\nR<\/strong><\/em>esilient: capable of overcoming setbacks; able to take risks; ambitious<\/span>
\nE<\/strong><\/em>valuative: willing to experiment and evolve your creativity beyond the idea stage
\nA<\/strong><\/em>utonomous: independent; norm-doubting
\nT<\/strong><\/em>uned in: open and alert to the world around you; highly perceptive
\nI<\/strong><\/em>ntrospective: driven by innate (intrinsic) rewards; self-accepting
\nV<\/strong><\/em>isionary: having dreams and aspirations; original thinking
\nE<\/strong><\/em>nergetic: adept at managing and recharging your energy<\/p>\n
![\"Creative](\"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Drozdik-family-300x200.jpg\")
<\/h1>\nDo you have what it takes to withstand creative flops?<\/strong><\/h1>\nCreativity cannot exist without failures. Period. Unfortunately, failures can occur without creativity. The challenge is how easily you give up.<\/p>\n
The picture at the top is one of the few photographs of my mother’s family. My grandmother had 10 children. Two were still-born, one died at an early age, and two were unable to make the trip to the United States with her. She faced continual hardship, but was resilient enough to be creative in her own way. That’s true grit.<\/p>\n
Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed, wrote an article about grit <\/a>for the New York Times Magazine. In it he discussed the role of resilience and persistence in attaining success. He emphasized that people insulated from botched outcomes don’t develop the fortitude necessary to succeed. Taking risks is part of life — and part of creativity.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s where grit (creative resilience) comes in. Sustained creativity requires not just failures, but also an ability to bounce back from them. It requires an ability to manage adversity. And it\u2019s a character skill most people have not been taught.<\/p>\n
So, do all educators agree<\/a> there is a link between grit and creativity? No. Nevertheless most concur that it may play a role in long-term<\/em> projects. In other words, in pushing creativity toward innovation. An initial creative spark is not enough. You need to continue through to a result. That means you have to keep bouncing back.<\/p>\nWhat is your creativity safety net?<\/strong><\/h1>\nTo bounce back from adversity, you need a virtual trampoline, a safety net. You have to strengthen your ability to cope with outcomes you don’t want. The Mayo Clinic provides these tips on improving resilience:<\/a><\/p>\n\n- Get connected
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/CIMG0101-300x225.jpg\")
<\/li>\n - Make every day meaningful<\/li>\n
- Learn from experience<\/li>\n
- Remain hopeful<\/li>\n
- Take care of yourself<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
I want to augment these tips and relate them to creativity.<\/p>\n
Get connected to build creative resilience
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\nDevelop a strong social network of family, friends, colleagues and\/or mentors.<\/a> Find people you can confide in. Share your frustrations. Use their support as a \u201csounding board\u201d to help reduce the frustrations you are feeling when faced with creative dead-ends.<\/p>\nMake every day meaningful<\/strong><\/h2>\nLook for opportunities to be grateful every day. Oprah Winfrey <\/a>keeps a gratitude journal to help her appreciate what she has rather than bemoan what she doesn’t have. According to Inc. Magazine<\/a>, gratitude can compensate for stress, thereby opening creativity ability.<\/p>\nTurn mistakes into lessons<\/strong><\/p>\nRethink failure. Learning from mistakes and setbacks is an achievement. It’s an element of success. Not learning<\/em> from errors is a failure.<\/p>\nIn fact, failure often creates new opportunities. Ian Robertson observed in Psychology Today:<\/u> “Paradoxically then, failure can help us to encounter new possibilities because it forces us to abandon the blinkered focus on reward that repeated success causes.”<\/em> In other words, success can cause complacency and risk reduction, sometimes referred to as the incumbent\u2019s curse<\/a>.<\/p>\nChallenge yourself to engage in experiences where success is not virtually guaranteed. If you need to wade into this by making mistakes that nobody sees, start there. Teach yourself that that you are resilient enough to rebound from occasional defeats.<\/p>\n
Keep track of what you have learned from missteps. Apply that to new situations. Contemplate setbacks without dwelling on them. Accept them as part of the normal process of creativity and innovation.<\/p>\n
Remain hopeful<\/strong><\/h2>\nBeing hopeful is not Pollyanaish optimism. It\u2019s not wishful thinking. Rather, it\u2019s about embracing possibilities, even while knowing some outcomes will fail. It\u2019s about accepting the present while being motivated to change the future. This perspective on hope is believed to be related<\/a> to creativity.<\/p>\nSo, encourage yourself to explore multiple solutions to problems. Believe you have the capacity to impact change. Take the long view.<\/p>\n
