Good day, Purposeful Hearts! Did you love my Transformers reference in the title? Great. You’re a nerd just like me! Alright, it’s time to settle down, because today’s post is necessarily moody. I’m not one to lean toward the negative, but we’re going there today!
Today’s brain set is called the Transform brain set because we’re channeling out pain, frustration, and challenges into an emotional release of creativity. It can be incredibly therapeutic! As an example, I bet you could list quite a few songs about broken hearts. While creating your list, think of what an amazing release it must have been for the songwriter to capture the heartbreak with words, framing it just right, and sharing that release of pain with the world.
So, what’s going on in the Transform brain when this creative act takes place? Well, the first ingredient is self-conscious thought. Whenever we go through dark times, our thoughts turn inward to reflect on our role in what went wrong. Sometimes we’re self-critical. Sometimes we feel misunderstood. Regardless, this self-conscious thought really helps us articulate our perspective on the matter.
Next, we linger in a negative mood state for a while. Think of this like an incubation period during which a transformative work starts to take shape. We’re often, but not always, motivated to escape a bad mood, so we’ll play around with ideas, phrases, and actions that might help us escape the bad mood – or at least label it in a way that’s productive for our understanding of the challenges we face.
When we’ve finally had enough, we reach the stage of dissatisfaction. What we’re experiencing simply won’t do anymore and change needs to happen. We’ve reached the threshold for tolerating our bad mood, so we write poetry, compose the song, learn the new sport, punch something at the gym, paint our feelings away, or do that brave thing we’ve been wanting to try. Ah, behold the products of the Transform brain set!
The Transform brain set is indeed powerful in its ability to both spark creativity and heal the hurting heart. As with all these brain sets, we must be careful to use them well and in constructive ways!
Until next time, think through your hardest moments. Was there a Transformative creative act that helped you cope with the pain?
Carson, S. (2012). Your Creative Brain: Seven Steps to Maximize Imagination, Productivity, and Innovation in Your Life. Jossey-Bass.
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