We started with a stretch and we end with a dance….
“You dance love, and you dance joy, and you dance dreams.” – Gene Kelly
Set a Timer for 5 minutes
Turn on your favorite dance song.
Wiggle your arms
Do the twist.
Or simply get up and jump around: anything to get your body moving.
Make it even more fun by inviting a friend or coworker to dance along with you.
Extra points: Send me a photo of you dancing to IG, DM or unpackyourcreativity@gmail.com
In one study conducted by Rhode Island College, scientists found that small amounts of exercise can boost creative potential both during and after the exercise is performed. Another study from Baruch College, showed that dancing specifically improves creativity.
This exercise uses divergent Thinking.
Tomorrow I will open the chat for comments hoping you can share one thought, one reflection of how the exercises made you feel. Wether you did one or all 21!
“A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life” – Elizabeth Gilbert
Set an Unrealistic Goal for yourself today. An unrealistic goal could be to come up with 1,000 ideas in one minute, to write 20,000 words by lunch, to talk to a friend and pay attention with no words for 5 full minutes.
Extra points: Share your Unrealistic goal with and tell me if you’ve achieved it. unpackyourcreativity@gmail.com
Intense pressure can hinder creativity, but embracing extreme pressure can have surprising benefits. When a task seems impossible, doubts and fears fade away, allowing for fearless creative thinking. This environment encourages giving it your all, knowing failure is inevitable. In the process, you might even accomplish the seemingly impossible, surprising yourself along the way.
This exercise uses convergent thinking.
Comments
MON: My goal was to listen to every word said in church, I have difficulty sometimes hearing and paying full attention. So I sat in the front and I think I got about 90% of the information, which for me is a win since it’s a lot more than usual. And I’m also setting an intention for more focused hearing because it’s one of the senses I’m hoping to strengthen.
ISA: Run around the world today
CARO: Walk 20,000 steps in one day. I made it to 15,000. I definitely pushed myself to do more because of the unrealistic goal.
“It’s not where you take things from, it’s where you take them to.” Jean-Luc Godard
Read poem
MY SELF-PORTRAIT
I’m 12 years old and I wear glasses and don’t talk to nobody. I’m 5 foot 3 and I weigh 90 pounds. I’m in the sixth grade. I’m weird and happy and sad at the same time. My eyes are light brown, and my hair is the same color as my eyes.
MY SECRET SELF-PORTRAIT
I feel so trapped inside, but I have peace on my face. I love to eat candy and Chinese food. I’m wild like a lion and sweet as a butterfly.
Copy the structure and make it your own, however you can in 5 minutes.
If you prefer you can choose a drawing, a photograph, a song, a business idea.
This exercise uses convergent thinking.
Comments
AG My self Portrait I am 60 years old, and I wear sneakers and like short conversations. I am 180 cm tall and weight 85 kilos. I am the co-owner of a VC firm, and unfocused, but brilliant and trustworthy at the same. My eyes are light brown and my hair as well but beginning to turn gray and fall. My secret self-portrait I feel like an impostor sometimes but I command respect. I love red wine, cheese and ham. I am independent like a tiger, but reliable like an elephant
MON: My hair a perennial favorite, thick, strong, good. Mercurial, wavy like ocean water hitting the shore on a windy day, rigid as a block of wood in an assembly line, undamaged because my mom told me never to color it. About a year ago, some gray strands came in. And I discovered my hair like everything is not perennial. Now it changes by the minute, nothing will stop the passage of time. “I hate gray hair,” my mom says. I wince and muffle the sound, focus instead on the softness in her eyes the heated warning transformed into a love song. I recently discovered a new type of flower in my garden agapantos – an African word meaning love. They bloom here in Madrid, and also in my mom’s hometown of Chiriquí. Its lavender petals open during the first week in July, (my birthday). I watch the petals spread wide, purple legs parting, like my perennial hair and its new gray limbs, magically sprouting.
LAU:
Self Portrait I am 50 years old and just turned My size is Medium and my complexion is small. My hair is brunette, my brown eyes and my olive complexion I am a mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend I am reading and curious
Secret self portrait I am a mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend and sometimes myself I’m a shy convert I am freethinker I enjoy my life, here and now I feel pushed to achieve greater achievements that I do not aspire to I live in a world with other values
ISA: MY SELF-PORTRAIT I’m 7 years old, I wear glasses and cant do gymnastics. I’m 3 foot tall and I weigh too many pounds. I’m in the first grade. I’m spiritual and happy yet completely un content about my life. I am trapped and tried to scape. My eyes are light blue and green altogether, and my hair is in the same position every day.
MY SECRET SELF-PORTRAIT I feel challenged inside, but I have peace, and always keep a smile on my face. I love to eat strawberries and chocolate. I’m curious like a monkey and move fast as a hummingbird.
