Empower Y ourself through Creative Strategies Olga Zbarskaya, PhD

1. Empower Yourself through Creative StrategiesOlga Zbarskaya, PhD

2. It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you. Always.Oprah Winfrey

3. Brain • Brain process, analyzes, combines, and evaluates sensory information. • Brain creates thoughts and connects them into streams. • Brain’s network is active. • Signals from various areas of neurons get combined to create neuronal organization.

4. Brain (cont.) • There are ten billion neurons in our brain that form connections with other neurons through the synapses • An activated neuron releases chemical neurotransmitters

5. Brain (cont.) • The chemicals enter the synapses to reach receptors, which triggers other neurons. • This creates a domino effect to produce communication between the brain and the rest of the body.

6. Patterns • Our brain connects the dots of our world into meaningful patterns. • We perceive the world based on the pattern interpretation. • A neural network of the brain is looking for patterns and providing feedback.

7. Change your Patterns through Creativity • Brain operates based on familiar patterns, but it can rewire itself. • Brain can get adapted to thousand environments and produce new sophisticated behavior because of plasticity. • Brain is capable to change its expectations to accommodate the type of inputs.

9. Creativity • Creativity is a meaningful modification based on new patterns of meaning. • When we're creative, we feel we are living more fully.

10. In the last twenty years, creativity has become an essential skill for problem-solving in life

11. Creativity • Creativity enhances the quality of solutions to life problems. • Creativity predicts life achievements better than intelligence. • Creative people can adapt to different situation and reach their goals.

12. There is no box

13. Decision-making • Every individual has a creative potential. • Everyone is different and unique. • Everyone brings a unique set of behavioral patterns. • Creativity is a novel behavior based on various interactions between existing patterns.

14. Appropriate training and a supportive environment can improve creative potential

15. Improve your Creativity • Think new thoughts. • Be open to experience. • Take risks. • Imagine. • Display interest. • Create clear goals. • Ignore distractions. • Be responsible.

16. Improve Creativity (cont.) • Provide reasons. • Manage time. • Set goals. • Brainstorm solutions. • Increasing self-confidence. • Evaluate results.

17. Creativity Flow • Enjoyable • Meaningful • Cheerful • Enthusiastic • No Distraction • Creative Energy • Curiosity

18. Creative Strengths • Making unusual connections. • Putting the pieces of the puzzle together. • Forming opinion. • Putting ideas to work in practice. • Classifying Information. • Comparing and Contrasting. • Evaluating. • Adapting new attention • patterns.

19. Creativity • Independence • Motivation • Tolerance • Confidence • Taking chances • Humor • Self-determination

20. Five Steps of Creativity • Preparation • Incubation • Insight • Evaluation • Elaboration

21. Environment Besides personality and genius, social environment is important because it can either nurture or crush the individual.

22. Gender Oppression and Discriminationin some countries • Women are forbidden from driving, right to divorce, access to education, right to travel, custody rights, and citizenship. • Women are not defined by their actions in society • Women do as their husbands decide • Passive victims of violence and abuse • Marriage is the only way to social functioning and economic support

23. Overcome Your Past and Feelings of Hopelessness: To get what you've never had, you must do what you've never done.

24. You can change your life through creative thinking

28. Be Grateful Step 1: See a half-full glass Step 2: If your glass is still half-empty – just be thankful that you have a glass and there's something in it.

29. Overcome stress • Creativity reduces causes of stress that trigger aggressive behaviors and nerve breaks. • Channeling anger into passion and powerful acts of creativity promote confidence and success. • Violence and aggression can be predicted and re-channeled into positive activities.

30. Use creativity for positive change • Be mindful of incoming thoughts. • Find your purpose. • Stay loyal to your decisions and flexible to your approaches. • Use symbolically borrowed identities. • Capture innovative ideas. • Analyze images and dreams. • Mix unlikely ideas.

31. See opportunities in difficulties

32. Nurture Yourself • Surround yourself with positive individuals. • No self-criticism and negative self-talk. • Meet yourbasic needs. • Allow yourself to grow emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually. • Relax and have fun

33. Do not think that the entire world is against of you. • Use positive affirmation, balance your inner self, eliminate negativity, and create a pleasant environment.

34. Replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations • Take control of your thoughts • Find guidance • Live in the present • Be grateful • Focus on pleasant events and individuals • Accept change • Remember: each day is a new day

35. Ask yourself: • What Is Stopping Me From Getting What I Want? • What my Current Situation Does For me • What is my first step? • What is the bigger picture? • What are the consequences?

36. Turn Your Defeat into Victory and Your Weaknesses into Strengths: Disorganized - Creative Inflexible -Organized Stubborn - Dedicated Shy - Reflective Irresponsible - Adventurous Weak - Humble Arrogant - Self-Confident Impatient - Passionate

37. Keep Moving Forward • Set clear goals. • Don’t ask: “Who will let me?” Ask: Who can stop me?” • Develop new habits. • Recognize that you are in control. • Get biases- free. • Favor reasons over emotions.

38. Achieve a Greater Level of Satisfaction and Success • Stop holding yourself back • Meet your alternative self • Manage your energy, not your time • Start to visualize happiness • Feel good

39. Overcome weaknesses: • Admit them. • Be specific. • Set goals. • Seek guidance. • Assess the situation. • Forget the past. • One step at the time. • Celebrate small victories.

40. Mechanisms that Promote Creativity • Interest • Curiosity • Imagination • Openness to experience • Fluid attention • Willingness to take risks • Encouraging environment

41. Promoting Creativity • Enjoy immediate experiences • Create meaning • Play with ideas • Create symbols • Establish order

42. Increasing Creativity (cont.) • Promote imagination. • Daydream. • Relax. • Pay attention to the environment. • Become immersed in activity.

43. You don’t know what you can do until you try.

46. Research: October 2011: two-way 3 x 5 repeated- measures ANOVA to compare the interaction effects for the different trainings related to the aspects of creativity (fluency, originality, elaboration, resistance to premature closure, and abstractness of titles) measured by the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Outcomes: creativity could be promoted Through training.

47. Project: 2006-2007: “Club of interesting people” For Brooklyn Community Access Television Network (BCAT). Interviewing creative individuals from around the world. Outcomes: all terviewees shared attraction to novelty, independence, and persistence. devotion, flexibility, hunger to observe, attentiveness, humor, and willingness to take chances.

48. I Think Creatively!