REMO INTERNATIONAL

COLLEGE FOR AVIATION

LECTURE NOTES
UNIT II
(PERSONALITY
DEVELOPMENT)
BBA AIRLINE AND AIRPORT
MANAGEMENT
II YEAR/ III SEM
 UNIT- II

What Is Empathy?

Empathy is the ability to emotionally understand what other people feel, see things from

their point of view, and imagine yourself in their place. Essentially, it is putting yourself in

someone else's position and feeling what they must be feeling

Empathy enables us to care for and connect with others in a better and more meaningful

way. It also helps us gain a different perspective in life, experience what others think or feel

and help others. It also allows us to distinguish between the other and the self . Having

empathic abilities helps us to understand that cognitive processes and decision making are

influenced by different factors. However, from an evolutionary perspective, the trait may

have developed as a survival mechanism that helps us detect threats. It can help us identify

the intention of others and recognize who may be a friend or a foe. Regardless, it is a crucial

psychological capacity that empowers us to build new relationships & friendships,

cooperate with and help others and make the right moral decisions.
According to a 2017 study, our empathic abilities are crucial for societal and interpersonal

development as it allows the sharing of emotions, experiences and desires among people

that encourages prosocial behavior. If we completely relied on the evolutionary theory

“survival of the fittest,” we would never empathize with someone who is suffering as our

goal would be to dominate.

Empathy is important in almost every aspect of daily life. It allows us to have compassion for

others, relate to friends, loved ones, co-workers, and strangers, and it has a large benefit

impact on the world.

IN PERSONAL LIFE

How does empathy help in a person's personal life?

Healthy relationships require nurture, care, and understanding. A friendship or romantic

relationship that lacks empathy and understanding will soon flounder. When people only

think of their own interests, the other people in the relationships will suffer.

If one spouse in a marriage forgoes seeing things from the other's perspective, they will

likely have marital issues. No two people are ever going to think exactly alike, and no two

people are going to have the same experiences. Both people in a relationship bring their

own ideas, life experiences, and struggles. Without taking the time to try to relate to one

another's feelings and perspectives, people in relationships will likely feel unloved and

uncared for.

IN WORK LIFE

In what way is empathy important in the workplace?

For many people, a workplace is a place for teamwork. For things that require a group effort,

it's extremely important to take the time to relate to co-workers. Even if people are not

specifically working on one project, it is still important to get along with fellow workers.
Using empathy is a vital part of a smooth working relationship. Without it, it's much easier

to fall into disputes and disagreements.

It is also highly important for management to use empathy. Bosses who lack empathy are

likely to subject their employees to unfair practices. Managers who are without empathy

may push employees to work beyond what is healthy and reasonable or may be unduly

harsh when an employee makes a mistake.

Higher amounts of empathy in the workplace have been linked to increased performance,

increased sales, and better leadership abilities.

FOR THE WORLD

How does empathy impact the world?

Empathy from a global perspective is infinitely important, especially when it leads to

compassion. This type of empathy pushes people to dive in and help when there are major

disasters. People are willing to help out others that they have never met because they know

that they too would need help if things were reversed.

Without compassionate empathy, the world would be a much darker and less functional

place to live.

Types of empathy

Cognitive Empathy

Cognitive empathy definition: “Simply knowing how the other person feels and what they

might be thinking. Sometimes called perspective-taking” ~Daniel Goleman, renowned

psychologist and author of the 1995 book Emotional Intelligence.

What it’s concerned with: Thought, understanding, intellect.

Benefits: Helps in negotiations, motivating other people, understanding diverse viewpoints,

and is ideal for virtual meetings.

Pitfalls: Can be disconnected from or ignore deep emotions; doesn’t put you in another’s

shoes in a felt sense.

Cognitive empathy, also known as ‘perspective-taking’ is not really what most of us would

think of as empathy at all.

Cognitive empathy is basically being able to put yourself into someone else’s place, and see

their perspective. It is a useful skill, particularly in negotiations for example, or for managers.

It enables you to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, but without necessarily engaging

with their emotions. It does not, however, really fit with the definition of empathy as ‘feeling

with’, being a much more rational and logical process. Effectively, cognitive empathy is

‘empathy by thought’, rather than by feeling.