CAR: My Self Portrait I am 51 years old but feel 25, Except for my glasses to see small words on a book and talk to everyone. I am the shortest in my family and weigh more than I should. I am a student. I’m creative and energetic and can be weird sometimes. My eyes are green like my favorite color and my hair changes color all the time.
My Secret Self Portrait I feel full of joy and about to explode but I am also sometimes sad and insecure. I love my chewable vitamin Cs and carrot cake. I’m curious like a cat and merry like a Hiena.
“Daydream, imagine, and reflect. It’s the source of infinite creativity.” Deepak Chopra
A break from your phone, computer, all electronics.
Don’t take your phone to a place you usually take it. (the bathroom, a walk, while eating).
Allow yourself to get bored for a little. Create space for nothingness.
Instead observe your surrounding. Do nothing.
Extra: Send me a quick not how it made you feel.
This exercise uses: Emergent Thinking
Emergent thinking is a natural process that comes as a result of rumination. It is the most common form of creativity you may be familiar with because it happens when you daydream. “AHA!” moments typically come from here.
Comments
AG: Today I did not take my phone or any reading material when I went to the bathroom. I wouldn’t say it was hard, but it was different. I decided to stay there as long as I stay when I do have my phone and it felt long.
Rosario:
I usually do today’s challenge regularly. I like to stay without communication at home, for example, because I move forward with everything I have to do, without distraction.
When I go to Madrid by train I also try to put my mobile aside so that I can enjoy the landscape, nature, which I love and gives me peace.
When I’m with people around eating or drinking something, I also leave it. Sometimes it is difficult but the important thing is to achieve it and really enjoy the moment.
When I forget it at home I never go back to look for it. In the end I feel that I am calmer without him.
Mon:
I’d been making time for about 20 mins of doing nothing until summertime rolled around. With the kids home I feel more pressure to be doing something all the time, I feel it’s harder to stop, I feel like I won’t get everything done (even though there’s actually not that much to do!!)
Every day this summer I’ve been waking up early to meditate, study for an exam I have to take, and write. Today I decided to change things up and spend the first hour of my day being really mindful. So I kept the meditation but refrained from multi tasking and paid attention while drinking coffee, eating breakfast, etc. What I found is that pockets of time opened up later in the day and that my study time was much more successful. I was also more open to spontaneity and let the day lead me, instead of me forcing everything to happen and then just feeling drained. I will attempt to take this attitude with me throughout the rest of the summer! So, a couple more things clicked: 1- only by making space for nothing can I really follow my intuition, the little voice I hear but don’t always listen to because I’m too busy following self-imposed routines that lead me nowhere except to exhaustion 2- had an aha! moment about how to structure and move forward with my book, thanks to this attitude of nothingness I welcomed today 🙂
““We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” ~ George Bernard Shaw
Find a piece of paper and a pencil or pen.
Look at yourself in the mirror
Set your 5 minute timer
Draw a detailed portrait of your face- upside down.
If possible, use a photo you can flip upside down as reference.
Note the areas of struggle to draw most and why the change in perspective make them difficult to draw.
If you are at the beach- draw it in the sand.
Extra points: Share your drawing with me. IG, DM or unpackyourcreativity@gmail.com
When we flip things upside down, our brains have to struggle to spot the features we are used to seeing. Viewing familiar things from a new perspective (like being upside down) is an effective way to help you notice all the details you usually take for granted.
Comments
MON:
What would happen if everyone wore the same clothes?
There would be less shopping, fewer stores, less waste. There might be more space to plant trees. We might all start to look beyond our material personas and start to notice basic shapes and colors, like each other’s pupils. We might begin to connect with each other more, or we might become more creative with other body parts, like our hair. A certain kind or color or hairstyle may suddenly be the defining factor between you and the next person.
Our minds might be more clear. What would happen if we never had to think about what shirt or skirt or dress to wear? What would happen if we collectively released all clothing-related thoughts and decided to concentrate our attention on something wild, like love? What if we chose to express ourselves through art, using our words and hands and song?
Or, we might all just get really bored. We may decide to give up clothing all together and go back to being naked. We may start to appreciate what God gave us, stop covering ourselves up and feel shame, start to notice our individuality, our sameness, our beauty.
CECI:
What would happen if there was no gravity?
Without gravity, everything that stands on this Earth would go floating into space, humans, animals, stones, water, etc. Furthermore, the Earth itself could not exist as a planet, nor have an atmosphere.
Grateful to have the pull of gravity
JESS: What would happen if… …everybody wore the same clothes.
