I stretched to grab the lowest branch of the mighty maple tree, then held firm as I walked my legs up the trunk while my arms held the weight of my body. I flung a leg over the branch and considered my options. I could wrap my other leg over the branch and swing upside down until enough blood rushed my head to threaten a headache, then I could flip off and land on my feet like a graceful gymnast (at least that is how it played out in my imagination). Or, I could ascend the sturdy tree until I threatened to break a branch, and then slither down to dismount like an elegant gymnast. Either way, I couldn’t go wrong.

I never wanted to be a gymnast. I just wanted to explore the boundaries of my imagination and stretch my abilities, all while creating a wondrous adventure. If Alice could slide down a rabbit hole and solve the problems of the underworld, I could certainly manage a mild-mannered tree. Alice and I were doing the same thing—embracing curiosity as a means to expand our own internal and external worlds, which is a feat that, in most instances, should not be thwarted.

While I no longer desire to climb trees, I still want to explore, have adventures, and see the world with the eyes of an inquisitive child seeking to understand. By adulthood, many of us have developed preconceived notions of how the world works, so we stop being curious and innovative. When that happens, the world appears boring. In actuality, the world is quite magical and magnificent, but we have to be willing to see it and create it. I found that when I open my mind and approach my surroundings with fresh eyes, I experience a vibrant world filled with richness in every subtle detail. My approach requires more attention and a little less navel-gazing, but the rewards are worth it.

Pursuing imagination, creativity, and fun offers us many benefits. Imagination allows us to see beyond what is, creativity allows us to create our visions, and fun is the ideal experience on our journey. The Divine gives us these abilities to use freely. Deep states of imaginative exploration, creative flow, and hysterical laughter are elating—like being directly connected to the Divine. Therefore, it is essential to learn how to induce these states, perhaps by first exploring what gets in our way.

Living and Losing Our Joy

Most childhoods were filled with imagination, creativity, and fun of all sorts. School years brought new obligations, like getting good grades and being obedient, all so that we could get a good job, create a family, and contribute to society. Year by year, grade by grade, our imagination, creativity, and capacity for fun slowly eroded. We learned limitations through lessons like these:

• “Time to grow up and take responsibility” implies that we must stop having fun and become serious to be responsible. While it is desirable to be responsible, it is possible to do so in an engaging and joyful manner.
• “Life isn’t all fun and games” means that we should stop having fun and head into the grind—years of working hard and struggling to survive. This approach is a recipe for depression and hopelessness, not a success. Life should be fun and enjoyable most of the time.
• “Stop playing and get to work” suggests that we should not be imaginative, creative, or have fun in our jobs. This approach is a perfect way to kill motivation and the human spirit. Work should allow us to contribute something of value based on our skills and interests, which can spring from pleasant and inspiring experiences. Moreover, our ability to survive as a species depends upon our imagination and creative aptitude—to find new and better solutions to serious problems.

How can we thrive and succeed at anything if we’re taught that our path should be drudgery? I don’t think this is part of the master plan.

Strategies to Generate more Imagination, Creativity, and Fun in Our Lives

The greatest gift our Creator gave us is the power to create. We can choose to make our experiences and creations about happiness or sorrow, prosperity or struggle, love or fear, creativity or conformity. We must actively harness our power consistently through intentional thoughts, emotions, actions, and ways of being if we want to create deliberately. In other words, we must think, feel, act, and be consistent with our desires.

We have boundless creativity, yet many of us keep creating the same boring thing—and then we wonder why we do not feel inspired. We create what is familiar because it is comfortable, which is a normal response; however, it is far from inspiring. We must use our imagination if we want to create anew.

Here are some suggestions for cultivating ideal thoughts, emotions, actions, and ways of being, particularly through the use of imagination, creativity, and fun.