A Dark Side to Cognitive Empathy

It is possible to show cognitive empathy without having any fellow-feeling or sympathy

with it. It is fair to say that most of us would understand this fellow-feeling to be a key part

of empathy.

Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, notes in his blog that torturers would

need to have good cognitive empathy to work out how best to hurt someone, but without

having any sympathy towards them.

Emotional Empathy

Emotional empathy definition: “when you feel physically along with the other person, as

though their emotions were contagious.” ~Daniel Goleman

What it’s concerned with: feelings, physical sensation, mirror neurons in the brain.
Benefits: Helps in close interpersonal relationships and careers like coaching, marketing,

management and HR.

Pitfalls: Can be overwhelming, or inappropriate in certain circumstances.

Emotional Empathy, just like is sounds, involves directly feeling the emotions that another

person is feeling. You’ve probably heard of the term “empath,” meaning a person with the

ability to fully take on the emotional and mental state of another. The quote that comes to

mind is: “I have a lot of feelings.”

This type of response might seem disconnected from the brain and thinking, but as Goldman

points out, emotional empathy is actually deeply rooted in a human’s mirror neurons. All

animals have neurons that fire in a certain way when they see another animal acting,

making them relate to that action in their own body and brain. Emotional empathy does

exactly that with the feelings someone experiences in reaction to a situation.

When your partner—or anyone you deeply love—comes to you in tears, it’s a natural

response to feel that pull on your heartstrings. Like crying at a wedding or cringing when

someone stubs their toe, it’s a deep-seated, gut reaction that often feels like a visceral

human response. Connecting with another human in this way is intimate and can form a

strong bond.

Like Cognitive Empathy, Emotional Empathy has its flip-side. “One downside of emotional

empathy occurs when people lack the ability to manage their own distressing emotions,”

writes Goleman. “[This] can be seen in the psychological exhaustion that leads to burnout.”

Feeling too much can make even small interactions overwhelming.

Emotional Empathy can be both Good and Bad

● Emotional empathy is good because it means that we can readily understand and feel

other people’s emotions. This is vital for those in caring professions, such as doctors and

nurses, to be able to respond to their patients appropriately. It also means that we can
respond to friends and others when they are distressed.

● Emotional empathy is bad, because it is possible to become overwhelmed by those

emotions, and therefore unable to respond. This is known as empathy overload, and is

explained in more detail in our page on Understanding Others. Those with a tendency to

become overwhelmed need to work on their self-regulation, and particularly their

self-control, so that they become better able to manage their own emotions.

Good self-control helps doctors and nurses to avoid possible burnout from empathising too

much. There is a danger, however, that they can become ‘hardened’ and not respond

appropriately. There have been several recent cases in the UK, such as in South

Staffordshire, where nurses and others were accused of being uncaring. This may have been

a possible result of over-protection against empathy overload.

Compassionate Empathy

Empathy definition: “With this kind of empathy we not only understand a person’s

predicament and feel with them, but are spontaneously moved to help, if needed.” ~Daniel

Goleman

What it’s concerned with: Intellect, emotion, and action.

Benefits: Considers the whole person.

Pitfalls: Few—this is the type of empathy that we’re usually striving for!

Compassionate empathy is consistent with what we usually understand by compassion. Like

sympathy, compassion is about feeling concern for someone, but with an additional move

towards action to mitigate the problem.

Compassionate empathy is the type of empathy that is usually most appropriate.

As a general rule, people who want or need your empathy don’t just need you to understand

(cognitive empathy), and they certainly don’t need you just to feel their pain or, worse, to
burst into tears alongside them (emotional empathy).

Instead, they need you to understand and sympathise with what they are going through

and, crucially, either take, or help them to take, action to resolve the problem, which is

compassionate empathy.

Finding the Balance

Cognitive empathy can often be considered under-emotional.

It involves insufficient feeling, and therefore perhaps too much logical analysis. It may be

perceived as an unsympathetic response by those in distress.

Emotional empathy, by contrast, is over-emotional.

Too much emotion or feeling can be unhelpful, because emotions are very primitive. Feeling

strong emotions, especially distress, takes us back to childhood. More or less by definition,

that makes us less able to cope, and certainly less able to think and apply reason to the

situation. It is very hard to help anyone else if you are overcome by your own emotions.

In exercising compassionate empathy, we can find the right balance between logic and

emotion.