Andar desnudar seria la única opción para mostrar algo diferente …everybody over 20 could fly, caminar o nadar seria lo más cool …all the trees in the world had no leaves. Seria el día más triste de la humanidad …no one ever cleaned their house.las casas se parecerían al océano hoy …all the cars disappeared. Podriamos btrletransportarnos holograficamente a donde quisiéramos con dolo cerrar los ojos …there was no gravity.llevaría de abajo hacia arriba
Day 15 “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou
Answer any or all of these questions today.
What would happen if… …everybody wore the same clothes. …everybody over 20 could fly …all the trees in the world had no leaves. …no one ever cleaned their house. …all the cars disappeared. …there was no gravity.
Extra Points: Choose one and send me your thoughts…. IG, DM or to unpackyourcreativity@gmail.com
Comments
CECI:
What would happen if there was no gravity?
Without gravity, everything that stands on this Earth would go floating into space, humans, animals, stones, water, etc. Furthermore, the Earth itself could not exist as a planet, nor have an atmosphere.
Grateful to have the pull of gravity
LAU: If everyone wore the same clothes it would be like taking the color out of the world.
if the over 20’s could fly it would be an injustice to the top 20’s.
if the trees had no leaves it would be a permanent winter.
if we never cleaned the houses it would be as if the Diogenes syndrome had taken over the world and a liberation for women.
If all the cars disappeared, the health of the planet and the living things that live on it would improve and the next evolutionary step would be teleportation or the appearance of wings.
if there were no gravity it would be like living in an amusement park.
Day 14 “If you get in the habit of your life being fun, if you move through life believing it’s supposed to be that way, you’ll notice when it’s not.” Humor Seriously -Jen Arker, Naomi Bagdonas
Close your eyes
Extend your mouth from side to side- as a smile. Be sure to show your teeth.
Count in your head to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 in that position.
In that position…Laugh out loud, like out loud, out loud. At least eight HA, HA, HA.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Extra points: Send me note telling me how that made you feel. DM, IG or email unpackyourcreativity@gmail.com
Comments
JP: Feelings and sensations… Good energy Mix of feeling silly and feeling a high I felt tense at the start and then a soothing , calm sensation. My body wanted to keep going and I lost myself in my head and just felt heart.
Rocio: My experience with todays’ challenge: First I felt silly, I was alone and feared someone could see me and think I was insane but….it felt better every time I repeated the exercise and I ended up laughing spontaneously instead of forced… It felt great! Thank you!
ISA:
MON: This happened to be my birthday and i did this with the family before taking a picture…i just started laughing for no reason and everyone started laughing too and we got a great, super natural pic 🙂
Day 13 “Fear is not a problem; allowing yourself to be consumed by it is.” Patricia Ryan Madson
Today…. Talk to a stranger.
Connections with human beings make us more creative, believe it or not.
During the day find a person you know little about or even a stranger that you can interact with, someone on the bus, grocery, taxi driver, old lady crossing the street.
Have eye contact Say Hello. Introduce yourself Ask them an open ended question.
Some suggestions of open ended questions: What has been your favorite part of today? What is something that makes you happy? What makes you laugh out loud? What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Extra points: Share your experience.
Happy Sunday!
Comments
CECI: We are in Sardinia on holidays this week. A handful of salespeople walk the beach selling different things such as hats, sarongs, accessories, coconut water, etc.
Today, I met Dani, a man from Pakistan who sells bracelets along the beach.
I bought two bracelets for my twins and asked him about his life, after telling him a bit about myself first. Otherwise, it could feel like an interrogatory rather than a genuine conversation.
He told me that he migrated to Italy from Pakistan with his family. He has 2 daughters and his dream is to get his paperwork sorted to move to the UK where he could give his kids a better education. I wished him good luck and he gave me a bracelet as a present for “being nice”.
Carolina, being Latin-American you know I would have had this exchange anyways, because we easily talk about our family life with strangers, and don’t struggle much starting this kind of random interactions
Like this, I also learned about Gonzalo, a vet from Argentina who is working as a waiter this summer to make some money before going to Barcelona to be part of a research project on cancer (on animals). His sister leaves there, had a baby, etc etc.
JP: I went to get a pedicure and the person next to me was very smily and I saw she was reading a book in English so although I’m in Madrid I started to talk to her in English. She lives in a residencia next door which is for NYU students, she is doing her PHD and working on her dissertation and they sent her to Madrid for a month. She is a teacher at the new school in NY and a philosophy grad. I asked her what she liked so far about Madrid and it was interesting she said a) everything is soooo cheap, I love that I can fly anywhere with a few hours, the light oh the daylight! Talking to strangers is something I loved to do in NY and I did it much less here but I have been getting back in the habit, I love the scary first seconds and then the humanity and I was in it ! Thanks for this special treat!