• Encourage childlike curiosity, wonder, and amusement: Recall the times in your life when you were vibrant, free, and naturally creative. Connecting to those memories will remind you of the awe you felt and help you realize that those types of inspiring experiences are still possible.
• Intentionality: Most things do not happen to you randomly; you make them happen. As with anything you desire, you must intend and create your ideal in mind before you can create it in the external world. You can do this through the active use of your imagination and creativity.
• Lighten up: Learn to lighten your mental, physical, and spiritual load to encourage you and anyone around you feel better. Take life in stride—let go of what doesn’t need to be held. Quit stressing, overworking, overthinking, overreacting, complicating matters, and taking life too seriously, as these are inappropriate uses of your creative mind.
• Foster positivity: Positive emotions create an environment in which imagination and creativity can flourish. Here are some strategies to increase positivity and minimize negativity.
  • Fredrickson (2009), in her book Positivity, maintains that positive emotions “broaden people’s ideas about possible actions, opening our awareness to a wider range of thoughts and actions” and “open our hearts and our minds, making us more receptive and creative.” She recommends a positivity ratio of at least 3 to 1, meaning that you should strive for at least three positive emotional experiences for every negative experience. This degree of positivity enables you to thrive rather than languish.
  • Choose to be an optimist. Positive psychologist Martin Seligman (1998) discovered that optimistic thinkers tend to view positive events as permanent (unceasing), universal (widespread or pervasive), and internal (related to the self), while viewing negative events as temporary, specific (isolated to one incident), and external (outside of the self). Pessimistic thinkers do the opposite by viewing positive events as temporary, specific, and external while viewing negative events as permanent, universal, and personal.
  • Reframe negativity constructively through the use of your imagination. Adversity can be an opportunity to make a desirable change, experience constructive growth, build resilience, and learn compassion, among other potential benefits.
  • Have positive role models for any area of your life that you would like to develop (e.g., spirituality, professional, creative, social, personality). These people can help you imagine a new way of being.
  • Remember peak states: Keep a journal or list of your peak creative states and what created them. With practice, you can learn to induce such ideal conditions.
  • Work on your sense of humor and fun daily: Observe the wild, weird, and wonderful world around you with a lighthearted, kind, and curious mindset. Savor fun moments as a means to create more of them.
• Tell a creative story of an adventurous past, a vibrant now, and an exciting future of possibilities: You choose how to interpret your life and how to tell your story, so make it a good one—filled with learning, great characters, lots of love, triumphs after adversity, and deep spiritual gratitude.
• Eliminate things that hamper your imagination, creativity, or fun: Sometimes, it feels good to zone out in front of the tube, but this type of passive entertainment offers little return on your investment. In a week from now, will you be proud that you watched the television show? Wouldn’t you prefer to expand your knowledge in new ways, use your imagination to reach a goal, or create a new adventure with a friend or partner? Use your resources—time, energy, money, knowledge, relationships—wisely. Use them in a way that lifts your mind, body, and spirit.

Innately, we are all creators. We come alive when we use our minds to create something new, solve a problem, or get involved in a project that pushes us to grow. While we may derive joy when reaching a destination, we appreciate the process because that is where the imagination and creativity get to do their magic.

When we nurture our imagination and creativity, life becomes more fun. Like a child who looks at the present and future with enthusiasm because anything is possible, we must maintain our childlike wonder as we journey through our self-determined lives. Holding on to a bit of the wild, the part of us that is untamed by the world, reminds us that anything is possible.

I remember my imaginative, creative, and fun childhood with fondness, especially as we approach fall. I smell the maple leaves that have fallen to the ground, which reminds me of climbing trees, rolling in piles of those magnificent smelling leaves, enjoying the moment, and dreaming of future days. I remember the hope and visions that I had, which reminds me that anything I can imagine I can achieve. Although my visions are different now, they are still as vital and significant. I still have to stretch, climb, and manage some mounts and dismounts strategically, but I know that my mind, fully loaded with a rich imagination, creativity, and sense of fun, will get me where I am going.

References

Holmes, E. (1999). Living the science of mind. Marina del Rey, CA: DeVorss.

Fredrickson, B. L. (2009). Positivity. New York: Crown.

Seligman, M. E. P. (1998). Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life. New York: Pocket.