We can feel another person’s pain, as if it was happening to us, and therefore express the

appropriate amount of sympathy.

At the same time, we can also remain in control of our own emotions, and apply reason to

the situation.

This means that we can make better decisions and provide appropriate support to them

when and where it is necessary.

Two Other Types of Empathy

For completion, it is worth mentioning that some people suggest that there are two other

forms of empathy, somatic and spiritual.

● Somatic empathy is defined as feeling someone else’s pain physically.

For example, if you see someone hurt, you too might feel physical pain. Anecdotally,

identical twins sometimes report that they know when the other has been hurt, which might

be an example of somatic empathy. You can see an echo of somatic empathy, for example, if

someone is hit in the stomach with a ball during a sports game, and one or two of the

spectators may double over as if they too had been hit.

● Spiritual empathy is defined as a direct connection with a ‘higher being’ or

consciousness.

It is the same as ‘enlightenment’ in the eastern philosophical tradition, and considered to be

achievable through meditation.

Signs of an empathic person:

● They are good at listening to others

● They can easily understand how others are feeling

● They always consider how their actions affect others

● They are always keen of helping people who are suffering

● They tend to feel overwhelmed by negative experiences

● They tend to be highly sensitive to sounds, sights, smells and sensations

● They often experience emotional and sensory overload

● People feel comfortable sharing problems with them

● Others often seek advice from them

● They can be highly intuitive

● They can recognize when others are being dishonest

● Social situations can make them feel overwhelmed or drained

● They care genuinely care about others’ well-being

● They find it hard to establish personal boundaries with others

● They are prone to social withdrawal and isolat

Potential Barriers to Empathy

• How you were raised

• How people treated you when you had emotional needs

• What people taught you about emotion

• Messages you received about the value of emotions

• Fear of becoming overwhelmed

• Fear of getting stuck in emotions with another person

Emotion

According to Woodworth (1945): -Emotion is a ‘moved’ or ‘stirred up’ sate of an organism. It

is a ‘stirred up’ sate of feeling, that is the way is appears to the individual himself. It is

disturbed muscular and glandular activity, that is the way it appears to an external

observer.

Example: - Fear, Anger, Disgust, Wonder, Love, Amusement etc.

Emotional Intelligence

Definition:(John Mayer and Peter Salovey:) -

“Emotional Intelligence is the form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor

one’s own and others feelings of Emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this

information to guide one’s thinking and action”.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

● Recognize, understand and manage our own emotions and;
● Recognize, understand and influence the emotions of others.

In practical terms, this means being aware that emotions can drive our behavior and impact

people (positively and negatively), and learning how to manage those emotions – both our

own and others.

Managing emotions is especially important in situations when we are under pressure. For

example, when we are…

● Giving and receiving feedback

● Meeting tight deadlines

● Dealing with challenging relationships

● Not having enough resources

● Navigating change

● Working through setbacks and failure

Why Emotional Intelligence is Important

It’s a scientific fact that emotions precede thought. When emotions run high, they change

the way our brains function…diminishing our cognitive abilities, decision-making powers,

and even interpersonal skills. Understanding and managing our emotions (and the emotions

of others) helps us to be more successful in both our personal and professional lives.

At a personal level, emotional intelligence helps us:

● Have uncomfortable conversations without hurting feelings

● Manage our emotions when stressed or feeling overwhelmed

● Improve relationships with the people we care about

At work, emotional intelligence can help us:

● Resolve conflicts

● Coach and motivate others

● Create a culture of collaboration

● Build psychological safety within teams

Components or Key elements of EI

According to Daniel Goleman , an American psychologist who helped to popularize

emotional intelligence, there are five key elements to it:

1. Self-awareness.

2. Self-regulation.

3. Motivation.

4. Empathy.

5. Social skills.

1. Self-awareness

If you're self-aware, you always know how you feel, and you know how your emotions and

your actions can affect the people around you. Being self-aware when you're in a leadership

position also means having a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses , and it means

behaving with humility .

2. Self-regulation

Leaders who regulate themselves effectively rarely verbally attack others, make rushed or

emotional decisions, stereotype people, or compromise their values. Self-regulation is all

about staying in control.This element of emotional intelligence, according to Goleman, also

covers a leader's flexibility and commitment to personal accountability .

3. Motivation

Self-motivated people work consistently toward their goals, and they have extremely high

standards for the quality of their work.

