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Personal growth: The danger of over-seriousness in our creative projects February 27, 2014

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in The Creative Process.
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We can take it as a “given” that initiating, building, and maintaining a program of personal growth or development requires a disciplined approach if it is to be successful. Such a personal initiative requires genuine commitment if it is to become a part of our daily life.

And yet, overdone, a deadening seriousness can settle over our attitude and subsequent efforts, which eventually can lead to a loss of energy.

A lack of playfulness or fun in our self-improvement program will diminish the likelihood of reaching our full potential in our growth plan.

This is especially true if we have included pursuing a creative interest or project as part of our program.   It’s particularly important to bring some lightness in approach and execution to the creative segment(s) of our self-improvement efforts. Indeed, perhaps to our entire program, which, being self-generated, is a creative effort in itself.

Psychiatrist and philosopher Carl Jung wrote extensively on the need for a degree of playfulness in the creative process and I’ve chosen a couple of quotations that illustrate his point:

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.”

“Without this playing with fantasy no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of the imagination is incalculable.”

Choosing between logic and passion in creating your vision January 2, 2013

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Purpose.
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In our efforts to seek out our life purpose or our vision for our lives, we may become aware of the limits of trying to do this on strictly an intellectual basis.

On an intellectual basis, for example, we might be good and talented at performing a specific skill set, so logically that skillset would seem to be something we should focus on.

However, the things we are good at are not necessarily the things we like or enjoy doing. What we enjoy doing, or have our heart involved in, might be an area in which we are not particularly talented.

The choice then can sometimes be between passion for, and the love of doing something, and intellect, or the ability to do something well. Or, viewed another way, a choice between the ego and our intuition.

In making choices for our vision or life purpose, a comment by Carl Jung provides some insight: “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside dreams; who looks inside awakes.”