Okinawa in Japan is known for the long and healthy lifestyles of its centenarian residents. The Blue Zone studies have found that the Okinawans have a strong sense of what they call ‘ikigai’ which literally translate to ‘the reason I get up in the morning’.
Creativity is closely linked to wellbeing and a sense of purpose through our intrinsic motivation and can even result in higher levels of happiness. In leading a balanced and happier life, consider how you might introduce or expand current behaviours that enhance your intrinsic motivation.
Whether it be little c creativity that you can explore in daily life or Big C creativity through undertaking those larger acts, where can you carve out a space that enables you to have autonomy, mastery and purpose in your everyday?
Check out the last two blog posts before undertaking the following activity.
reflective activity
Consider how you might:
- Update your environment at home, work or school to enable your need for autonomy, whether it be over the tasks you undertake, how you spend your time, what techniques you use and what resources, stimuli or team you draw upon.
- Act on a desire to get better at something that matters, where you’re so engaged you enter into the state of flow. Hard work and dedicated practice are often a prerequisite for creativity, particularly Big C creativity. Big C artists, inventors, scientists, and authors spend years mastering their respective domains before making a valued creative contribution.
- Approach mastery. Flow doesn’t guarantee mastery, so are you approaching this with a learning goal or a growth mindset? This is an expansive mindset that keeps you working in spite of the difficulty to find inventive strategies. It also means you care enough to put the effort into pursuing mastery in your domain.
- Consider as you strive towards mastery, are you doing this in service of some greater purpose, objective and desire larger than yourself?
Footnote: The Blue Zones research has identified locations where people reach the age of one hundred years at rates ten times greater than elsewhere in the world and usually in exceptional good health.