4. Empathy

Empathy is critical to managing a successful team or organization. People with empathy

have the ability to put themselves in someone else's situation. They help develop the people

on their team, challenge others who are acting unfairly, give constructive feedback, and

listen to those who need it.

If you want to earn the respect and loyalty of your team, then show them you care by being

empathic.

5. Social Skills

People who do well in the social skills element of emotional intelligence are great

communicators. They're just as open to hearing bad news as good news, and they're expert

at getting their team to support them and be excited about a new mission or project.

People who have good social skills are also good at managing change and resolving

conflicts diplomatically. They're rarely satisfied with leaving things as they are, but they

don't sit back and make everyone else do the work: they set an example with their own

behavior.

What is meant by emotional competencies?

Emotional competence refers to the essential set of personal and social skills to recognize,

interpret, and respond constructively to emotions in oneself and others. The term implies an

ease around others and determines one's ability to effectively and successfully lead and

express.
MEASUREMENT OF EMOTIONAL COMPETENCIES

When measuring emotional intelligence, criterion-report or negative testing is an

appropriate method to be followed. Intelligence is defined as ability and can be measured

only by the answers provided by people and by evaluating the answers accuracy.

1. Revenue baron’s EQ-i:

This is a self- report test which is designed to evaluate the competencies which take into

account problem-solving, stress, happiness, awareness, and tolerance. As per bar on,

emotional intelligence is considered as an array of non-cognitive capabilities, skills

competencies which influence the ability of the person to go through, getting by with the

environmental pressures and demands.

2. Seligman attributional style questionnaire (SASQ):

This method was actually used as a screening test for metropolitan life, Life Insurance

Company. The main intention of SASQ is that it measures both optimism and pessimism.

3. Multifactor emotional intelligence scale (MEIS):

MEIS is an ability test where tests are performed by test-takers which access their

capability to understand, identify, and make use of emotions.

4. Emotional competence inventory (ECI):

With self-assessment questionnaire as a basis, the ECI lets people know their individual

ratings about their abilities in different emotional competencies.

Personal Goal Setting

Planning to Live Your Life Your Way

Many people feel as if they're adrift in the world. They work hard, but they don't seem to

get anywhere worthwhile.

A key reason that they feel this way is that they haven't spent enough time thinking about

what they want from life, and haven't set themselves formal goals. After all, would you set

out on a major journey with no real idea of your destination? Probably not!

How to Set a Goal

First consider what you want to achieve, and then commit to it. Set SMART (specific,

measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) goals that motivate you and write them

down to make them feel tangible. Then plan the steps you must take to realize your goal,

and cross off each one as you work through them.

Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating

yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality.

The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life. By knowing

precisely what you want to achieve, you know where you have to concentrate your efforts.

You'll also quickly spot the distractions that can, so easily, lead you astray.

Why Set Goals?

Top-level athletes, successful business people and achievers in all fields all set goals.

Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation . It focuses your

acquisition of knowledge, and helps you to organize your time and your resources so that

you can make the most of your life.

By setting sharp, clearly defined goals, you can measure and take pride in the achievement

of those goals, and you'll see forward progress in what might previously have seemed a

long pointless grind. You will also raise your self confidence , as you recognize your own
ability and competence in achieving the goals that you've set.

Starting to Set Personal Goals

You set your goals on a number of levels:

• First you create your "big picture" of what you want to do with your life (or over, say, the

next 10 years), and identify the large-scale goals that you want to achieve.

• Then, you break these down into the smaller and smaller targets that you must hit to

reach your lifetime goals.

• Finally, once you have your plan, you start working on it to achieve these goals.

This is why we start the process of setting goals by looking at your lifetime goals. Then, we

work down to the things that you can do in, say, the next five years, then next year, next

month, next week, and today, to start moving towards them.

Step 1: Setting Lifetime Goals

The first step in setting personal goals is to consider what you want to achieve in your

lifetime (or at least, by a significant and distant age in the future). Setting lifetime goals

gives you the overall perspective that shapes all other aspects of your decision making.

To give a broad, balanced coverage of all important areas in your life, try to set goals in

some of the following categories (or in other categories of your own, where these are

important to you):

• Career – What level do you want to reach in your career, or what do you want to achieve?

• Financial – How much do you want to earn, by what stage? How is this related to your

career goals?