Take care of yourself<\/strong><\/h2>\nPhysical, mental and emotional health are all connected to resilience. The stronger you are in all these areas, the better equipped you are to bounce back from setbacks. Get proper sleep. Eat a balanced diet. Learn to relax. Manage stress through meditation, yoga or deep breathing. Focus on maintaining healthy self-esteem.<\/p>\n
Creativity cannot exist without failures. Period. Unfortunately, failures can occur without creativity. The challenge is how easily you give up.<\/p>\n
The picture at the top is one of the few photographs of my mother’s family. My grandmother had 10 children. Two were still-born, one died at an early age, and two were unable to make the trip to the United States with her. She faced continual hardship, but was resilient enough to be creative in her own way. That’s true grit.<\/p>\n
Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed, wrote an article about grit <\/a>for the New York Times Magazine. In it he discussed the role of resilience and persistence in attaining success. He emphasized that people insulated from botched outcomes don’t develop the fortitude necessary to succeed. Taking risks is part of life — and part of creativity.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where grit (creative resilience) comes in. Sustained creativity requires not just failures, but also an ability to bounce back from them. It requires an ability to manage adversity. And it\u2019s a character skill most people have not been taught.<\/p>\n So, do all educators agree<\/a> there is a link between grit and creativity? No. Nevertheless most concur that it may play a role in long-term<\/em> projects. In other words, in pushing creativity toward innovation. An initial creative spark is not enough. You need to continue through to a result. That means you have to keep bouncing back.<\/p>\n To bounce back from adversity, you need a virtual trampoline, a safety net. You have to strengthen your ability to cope with outcomes you don’t want. The Mayo Clinic provides these tips on improving resilience:<\/a><\/p>\n I want to augment these tips and relate them to creativity.<\/p>\n Develop a strong social network of family, friends, colleagues and\/or mentors.<\/a> Find people you can confide in. Share your frustrations. Use their support as a \u201csounding board\u201d to help reduce the frustrations you are feeling when faced with creative dead-ends.<\/p>\n Look for opportunities to be grateful every day. Oprah Winfrey <\/a>keeps a gratitude journal to help her appreciate what she has rather than bemoan what she doesn’t have. According to Inc. Magazine<\/a>, gratitude can compensate for stress, thereby opening creativity ability.<\/p>\n Turn mistakes into lessons<\/strong><\/p>\n Rethink failure. Learning from mistakes and setbacks is an achievement. It’s an element of success. Not learning<\/em> from errors is a failure.<\/p>\n In fact, failure often creates new opportunities. Ian Robertson observed in Psychology Today:<\/u> “Paradoxically then, failure can help us to encounter new possibilities because it forces us to abandon the blinkered focus on reward that repeated success causes.”<\/em> In other words, success can cause complacency and risk reduction, sometimes referred to as the incumbent\u2019s curse<\/a>.<\/p>\n Challenge yourself to engage in experiences where success is not virtually guaranteed. If you need to wade into this by making mistakes that nobody sees, start there. Teach yourself that that you are resilient enough to rebound from occasional defeats.<\/p>\n Keep track of what you have learned from missteps. Apply that to new situations. Contemplate setbacks without dwelling on them. Accept them as part of the normal process of creativity and innovation.<\/p>\n Being hopeful is not Pollyanaish optimism. It\u2019s not wishful thinking. Rather, it\u2019s about embracing possibilities, even while knowing some outcomes will fail. It\u2019s about accepting the present while being motivated to change the future. This perspective on hope is believed to be related<\/a> to creativity.<\/p>\n So, encourage yourself to explore multiple solutions to problems. Believe you have the capacity to impact change. Take the long view.<\/p>\n Physical, mental and emotional health are all connected to resilience. The stronger you are in all these areas, the better equipped you are to bounce back from setbacks. Get proper sleep. Eat a balanced diet. Learn to relax. Manage stress through meditation, yoga or deep breathing. Focus on maintaining healthy self-esteem.<\/p>\nWhat is your creativity safety net?<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\n
<\/li>\nGet connected to build creative resilience
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\nMake every day meaningful<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Remain hopeful<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Take care of yourself<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/DSCN1309-300x225.jpg\")
When you run into a dead-end, decide<\/em> to move forward. Don\u2019t allow yourself to be stuck in perpetual limbo. Scrap what you\u2019re doing until you uncover an untried solution. Reframe the problem. U-turns can be okay. Decide if the problem you are trying to solve is the wrong problem. (Sometimes the best resilience is \u201cquitting\u201d and starting over anew.) Just continue moving forward.<\/p>\n