Creativity

The latest issue of MAPP Magazine has been published by graduates of the MAPP Program at the University of Pennsylvania. This edition has more articles on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It also addresses the value of mastermind groups and the journey to happiness via film.

The latest issue of MAPP Magazine has been published by graduates of the MAPP Program at the University of Pennsylvania. This edition is dedicated to the Positive Humanities.

Whether you’re bringing your expressive medium to the side of a creek, having a collaborative meeting while on a mountain hike, or simply taking some time by yourself to sit and breath in the forest, the natural outdoors can be a huge benefit to the creative person, process, and lifestyle.

How might we create a deeper understanding of the elements that drive well-being? How do we capture meaning, ensure learning, and build collaboration so that people engage in the issues that strengthen their well-being? What about using LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® to help people think with their fingers and eyes as well as their minds.

So where might your zone of greatness lie between what you like to do and how you like to work when you’re at your very best?

At first, I was really enthusiastic about reviewing Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, but then I figured that to write a really good review, it should be, well, original!

So I procrastinated, because apparently that can make you more original and creative, and then I thought..

The ability to be creative gives us the confidence to meet any problem, challenge, or opportunity that comes our way. Life, both personal and professional, is nothing if not full of challenges, problems, and opportunities. What is creativity? How does it contribute to well-being? How can we gain more of it? Hint: Look at the title.

Certain work habits run deep in our culture. To name a few: Work ourselves to exhaustion, don’t take breaks, stare down a problem until a solution is reached, and multitask. Do these habits enhance efficiency or effectiveness? Do they lead to creative solutions to the problems we face?

The main message of this book is that it doesn’t work to focus only on the cognitive aspects of psychological well-being if you want to increase human flourishing. There are many processes involving the physical body that contribute to psychological well-being. If you have a serious interest in positive psychology and mental health, then reading Positive Psychology and the Body is a must.

Many people dread strategic planning sessions. But with a different mindset and framework, strategic planning can be energizing, interesting, and engaging. It could even be joyful. SOAR stands for Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results. It is a strengths-based approach to strategic thinking that has many positive impacts. SOAR capacities can also be measured.

We seem to be working harder and consuming more than ever before, but for all the stuff that comes with 21st century living to make our lives easier, less labor-intensive, and more comfortable, we don’t seem to be much happier. A growing number of people feel anxious and depressed. Can living a simpler life make us happier? The answer is not what you might expect.

Your children do not have to know algebra or read Dickens by the time they enter kindergarten. Let them be kids while they are kids. Let them play. Encourage play activities that maximize curiosity, positive emotions, and the cultivation of strengths and talents.

Even though Ken Keir focused on Honda’s R&D philosophy, explaining that in recessionary times, the company goes against the tide and invests more in R&D rather than less, by the time we reached slide 5 of the presentation on the Honda strategy, vision, values, and behavior, it was pretty clear to me that here was a company founded on positive psychology principles. How did I know?

I find all aspects of innovation fascinating. In a chapter of the new POS Handbook titled Innovativeness as Positive Deviance authors Jeff DeGraff and Dan Nathan-Roberts look at innovativeness from several viewpoints. For example, they use the competing values framework, showing that “oppositional factors can be productively engaged to create positive tensions that yield hybrid and novel solutions.”

During the recent London 2012 Olympic Games an unparalleled mood of optimism and hope swept across the United Kingdom. It was without doubt an extraordinary two weeks. The question is whether we can maintain and capitalize on that sense of  Olympic optimism now that the games are over, the athletes have all flown home, and life is settling back to normal. As with the sporting legacy, only time will tell.

If virtuousness is excellence in the human soul, what comprises excellence in the soul of an organization or business?

Some new research from René Proyer and colleagues at the University of Zurich suggests that not all strengths are equal and that strengths-based interventions should focus on those strengths which are correlated highly with life satisfaction. But fortunately for those who do not have curiosity, zest, gratitude, hope and/or love in their signature strengths, all is not lost!

When you listen, are you really listening? Had you ever considered that when you’re listening well, you’re enhancing your health and the health of others? This last question might seem strange, since using good listening techniques is not usually thought of as a well-being practice.