• Education – Is there any knowledge you want to acquire in particular? What information
and skills will you need to have in order to achieve other goals?

• Family – Do you want to be a parent? If so, how are you going to be a good parent? How

do you want to be seen by a partner or by members of your extended family?

• Artistic – Do you want to achieve any artistic goals?

• Attitude – Is any part of your mindset holding you back? Is there any part of the way that

you behave that upsets you? (If so, set a goal to improve your behavior or find a solution to

the problem.)

• Physical – Are there any athletic goals that you want to achieve, or do you want good

health deep into old age? What steps are you going to take to achieve this?

• Pleasure – How do you want to enjoy yourself? (You should ensure that some of your life

is for you!)

• Public Service – Do you want to make the world a better place? If so, how?

Spend some time brainstorming these things, and then select one or more goals in each

category that best reflect what you want to do. Then consider trimming again so that you

have a small number of really significant goals that you can focus on.

As you do this, make sure that the goals that you have set are ones that you genuinely want

to achieve, not ones that your parents, family, or employers might want. (If you have a

partner, you probably want to consider what he or she wants – however, make sure that

you also remain true to yourself!)

Step 2: Setting Smaller Goals

Once you have set your lifetime goals, set a five-year plan of smaller goals that you need to

complete if you are to reach your lifetime plan.

Then create a one-year plan, six-month plan, and a one-month plan of progressively

smaller goals that you should reach to achieve your lifetime goals. Each of these should be
based on the previous plan.

Then create a daily To-Do List of things that you should do today to work towards your

lifetime goals.

At an early stage, your smaller goals might be to read books and gather information on the

achievement of your higher level goals. This will help you to improve the quality and

realism of your goal setting.

Finally, review your plans, and make sure that they fit the way in which you want to live

your life.

Staying on Course

Once you've decided on your first set of goals, keep the process going by reviewing and

updating your To-Do List on a daily basis.

Periodically review the longer term plans, and modify them to reflect your changing

priorities and experience. (A good way of doing this is to schedule regular, repeating

reviews using a computer-based diary.)

SMART Goals

A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the SMART mnemonic. While there

are plenty of variants (some of which we've included in parenthesis), SMART usually stands

for:

• S – Specific (or Significant).

• M – Measurable (or Meaningful).

• A – Attainable (or Action-Oriented).

• R – Relevant (or Rewarding).

• T – Time-bound (or Trackable).

For example, instead of having "to sail around the world" as a goal, it's more powerful to

use the SMART goal "To have completed my trip around the world by December 31, 2027."

Obviously, this will only be attainable if a lot of preparation has been completed before

hand!

Further Tips for Setting Your Goals

The following broad guidelines will help you to set effective, achievable goals:

➢ State each goal as a positive statement – Express your goals positively – "Execute this

technique well" is a much better goal than "Don't make this stupid mistake."

➢ Be precise – Set precise goals, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can

measure achievement. If you do this, you'll know exactly when you have achieved the goal,

and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it.

➢ Set priorities – When you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid

feeling overwhelmed by having too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the

most important ones.

➢ Write goals down – This crystallizes them and gives them more force.

➢ Keep operational goals small – Keep the low-level goals that you're working towards

small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making

progress towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for

reward.

➢ Set performance goals, not outcome goals – You should take care to set goals over which

you have as much control as possible. It can be quite dispiriting to fail to achieve a personal

goal for reasons beyond your control!

➢ In business, these reasons could be bad business environments or unexpected effects of

government policy. In sport, they could include poor judging, bad weather, injury, or just

plain bad luck.

➢ If you base your goals on personal performance, then you can keep control over the

achievement of your goals, and draw satisfaction from them.

➢ Set realistic goals – It's important to set goals that you can achieve. All sorts of people

(for example, employers, parents, media, or society) can set unrealistic goals for you. They

will often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions.

➢ It's also possible to set goals that are too difficult because you might not appreciate

either the obstacles in the way, or understand quite how much skill you need to develop to

achieve a particular level of performance.

Achieving Goals

When you've achieved a goal, take the time to enjoy the satisfaction of having done so.

Absorb the implications of the goal achievement, and observe the progress that you've

made towards other goals.

If the goal was a significant one, reward yourself appropriately. All of this helps you build

the self-confidence you deserve.

