Talk to other folks. We humans are social creatures and adding social reinforcement to your passion is key.

PASSION TRIANGULATING PASSIONS Step Four: Turning Passion Into Purpose write down a list of 15 massive problems you would love to see solved. (something everyone has to deal with or some of the world s biggest problems. Now look for places where your passion intersects with a grand, global challenge. A place where your passion is a solution to some giant problem. That linkage now that s purpose.