Art & Creativity……..in the Coaching Process
Creativity is defined as the ability to generate new ideas, solutions and possibilities. It’s the use of the imagination or original ideas. To be considered creative, work needs to be both original and effective in achieving a specific purpose.
It seems that creativity and coaching are a ‘good match.’
Here is some of the ICF’s (International Coach Federation) definition of coaching:
Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership.
Coaching helps clients to define and take action toward the realization of their visions, goals or desires.
We all have goals we want to reach, challenges we’re striving to overcome and times when we feel stuck. Partnering with a coach can change your life, setting you on a path to greater personal and professional fulfillment.
Coaching, Creativity & Client Growth
Research has shown that behaving creatively is associated with increased positive emotions, decreased stress and depressive symptoms and even, an improved immune system.
Many professionals in various fields, believe that the rise in global mental health issues and the rise in the feeling of loneliness, is linked to losing touch with our innate creativity and the benefits it creates.
We have become a society of ‘productivity robots.’ This constant push to be more productive and to keep moving forward, faster and faster, leaves little or no room for introspection, quiet moments of reflection or innovation.
With the increase in use of social media use, particularly in the younger generations, there is a tendency to promote conformity, instead of uniqueness and originality. This adversely affects how much we’re aware of and using our natural and unique creativity in all aspects of our lives.
Coaching can be seen as a partnership that helps people to reconnect with their sometimes, long-lost creativity. This can be in the form of art: painting, writing, music, etc. It can also relate to creativity in finding business solutions, how to create a healthy family or relationship. Creativity is an essential part of every facet of our life.
As the coaching relationship progresses and develops, as a safe container for listening and feeling and being, there is more ability to dig deeper and find the innate creativity that a person may feel is missing in their lives. Art is wonderful but creativity is not necessarily directly related to the arts. It’s in how you communicate with others, how you show your life, how you do your work, etc.
Once you find your own natural creativity, you are on the way to a fuller knowing of who you are and more ability to become who you want to be. Visualizing and imagining your better future is really helped along by creativity.
Coaching & Reconnecting with your Creativity:
-Creativity can help you to break unhealthy patterns.
Most of us get stuck in our unhealthy patterns and behaviors. It’s not just the problematic behavior, but the default, automatic (subconscious) thoughts and emotions associated with it.
With the help of a good coach, clients can embrace their natural creativity and start to envision a future state and life, in which they get ‘unstuck’ from their ‘old’, unhelpful and unwanted patterns.
When the unconscious mind viscerally (body & mind) believes that the change has already happened. The thought-emotion-behavior triad changes, leading to healthier and more self-serving thoughts, emotions and behaviors. This can certainly provide motivation to move from where they are not to where they want to be.
-Creativity to identify alternative strategies.
Creativity in coaching allows clients to let go of their ‘old’ thinking patterns and beliefs and to experiment with new perspectives so that they develop new and better strategies, patterns and habits, for getting through obstacles and heading toward their desires and dreams. This adaptability to thinking and, therefore, acting better, is essential in today’s quickly-changing world.
As Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
What do Coaching and Creativity have in common?
They both allow you and help you, to get beyond your ‘regular’ mind, which often keeps you stuck in negative and limiting beliefs and emotions.
With a Life & Mindset Coach, you can start looking beyond and under these unhelpful thoughts to see and understand what’s really going on. Then, in a coaching partnership, you can start to take action to start changing these ‘old’ thought patterns and change the neural pathways in your brain, so that you’ll start believing and then, seeing, your new thoughts, new mind and new body and new personality and state of being and voila, the ‘old’ you with its unhelpful patterns is a thing of the past and you are now able to live fully in the present moment. Yahoo!
One of the amazing and sometimes, understated parts of connecting to art and your creativity, is the entrance into a ‘flow state’ or state of being in which your body, your environment (external) and time, seem to disappear. You feel that 5 minutes have gone by while painting or collaging or writing and you look at the time and see that it’s been an hour. And you feel relaxed and rejuvenated. This is the ‘flow state.’
What is a Flow State? (Headspace)
…It’s that sense of fluidity between your body and mind, where you are totally absorbed by and deeply focused on something, beyond the point of distraction. In other words, beyond your everyday mind….Time feels like it has slowed down. Your senses are heightened. You are at one with the task at hand, as action and awareness sync to create an effortless momentum. Some people describe this feeling as being “in the zone.” This is the flow state and it’s accessible to everyone, whether you’re engaged in a physical activity, a creative pursuit, or even a simple day-to-day task.
In addition to being a Life & Mindset Coach & Hypnotist, I’m also an artist (painting, collages) and writer. Creating, in some way or another, is necessary to the soul. As humans, we are made to create, in whatever way is interesting and resonates with us. This is as individual as each of us. It’s part of why we’re here; we each have different and unique talents, skills and gifts that we’re meant to use. When we do and we don’t try to force an outcome, we can enter and enjoy this ‘flow state,’ and create not only new works of art and beauty but also new ideas and innovations to help with the advancement and progress in this world.
The subject of Creativity and the subject of Coaching are two of my favorites. So, in the next blog post, let’s go over the role of Coaches in the creative process and talk more about Art & Creativity and how they can help in the development of the brain and mind and in its functioning……fascinating stuff!
In the meanwhile, feel free to look at my previous blog post, Creativity in the time of Covid……..and other crises (Glo; plz add link to this blog post here) & enjoy my other blog posts!
With smiles & love,
Dr Gigi
PS: Creativity is a natural part of who we are as humans. It needs to be expressed!
Learn how to experience Coaching and Creativity (& Art) together to get yourself & your life from where you are now to where you really want to be…….
BOOK your free Clarity Call @www.gigiarnaud.com and see your creativity soar and your life (internally & externally) change……..and soar! (emoji of purple and orange hearts)
Change your Thoughts, Change your Mind, Change the World