With the experience of having achieved this goal, review the rest of your goal plans:

➢ If you achieved the goal too easily, make your next goal harder.

➢ If the goal took a dispiriting length of time to achieve, make the next goal a little easier.

➢ If you learned something that would lead you to change other goals, do so.

➢ If you noticed a deficit in your skills despite achieving the goal, decide whether to set

goals to fix this.

It's important to remember that failing to meet goals does not matter much, just as long as

you learn from the experience.

Feed lessons you have learned back into the process of setting your next goals. Remember

too that your goals will change as time goes on. Adjust them regularly to reflect growth in

your knowledge and experience, and if goals do not hold any attraction any longer, consider

letting them go.

Example Personal Goals

For her New Year's Resolution, Susan has decided to think about what she really wants to

do with her life.

Her lifetime goals are as follows:

Career – "To be managing editor of the magazine that I work for."

Artistic – "To keep working on my illustration skills. Ultimately I want to have my own show

in our downtown gallery."

Physical – "To run a marathon."

Now that Susan has listed her lifetime goals, she then breaks down each one into smaller,

more manageable goals.

Let's take a closer look at how she might break down her lifetime career goal – becoming

managing editor of her magazine:

Five-year goal: "Become deputy editor."

One-year goal: "Volunteer for projects that the current Managing Editor is heading up."

Six-month goal: "Go back to school and finish my journalism degree."

One-month goal: "Talk to the current managing editor to determine what skills are needed
to do the job."

One-week goal: "Book the meeting with the Managing Editor."

As you can see from this example, breaking big goals down into smaller, more manageable

goals makes it far easier to see how the goal will get accomplished.

Making Your Goals SMART:

It can be useful to make your goals and sub-goals fit the SMART criteria.

S
Specific

Make each goal specific, so you know exactly what it is.

Take some time to clearly define your goals and sub-goals, the

more detail about what your goals are and how you intend to

achieve them the better.

M
Measurable

Make each goal measurable so you know how you are

progressing.

You need to be able to see how you are progressing to

reaching your goals. What metrics can you use to measure

your progress?

A
Attainable

Don’t set impossible goals, make sure each goal and sub

goal is attainable.

The larger the goal the more impossible it may seem but if you
 split it down into simple sub-goals then you will find each step

is more attainable.

R
Relevant

Make your goals relevant.

Ensure your sub-goals are relevant to your life goals. Try not

to set goals that don't ultimately help you to achieve your

overall life goals.

T
Timed

Set time-limits or deadlines for each goal and sub-goal.

If you can set and stick to realistic deadlines then you'll avoid

too much distraction or procrastination and keep yourself

motivated.

Topical: Health, learning, fitness, etc

Another extremely common goal categorization is by topic. Compared to the other

categorizations, this one splits goals into plenty of subgroups. The exact categories vary

depending on who you ask and many people make up their own. These are the most

common:

o Family
o Fitness

o Health

o Learning

o Finance

o Social

o Spiritual

o Career

o Lifestyle

o Intellectual

o Personal growth

o Relationship

o Retirement

o Leisure

Creativity

Creativity is one of those traits that people seem to have an intrinsic understanding of, but if

you actually ask them to define it, they get tripped up. It’s easy to come up with a list of

creative people (Frida Kahlo, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Einstein), and the outcomes of

creativity (a novel, an invention, a new way of looking at the world),

but it’s difficult to wrap your head around the actual concept of creativity. The more I

researched this article, the more I realized creativity is an incredibly nuanced phenomenon.

Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ways of thinking or acting, and to develop

new and original ideas, methods or objects.

Let’s break that down:

• It’s an ability

It’s also an ability to run a mile, or to do calculus or recite a Shakespearean sonnet (Shall I

compare thee to a summer’s day?). So creativity is a skill that is specific to an individual. For

some people, it might seem to come naturally, but it is something that anyone can improve

at if they give it the time and effort.

• It transcends traditional ways of thinking or acting

Transcending means you’re going above and beyond. It’s recognizing the limitations of what

already exists, and trying to improve upon it.

• It develops new and original things

I think the key word here is develops. Creativity goes beyond imagining: it’s about

developing. If it’s an idea, you go out and do the research to prove it. If it’s a new process

you try and test it to see if it works. If it’s an object, you build it.

There are 4 ways to be creative, and both you can learn and not.

– Deliberate and Cognitive Creativity

Example: Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb after lots of experiments. This

comes from sustained work, such as researching and ‘trial and error.’

– Deliberate and Emotional Creativity

Example: Come up with positive ideas when you feel depressed.

Emotions and feelings bring this creativity and need quiet time to reflect on yourself.

– Spontaneous and Cognitive Creativity

Example: Isaac Newton thought of gravity while watching a falling apple. You come up with

ideas when you stop work on the problem and do other things.

– Spontaneous and Emotional Creativity

Example: Great artists and musicians create masterpieces.

You can’t control this but need skills (writing, artistic, musical, etc) to create something from

ideas.

8 Ways You Could Boost Your Creativity:

1. Keep learning

A creative mind is a curious mind, so make an effort to keep learning new skills and

indulging your natural curiosity to find out more about the world and everything in it.

Once you’ve developed some creative skills, it’s important to keep on challenging yourself

and acquiring new knowledge to inspire you and help you grow. Whether you simply make

an effort to read more in your spare time, or look into taking more actual courses, constant

learning is vital to boost your creativity.

2. Do what you love

When you actually love your job, you are naturally going to be more inspired and

enthusiastic about creative problem solving and coming up with new ideas. A task that you

keep putting off is going to be very difficult to approach with a positive, creative attitude.

Find a hobby that lets you be creative that you love to do, such as playing an instrument,

painting, or even a sport that completely places you in the present.

3. Take a break

Although creativity is absolutely a skill you can train yourself to be better at (rather than the

notion of simply waiting for creativity to ‘strike’), it’s important to also not put too much

pressure on yourself. If you’ve been sitting at your desk for hours desperately seeking new

ideas and solutions and coming up with nothing, take a break.

Get a change of scenery, clear your head, and take your mind off the task at hand: when you

come back to it with a fresh set of eyes, you might suddenly find the idea you’ve been

waiting for sitting in front of you the entire time!

4. Get some exercise

Exercise can be a great way to clear your mind if you’ve been feeling under pressure or

stressed out.

Numerous studies have shown that physical exercise (even just 30 minutes of aerobic

activity) genuinely does help us become more creative as well as improve brain function! So

next time you’re in a bit of a creative rut, put on your running shoes and get your heart rate

pumping and see if you can encourage your creative juices to flow more freely.
5. Find the conditions that make you most creative

Some people are early birds and find they’re at their most creative and productive in the

early hours of the morning before most people even begin to stir! Others (the majority, in

fact) thrive on the quiet of night - while some might find the typical 9 - 5 is perfectly suited

to creative thinking.

The key is to find what working conditions work best for you - not only the hours that you

work, but other things such as location, lighting, music (or silence!), the tools/equipment you

use. Start thinking of yourself as an artist - you need everything to be perfect to perform

your best!

6. Make time for creativity

Many people make the mistake of simply waiting for inspiration to strike, and therefore

don’t see creativity as a skill that can be honed and developed when you need it. Try to

re-frame the way you see your creative skills and actually make time for creative thinking.

If you have a job that requires large amounts of creativity, schedule out time for this in your

diary - while it may feel strange to factor in ‘creative time’ at first, it takes the pressure off

having a sudden burst of inspiration when you least expect it - which definitely isn’t a

sustainable way to work!

7. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback

Asking colleagues and peers that you trust and respect for their honest feedback on your

work is a fantastic way of honing your skills and making sure that you really are on track

with your work.

Find some peers in a similar niche to you who will be able to offer genuine, helpful criticism

and feedback on your work - you may find that a few simple but helpful suggestions really

boosts your creativity on your next project.

8. Collaborate with others

As well as asking for feedback, collaborating with your colleagues and within your network

can be a great source of inspiration. If you’ve been struggling to find creative solutions and

ideas for a certain project, bringing in a trusted peer can be a fantastic way of boosting your

creativity.

Sometimes, having someone else to bounce off and spark ideas can be extremely helpful -

especially if you’ve been struggling with something in particular on your own for a while!

What Are the 10 Blocks to Creativity

Blocks to creativity exist when you find yourself not having a creative space that you can

escape to. Your life feels dull and you do not feel inspired. You experience little joy in what

you do. It is more like going through the motions!!

Blocks to creativity also exist if you find yourself falling short of your potential. Your inner

knowing tells you that you are capable of much more; yet when you try, it seems hard to

have a major breakthrough. It is possible that you are stifling the genius within, when you

do not allow adequate self expression.

1. Fear of Criticism.

Perhaps one of the biggest blocks to exploring creativity lay in the fears that your ideas will

be criticized. You are afraid that you will not receive support. After all, if your ideas are new

and have never been explored before, you put yourself at risk of being ridiculed for them.

You perceive that the more your ideas deviate from current norms and trends, the greater

the chance of +receiving a poor response to them. In seeking to protect your fragile ego, you

prefer not to voice your ideas. You would rather not even indulge in your creative

daydreams to begin with!

2. Fear of Making Mistakes.

Then, there is also the fear that you are setting yourself up for more failures by coming up

with new ideas. While creativity gives you a chance for innovation, your ideas may turn out

to be a success or a complete flop. “Wouldn’t it be safer to stick to conventions or to old and

tested ways?” you reasoned. Fear of making mistakes can be a huge obstacle, preventing

you from exploring creativity freely.

“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” — Quote by Erich Fromm

2. Too Much Clutter.

Too much clutter can create blocks to creativity. Clutter can be both mental or physical

clutter. In terms of mental clutter, creative ideas cannot flow freely if you are limited by

thoughts of negativity like fear, blame, worry or shame. It will be quite impossible for ideas

to come round, if your mind is constantly busy with thoughts; such as making arrangements

for your schedule, how to make ends meet or whether or not to join the MLM program that

your friend is promoting.

In terms of physical clutter, too much paper and things lying around, as well as too many

possessions, can be distracting. They are productive suckers, occupying your mind with

little or no space left to explore creativity.

3. Low Self Confidence.

If you suffer from low confidence, you may believe that you are not capable. Hence, you

choose to believe that you are not able to come up with creative ideas. You think that

creativity is the domain of only geniuses or those who are smarter than you. Limiting

thoughts make great blocks to creativity!

4. Not Enough Time To Relax.

A brain that is overworked, with no time set aside for relaxation, will find it hard to produce

creative ideas. It is too busy with thoughts on activities and tasks. When you are relaxed,

great ideas will flow like gushing water from a tap that is fully turned on.

5. Inadequate Sleep.

Inadequate sleep is one factor that could create blocks to creativity. It can hinder you in

coming up with creative ideas the next day. Your physical body needs to feel good first

before you can develop and explore your mental creative faculties. In fact, it is said that

many successful people have received their greatest revelations while in a dream-like state

and transformed their own lives or even the world around them.

One good example was Thomas Edison, who was awarded 1368 distinct patents and

invented, including the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, the film projector, and the

first motion picture. Edison was known to have said, “Ideas come from space”. Edison

purportedly took frequent naps in the afternoons and woke up with solutions to the most

perplexing problems.

6. Lack of Priority.

If you do not attach any importance to being creative, guess what? You are not going to

enjoy the benefits of being creative either. You will be like how you are now – dull and

listless. Consider setting aside time for developing creativity. It will be a good idea to also

start keeping an idea journal, to facilitate this process.

7. Stubbornness’.

A refusal to let go of your existing beliefs and thoughts can limit you in thinking of new

possibilities. The more you identify yourself with specific values, meanings, beliefs and

symbols, the more you will stifle creativity. On the other hand, the more you focus on how

values, meanings, beliefs and symbols are formed and interrelated, the more you can
explore creativity.

8. Seriousness.

Not allowing yourself the sense of playfulness can be huge blocks to creativity. You may

associate playfulness as being childish. And hence, you do not give yourself the permission

to explore things with a child-like wonder. Yet, it is being playful that allows avenues for

relaxation and hence, fresh perspectives.

9. Poverty Thinking.

You tend to associate those in the creative arts as poor and struggling. Hence, you may feel

that it is not important to explore creativity since it cannot help you pay your bills. Why

bother to waste time developing right brain thinking when you can rely adequately on your

left brain to feed you? Remove blocks to creativity by eliminating poverty thinking.

10. Inappropriate Comparisons.

If you think that only special, talented people are creative and that geniuses are born and

not made, then you may have no wish to develop your creative abilities. You protest that

you can barely draw, sing or dance. You are definite that you are tone deaf or colour-blind. .